Arnhem

Operation Market Garden the plan to end the war by capturing the bridges leading to the Lower Rhine and beyond was a bold concept: the Americans thought it unusually bold for Field Marshal Montgomery. But the cost of failure was horrendous above all for the Dutch who risked everything to help. German reprisals were cruel. The British fascination for heroic failure has clouded the story of Arnhem in myths not least that victory was possible when in fact the plan was doomed from the start. Antony Beevor using many overlooked and new sources has reconstructed the terrible reality of this epic clash. Yet this book also looks into the very heart of war.