by Anthony Tucker-Jones
Although the title should have omitted 1945 in my opinion, this is another very interesting book in the Images of War series. There is plenty of explaining text and drawn situation maps to make it more than just a picture book!
I read a book written by ( I think) one of the survivors of the Hartgenstein battles, which was very detailed and showing the extreme hardship the para’s at Oosterbeek endured during their much too long defensive battle of Urquhart’s command post. This book shows the entire Market Garden operation including the (very short) preparatory period.
Anthony Tucker-Jones clearly is not a fan of Montgomery….. and probably rightly so. All through the book it is made clear that Operation Market Garden was a disaster from the start and (certainly in hindsight) was only a failure waiting to happen. I think today most historians agree that it was largely Monty’s fault, whereas Montgomery fully denied that. Somewhere in the book it is written that ‘bad craftsmen blame their tools…..’ and that seems to be spot on for Monty’s character.
My parents lived near Deventer at the time and they were anxiously awaiting the British to free them from the German occupiers. Alas, we now know it didn’t happen and they had to wait till May 1945 for the Canadians to do so.
Where Operation Overlord was a major success, albeit taking more time than hoped, Operation Market Garden was a total failure. The book shows this both in text and in many wonderful (black and white) photographs. Another interesting read from a great author !
The Battle for Arnhem 1944-1945 (Paperback)
Rare Photographs from Wartime Archives
By Anthony Tucker-Jones
Imprint: Pen & Sword Military
Series: Images of War
Pages: 125
ISBN: 9781526730015
Published: 3rd April 2019
