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Summary: Masterful account of Operation "Market-Garden"
Review: "A Bridge Too Far" is the third in a series of books written by the late Cornelius Ryan about the major battles of the Second World War. In dramatic fashion, Ryan superbly tells the story of Operation "Market-Garden," biggest single airborne assault in history, and the largest and most costly Allied defeat since the earliest days of World War II. It is late summer, 1944. Adolf Hitler's armies in Western Europe have been retreating steadily from France, Belgium and the Netherlands ever since D-Day, when Allied forces invaded Nazi-occupied France and began moving like a juggernaut toward the German border. All signs point to a completely demoralized German army, made up primarily of old men and young boys. The German occupiers flee through the Low Countries on bicycles, in carts, and on foot. By September 1944, it seems only a matter of time before the Third Reich collapses under the relentless assault of the Allies. British Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery persuades the Allied high command to adopt his bold plan to win the war in 1944. Called "Market-Garden," the plan calls for Allied forces to seize and hold a series of bridges spanning the Rhine River on the border between Germany and The Netherlands. The capture of these bridges will give the Allies the route they need for the invasion of the German homeland. If successful, "Market-Garden" could spell victory for the Allies in 1944. The plan is ambitious and, on the surface, well thought out. It will have two parts: "Market" will be the airborne assault. Allied forces will land and seize the bridges along the Rhine. The key bridge - the linchpin of the whole operation - will be the bridge at Arnhem. The "Garden" portion of the plan is an armored ground assault by a column of tanks that will travel 80 miles to provide relief to the paratroopers holding each of the bridges. However, Monty's plan has a fatal flaw: Allied intelligence has failed to reveal the presence of a seasoned German armored division hiding in the area. "Market-Garden" begins on September 17, 1944, and initially looks headed for success. Allied paratroopers quickly capture two of the four bridges, but the attacks on bridges at Nijmegen and Arnhem - the "Bridge Too Far" - soon run into trouble. The Nijmegen brige captured by Allied forces only after stubborn German resistance and heavy fighting. The British 1st Airborne Division lands in the wrong place and loses its communications. A British airborne battalion commanded by Lieutenant Colonel John Frost captures the Arnhem bridge after heavy fighting. German Field Marshal Walter Model, who is in the area almost by accident, observes the assault as it begins to unfold, and quickly guesses its objectives. He assembles all German troops in the area and counterattacks. Near Arnhem, the 1st Airborne quickly comes under siege miles away from its objective. Frost's battalion also comes under heavy siege. Ultimately, the successful German counterattack and siege nearly destroys both Urquhart's and Frost's commands. The British are forced to withdraw, and "Market-Garden" ends in defeat. I found "A Bridge Too Far" to be one of the best books about World War II I've ever read - better, even, than Ryan's earlier book "The Longest Day." Ryan writes a masterful account of this tragic battle. His narrative is gripping and dramatic throughout. He incorporates many first-person accounts of the participants in the battle from all sides - Allied, German, civilian, and Dutch underground. With an historian's eye for factual interpretation, Ryan exposes the political wrangling which went on at the highest levels of the Allied command, and the false assumptions, miscalculations, blunders, and self-deceptions which marked the Allied planning and execution of "Market-Garden." With a journalist's unfailing eye for factual accuracy and detail, Ryan describes with spellbinding realism the fighing on the ground and in the air. Throughout the book, Ryan never loses sight of the human dimension - the sometimes superb and more often erroneous judgments made by Allied and German generals and colonels; the extraordinary valor of the ordinary soldier on both sides, officer and enlisted man alike; and the dedication and sacrifice of civilians and the Dutch underground. "A Bridge Too Far" is a wonderful work of history, one which I heartily recommend to all readers!
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Summary: The Definitive Book About Operation Market Garden
Review: A Bridge Too Far is one of the greatest books ever written about a major combat operation during World War II. In writing this book, Cornelius Ryan interviewed dozens, if not hundreds of participants from high-ranking generals to civilians. This book fully exposes the sheer stupidity and overconfidence that characterized both the planning and execution of Operation Market Garden by the Allies that was supposed to end WWII in Europe by Christmas, 1944. A true classic war book.
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Summary: A true classic
Review: Absolutely one of the best books that I have ever read. It is not so much a book about the tactics and strategy, although that is in it, but a story about ordinary men doing extraordinary things. It will make you laugh, put a lump in your throat, and shake your head in amazement at the bravery of men in the battle. For you war buffs, it will give you even more reason to wonder why Montgomery is held in such high esteem.
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Summary: ALL THE WAY...
Review: As a Parratooper , I found that it was my duty to read this book. I am very glad that I did. I choose to read the book instead of watching the movie and I am glad that I did(the movie closely follows the book). As a memeber of the Airborne Corps, It was a honor putting those wings on my chest and looking everyday at the "All American" patch on my sleeve. Many brave men died, and the book gives great accounts of the Airborne divisions battles and the will to keep fighting. To many,it is just names on a map,Graves,Rhine.... but to many like myself whom have had the honor of meeting many of the men who where on those combat jumps, it means more to them than anything in the world...Airborne!!
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Summary: Set the mark.
Review: Cornelius Ryan's A Bridge Too Far set the mark impossibly high for books about Operation Market Garden. There have been several other excellent books written about this battle [Frost's A Bridge Too Many, Middlebrook's Arnhem 1944, and It Never Snows In September] but Ryan's remains just a cut above. I could not put this book down. As long as it is, I finished it in two days. Like another reviewer I knew little about the battle prior to reading this book. Had the operation been successful it would be mentioned in the same breath with Thermapolae and the Six Day War. The Allied Airborne troops displayed a level of bravery that is hard for people to comprehend today [as did the Germans.]Cornelius Ryan conveys this, and virtually every other aspect of the battle almost to perfection. If you never read any other piece of military history, read this one. I guarantee you will remember it for all time.
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Summary: An Engrossing Account of an Over-looked Battle
Review: I don't know about you but I really didn't know much of anything about Operation Market Garden until I read this book. It was the last of the three WWII books by Ryan that I read (the others were "The Longest Day" and "The Last Battle"). It also was and is the best of the three. There is something extra about this book that seems to bring the reader even closer to the scene of action. As usual, Cornelius Ryan does an excellent job of interviewing a wide range of participants and observers and then weaving together a story that allows us to follow the action step by step; sometimes minute by minute. Unfortunately, the author can only report history; he can't change it. Market Garden still remains a failed mission and Ryan helps us to understand just why. There is plenty of detail here but it reads like a novel rather than a history. This is as engrossing account of any event in WWII as you will find.
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Summary: Not totally accurate
Review: Just like in "the Longest Day" in which the 2nd Ranger is erroneously depicted as failing in their mission, Ryan depicts operation Market/Garden as a total failure since they failed to secure the final bridge. As with "The Longest Day", had Ryan fully reserched this subject, Ryan would have discovered that a major objective of the offensive was to open desperately needed port to shorten the allies' line of supply. As a result of this offensive, the allies attacked northward from their positions which were as far east as Nimigen and opened the port of Antwerp in Belgium. This was an important onjective to the overall European war effort.
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Summary: Not totally accurate
Review: Just like in "the Longest Day" in which the 2nd Ranger is erroneously depicted as failing in their mission, Ryan depicts operation Market/Garden as a total failure since they failed to secure the final bridge. As with "The Longest Day", had Ryan fully reserched this subject, Ryan would have discovered that a major objective of the offensive was to open desperately needed port to shorten the allies' line of supply. As a result of this offensive, the allies attacked northward from their positions which were as far east as Nimigen and opened the port of Antwerp in Belgium. This was an important onjective to the overall European war effort.
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Summary: A wonderful tale of bravery in action...
Review: The bravery of the men on both sides of this battle was extrodinary. The blunder of the allied leadership inexcusable.
Read this book and find out how a battle like this takes place and how the fog of war affects leaderships decision making process.
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Summary: C. Ryan's WWII Masterpeice
Review: There is not a more accurate retelling of operation Market-Garden anywhere. This part of the second world war is often overlooked as it lies in the shadow of D-Day and the Battle of the Bulge. Cornelius Ryan has magnificent first hand sources telling their part in the Great operation and their personal views on what happened. There are view points of Nazi Tank Officers, British Paratroop colonels, 101st airborne commanders, and the fearless members of the dutch underground. It is neatly written, covering every detail, no matter how small, from background, to planning, to the drop, through the rough streets of Arnhem, down the road with General Horrocks and the Irish Tank guard, the 101st's struggle with the Son bridge, German general Harzer's rushed yet unexpected panzer corps, and all the way to the last bridge; the Bridge too far. It has enough interesting and little known facts to keep the history buffs satisfied, while keeping avid readers on the edge of their seat.
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