The “World War II Epic Trilogy” consists of The Longest Day: The Normandy Landings of 1944, A Bridge Too Far: Operation Market Garden, 1944, and The Last Battle: The Battle of Berlin, 1945. Written by renowned historian and war correspondent Cornelius Ryan over nearly 30 years after his firsthand experience of World War II, this epic work vividly recreates three decisive battles and the historic moments that shaped the fate of the world. This volume is the second in the series, A Bridge Too Far: Operation Market Garden, 1944.
Field Marshal Montgomery said it had been 90 percent successful. But every battle has only two possible outcomes: success or failure!
In a bid to end the war in Europe by the end of 1944, the Allied leadership, buoyed by a string of victories after the successful Normandy landings, deployed more than 5,500 transport aircraft, 2,596 gliders, and 8,000 fighter and bomber aircraft. They launched an unprecedented joint offensive of airborne and ground armored forces, dropping 35,000 paratroopers behind German lines to seize the bridge at Arnhem across the Rhine. This was the Battle of Arnhem, codenamed Operation Market Garden. It was one of the boldest and most imaginative operations of World War II, yet also one of the Allies’ major defeats on the European front. The Allies paid a terrible price, suffering twice as many casualties as during the Normandy landings. Of the 10,000 soldiers in the British Airborne Division alone, 1,400 were killed, 6,000 captured, and only 2,300 managed to break through.
A Bridge Too Far: Operation Market Garden, 1944 is a historical account of the operation. Despite suffering from a terminal illness, Cornelius Ryan devoted the last years of his life to the project. Over seven years, he interviewed more than 1,200 people and sifted through a vast trove of diaries, letters, reports, and other records to uncover the facts and details, reconstructing the entire dramatic course of the battle, from its planning to its failure.
This was a harrowing struggle, a war epic that shook the soul. The cruelty, despair, and grief faced by the isolated paratroopers deep behind enemy lines, and their tragic heroism, are brought vividly to life in Ryan’s deeply moving prose. This was a strategic failure and a triumph of execution: nine days and nights of history at Arnhem. The tragic defeat, so painful to contemplate, became an enduring memory and lesson for generations to come.
This great battle can never be fought again, and this timeless classic can never be rewritten. Even in today’s commercial world, far removed from the smoke of battle, A Bridge Too Far: Operation Market Garden, 1944 remains a book worth revisiting time and again, one that will reward readers for a lifetime.
The description of the details of the battle has a strong sense of reality. There are no rhetoric or belittling accusations in describing the personal attitude of being deeply involved in the battle, but it makes people feel the greatness of human nature revealed in the ordinary, and thus gain resonance with the characters in the book. The author is undoubtedly responsible for presenting the historical reality in this way, and the inspiration and insights that readers gain from it are both meaningful and more valuable.
Not bad, worth a look!
History can be recalled, but the future can still be anticipated.