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The Devil's Bridge
The German Victory at Arnhem, 1944
The Devil's Bridge
The German Victory at Arnhem, 1944
Description
This fascinating title offers a new look at Operation Market Garden and the Arnhem campaign from the perspective of the German forces who defended against the Allies.
In the late summer of 1944, SS-Obergruppenführer Wilhelm 'Willi' Bittrich found himself in the Netherlands surveying his II SS Panzer Corps, which was in a poor state having narrowly escaped the defeat in Normandy. He was completely unaware that his command lay directly in the path of a major Allied thrust: the 17 September 1944 launch of the largest airborne and glider operation in the history of warfare.
Codenamed Operation Market Garden, it was intended to outflank the German West Wall and 'bounce' the Rhine at Arnhem, from where the Allies could strike into the Ruhr, Nazi Germany's industrial heartland. Such a move could have ended the war.
However, Market Garden and the battle for Arnhem were a disaster for the Allies. Put together in little over a week and lacking in flexibility, the operation became an all-or-nothing race against time. The plan to link the airborne divisions by pushing an armoured division up a sixty-five-mile corridor was optimistic at best, and the British drop zones were not only too far from Arnhem Bridge, but also directly above two recuperating SS Panzer divisions.
The Devil's Bridge explores the operation from the perspective of the Germans as renowned historian Anthony Tucker-Jones examines how they were able to mobilise so swiftly and effectively in spite of depleted troops and limited intelligence.
Table of Contents
Foreword
Prologue: Model Gets Indigestion
List of Maps
List of Illustrations
1. Race Against Time
2. Zangen's Great Escape
3. Six and a Quarter
4. Student's Paras
5. Chill on the Albert
6. The Devil Lies in Wait
7. Bittrich's Quick Reaction
8. Panzers at Valkenswaard
9. Airborne Stepping Stones
10. Fierce Counter-attacks
11. Reichswald Assault
12. Resistance at the Valkhof
13. Creating Hell's Highway
14. Arnhem Retaken
15. SS in the Betuwe
16. Model Triumphs
17. Unrepentant Advocate
18. Panzer Corps Controversy
19. Last Battles
20. Little Consequence
21. Mary of Arnhem
Epilogue: Poignant Tragedy
Appendices
Notes and References
Bibliography
Index
Product details
| Published | Jun 25 2020 |
|---|---|
| Format | Ebook (Epub & Mobi) |
| Edition | 1st |
| Extent | 304 |
| ISBN | 9781472839879 |
| Imprint | Osprey Publishing |
| Illustrations | 16pp plate section in b&w |
| Series | General Military |
| Short code | GNM |
| Publisher | Bloomsbury Publishing |
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