Customer Reviews

Arnhem 1944: The Airborne Battle, 17-26 September (Penguin History)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
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This book represents another great effort by Martin Middlebrook. At first, one might ask why another book on Operation Market-Garden is necessary. The answer is that Middlebrook focus just on the actions of the units at Arnhem, ignoring the US airborne divisions further south and the advance of 30th Corps. The result is an account that presents far more detail than most accounts of the Arnhem fighting, which tend to focus mainly on Lieutenant Colonel Frost's battalion at Arnhem bridge.

Middlebrook begins his account with an in-depth description of the British 1st Airborne Division that covers every battalion and subordinate unit in detail. Readers will learn what every key unit, including the oft-neglected support units, could contribute to the battle. I was surprised to learn for example, just how many anti-tank guns that the British took to Arnhem: 52 six-pounders (57mm) and 16 seventeen-pounders (76mm). Most accounts of the battle do not mention the seventeen pounders, which gave the British a decent anti-tank weapon against even the heavier German tanks in the vicinity.

Arnhem was a very controversial operation and Middlebrook does not sidestep the controversy, but he does not become mired in it. The planning errors and false assumptions of Field Marshal Montgomery and the General Browning are duly noted. Yet despite the deep flaws in the plan, Middlebrook likes to flirt with the notion of what might have been achieved with a little better luck and speed. The chapter entitled "The Vital Hours" covers the very successful initial airborne landings and then details how sluggish many units were in actually moving toward Arnhem and the bridges. Soldier load is an issue here that most writers ignore but not Middlebrook; one participant noted how the paratroopers were so weighted down with gear that they could only run a few yards and were then exhausted. The one unit that made it to the bridge, Frost's battalion, had far more contact with the enemy than most sources suggest (the film A Bridge Too Far gives the impression that Frost's battalion marched to the bridge without even seeing any Germans) and only made it through due to unorthodox means. Middlebrook notes that the British made the final stretch to the Arnhem bridge when, "Frost led most of the battalion into a garden and then through the back door of a house and out the front door into another street...".

A key question usually asked about Arnhem is why couldn't the British 1st Airborne Division break through to reinforce Frost? Answering this question is probably the greatest value of this book. First the 1st Parachute Brigade, then the 4th Parachute Brigade tried to break through in piece-meal fashion and with minimal support. This section, which covers about 100 pages, offers a great deal of information about how the British destroyed their own division in a series of futile attacks. Both the parachute brigades were destroyed in two days fighting, which fatally undermined the ability of the British to hold onto their vital drop zones for resupply. The story of Frost and the bridge defense is also well-told but I find the story of the two parachute brigades far more compelling. In essence, the British made the fatal mistake of not dropping closer to their objective and then ruined the bulk of their division trying to fight their way through to that objective. Middlebrook uses these chapters to hammer home the reality that airborne units are configured for defense after rapid seizure, not sustained offensive operations and that this was the real crux of the disaster. Had a more or less intact British airborne division with defensible drop zones established itself north of the Lower Rhine, then Montgomery might at least have gained a foothold north of the river.

The battle of the Osterbeek perimeter and the subsequent withdrawal across the Rhine are covered in detail, but not as effectively as the earlier chapters. The sketch maps supporting the text could have been better. Nor is the treatment of the Polish Brigade's performance as in-depth as the earlier chapters, although the Middlebrook admits that the relief of General Sosabowski by the British was a shameful act. There is a full chapter on the resupply flights, which are barely covered in other sources. The aerial resupply effort was a colossal failure: 66 aircraft were lost and 222 men killed in order to deliver less than 200 tons of supplies to the British 1st Airborne Division. This disaster occurred despite mild weather conditions and air superiority. Middlebrook's detailed post-mortem is very interesting. Although 21% of the division was evacuated losses among the infantry were catastrophic. Only 405 members of the two British parachute brigades returned from the 3,461 who dropped into Holland. Additionally, two experienced brigade commanders, eight battalion commanders and 26 company commanders were lost. The division was essentially destroyed and the remnants were soon disbanded or attached to other units.

Middlebrook concludes that there were numerous errors that contributed to this debacle but that the two most important were (a) the flawed air movement plan (which Middlebrook mostly blames on the Americans) and (b) the failure of the US Airborne Division to capture the Nijmegen bridge sooner and thereby facilitate the ground link-up with the British troops at Arnhem. Although there is plenty of blame for the British commanders in this volume I feel that Middlebrook is too quick to point fingers at the Americans. Market-Garden was after all, Montgomery's show. Middlebrook might have been able to use this book as an interesting examination of British operational methods in the mid-20th Century. The British army throughout the Second World War, was at its best in a well-planned set-piece battle and at it's worst in a highly-fluid chaotic battle. The inflexibility of the British commanders is readily evident here and the reader must sympathize with the Polish General Sosabowski who was frustrated by their willingness to continue with a plan no matter how flawed.

This is an excellent account of the German reaction on the massive Allied air landings in Holland in September 1944, during operation Market Garden. It especially concentrates on the countermeasures of the battered German army which, barely escaped from the ordeals of the hell of Normandy, immediately launched counterattacks, often with astonishing weak and improvised units, suffering appaling losses. The legend that the elite 1st British Airborne division landed on top of two complete SS Panzer divisions is analysed by Middlebrook and he proves that both divisions hardly had the strength left of a weakened regiment. At the time of the landings some of their last remaining tanks stood ready for transport to Germany! Of course this doesn't change anything on the fact that the British fought extremely well, having the most difficult tasks in the entire operation. I enjoyed this book very much. Objective war books like this are rare. I posses hundreds of books and know what I'm talking about. Professional comments, good maps, interesting photos, some of German news reels, gripping personal accounts. I hope to see more of this author. A very well deserved five stars. This is the way history should be handled.

Here's the order of battle: Read "A Bridge Too Far", then "It Never Snows in September", and finally close with "Arnhem 1944". This is the abbreviated approach to better understanding the logistical and human impact of the battle from the Allied and Axis Perspective. Take it a step further: Obtain Cornelius Bauer's "The Battle of Arnhem", Geoffrey Powell's "The Devil's Birthday, and John Frost's "A Drop Too Many". This delves into a series of varying perspectives albeit divisional. Next: The unit Histories of the 43rd Wessex, 50th Inf., and Guards Armour, and James Huston's "Out of the Blue". There appears to be a plethora of well documented works available.

The book was as I expected from this author, well written, factual and informative with individual participant recollections adding that personal touch. A great read for those who enjoy factual military history.

Martin Middlebrook is a master a producing books that
explain complex military operations in a manner that
is comprehensible to the knowledgable general reader.
He especially is good at bringing the direct experience
of the individuals involved (soldiers or civlians as the case
may be) on both sides of the battle to the reader.
In this book about the British First Airborne Division's role in the
Battle of Arnhem phase of Operation Market Garden, fascinating
details emerge that I have not encountered in other sources.
Among the most interesting for me was the airlift phase
of the operation. Having seen the movie "A Bridge Too Far" in addition to documentaries about Market Garden, the use
of gliders, those amazing, engineless aircraft, seems rather strange and foolhardy, in light of the
pictures we have all seen of gliders crashing into trees,
or tipping tail up on landing, or hearing about their tow
ropes breaking in flight. In actuality, Middlebrook points
out that in this operation, the overwhelming majority of gliders
landed safely, and even in cases where the tow ropes broke, most pilots were able to land them safely, even at sea, and the crew and passengers often escaped relatively unscathed from overturned gliders, even with the danger of a heavy load in the back of the aircraft breaking loose and falling into the cockpit. He gives details on how the gliders were flown, at what speed and distance they were cut loose, and the like. Similarly, he explains how the paratroopers lined up to jump from the aircraft, that the aircraft were at an altitude of only 500-600 feet and the paratrooper was in the air for only 15 seconds. The heavy equipment the paratrooper brought down with him was jettisoned before he landed. In the event, the first day's lift was overwhelmingly safe and successful, which should have given the operation a good start, but which tragically, was not able to be utilized properly. This book describes the great heroism of the Airborne's forces and will be of interest to anyone who has a more than passing interest in the Second World War or military history in general.

For those who are interested in the Arnhem/Osterbeek area of Market-Garden, this is the gold standard as far as details come. If you want to get a global view of the operation, I'd suggest reading A Bridge Too Far first, but this is an excellent follow-up/supplement to that if you want further detail. Accompanying maps are also very good.

Middlebrook describes the British airborne landings at Arnhem at an extraordinary level of detail. In many places events are covered minute by minute, casualty by casualty. The authors approach is to provide a detailed narrative of the action peppered with first person accounts. This approach is used by many authors, but Middlebrook is exceptionally adept at it. He also draws his anecdotes from a tremendous pool of first person sources (interviews, diaries, etc). Anyone familiar with his previous works (e.g., The Schweinfurt-Regensburg Mission) will understand the skill with which he weaves together his histories.

There is one draw back to the book: there almost no information from the German perspective. Had this been included at the same level of detail as the Allied view, Arnhem 1944 would be the all time definitive account of Market-Garden operations around Arnhem. Even without them, this book still ranks in the top tier of military history studies. It is also by far the best source available about the British operations. Readers interested in the German perspective can find it in It Never Snows in September.

This is one book that truly enjoyed reading. Many reading this may have already read about this part of WW2 history or, at least, seen the movie "A Bridge To Far" and become interested in the subject. Arnhem 1944's focus is on the British Airborne's attempt to take Arnhem bridge during Operation Market Garden. It is a good mix of archive records and first person interviews. Perhaps interesting to some, it does not shy away from controversies regarding the mission or its inception, covering the battle from its preparation to the final pullout across the Rhein. It is a very easy read of a complex subject and I found myself having a hard time putting it down. An excellent book!

ARNHEM 1944: THE AIRBORNE BATTLE is one of the best books I have read on Operation Market Garden since A BRIDGE TOO FAR. Martin Middlebrook's fine researched volume provides detail, some of it from sources that only became available in the 1990s, that puts the whole battle into perspective.

Operation Market Garden is controversial to this day. There is absolutely no agreement as to whether or not the airborne and ground operation was even necessary at that stage of the war. Indeed there are also differing opinions as to whether or not the operation was a failure or not. In reading Middlebrook's book the primary shortcoming was in XXX Corps inability to reach and relieve the British 1st Airborne Division in accordance with the timetable. In contrast the Germans considered the Allied operation a stunning success with the only solice drawn from the fact that the British were halted at the Neder Rijn.

In the first few pages of his book Middlebrook explains that he approached the telling of the story from the Allied perspective. As such there are no extensive passages exploring the German response or viewpoint. Combat encounters with the Germans are described strictly from the 1st Airborne's point of view. At first I was concerned that this appoach would ignore an important aspect of the battle. However, as I read further I understood that there was a method in Middlebrook's Allied focus. The battle narrative constantly references German attacks, as well as individual encounters. In doing so the German reaction is, by default, revealed throughout the book.

ARNHEM also dispelled some of the folk lore generated by the battle over the years. For example, Major General Urquhart has often been criticized for failing to appreciate the importance of the Westerbouwing high ground and the Heveadorp Ferry. In hindsight, yes. At the time of the battle Urquhart's mission was to first secure the Arnhem highway bridge. He therefore was looking east, not west. By the way, the Germans likewise neglected to put any priority on the high ground until well into the battle. For subjects such as this Middlebrook provides the reader with the information and it is up to the person reading the book to form an opinion. Where the surviving information does not support a definitive conclusion, such as heroic actions by individual combatants, the author explains that as well.

One of the challenges I constantly face in reading military history is the lack of geographic reference. Too often books about great battles mention towns, rivers, roads, and terrain features that are not visually portrayed anywhere in the volume. Middlebrook's ARNHEM 1944 contains 13 maps amply serving the need to flip pages back and forth for orientation. In fact, I wish Middlebrook's book had been available when I toured the Arnhem/Oosterbeek battlefield in the early 1990s.

The book is chock full of indented paragraphs devoted to quoted first hand accounts. Most of these are well placed and very interesting. Others seem to have been inserted for no specific reason. Frequent long quoted passages can be annoying. The other aspect of the narrative that was sometimes challenging was that Middlebrook often introduces a subject only to note that it will be described in another chapter. I well understood that Middlebrook assembled the story by focusing on one aspect of the battle at a time and that it was necessary to introduce material at one point that would receive full treatment later. I just do not think it was necessary to constantly explain the process.

Overall Middlebrook succeeds in bringing this story to ground level with individual stories of hardship and heroism.

I really enjoyed this book. It covers the entire Arhnem operation through British eyes. The author goes from one personal account of the action to another,which blends into a great tapestry of the battle. The only drawbacks I could comment on is the action is not fluid, Middlebrook will cover one area of the battle (e.g. Arnhem Bridge), in its entirety, and jump back (in time) to another section (Middlebrook tells of a British battalion dropped in the second lift being detailed to join in the push to the bridge, then later tells us of the second lift in which it arrived). The other is the lack of detail on the Polish cause in the battle. Overall very easy to read and enjoyable. A great companion when read with other MARKET-GARDEN books of broader (Ryan's a Bridge Too Far) and differing viewpoints (It Never Snows In September, the German point of view, Poles Apart,the Polish view). A must for any MARKET GARDEN reader.