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Crossing the Rhine: Breaking into Nazi Germany 1944 and 1945-The Greatest Airborne Battles in History [NOOK Book]
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Two battles anchor this narrative of Allied efforts to cross the Rhine at WWII's climax. The first is the famous Operation Market-Garden, during which British paratroopers seized a Rhine bridge and were virtually wiped out by German counterattacks. The second is Operation Plunder-Varsity, a set piece crossing by a huge Allied force, including a superfluous airborne attack, that bulldozed through flimsy German defenses in the war's closing days. Although Plunder-Varsity lacked Market-Garden's drama, British military historian Clark (Anzio) tells both sagas well, including planning meetings, harrowing parachute descents and foxhole firefights; he sets the battles in the context of the bitter strategic debates between British and American generals. Less convincing is his rehabilitation of British general Bernard Montgomery's oft-criticized handling of the engagements. Clark describes Market-Garden as both "strategically and operationally sound" and, contradictorily, as "a plan too flawed to be a success." His appreciation of Plunder-Varsity-both "an outrageous success" and "a conservative operation" against "a terminally weak enemy"-is similarly halfhearted. But the courage and resourcefulness of ordinary soldiers, though not of their commander, comes through in this vivid war story. Maps. (Nov.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.It is difficult to determine whether Clark (Anzio) meant to write a popular narrative or a scholarly, technical account of Operation Market Garden and Operation Varsity Plunder, the two major Allied airborne efforts to breach the Rhine following D-day; his book moves randomly from one style to the other, awkwardly oscillating between readable prose and text filled with difficult names, numbers, and statistics, interspersed all the while with extensive quotes from generals, soldiers, and politicians. The quotes themselves do not help the reader gain a clearer understanding of the battles or of the human consequences and often come across as pure filler. Clark includes important highlights from other World War II engagements but does not explain how they affected the two operations that are his focus. For instance, his discussion of the failed attempt on Hitler's life led by Claus von Stauffenberg does not show how it influenced later military strategy. Similarly, he is weak on how Market Garden and Varsity Plunder relate to the more famous Battle of the Bulge or to the end of the war. Operation Market Garden was made famous by Cornelius Ryan's A Bridge Too Far, itself made into a movie. Ryan's book is a classic of World War II history and remains the best choice for all collections. Clark's book is not recommended. (Maps and index not seen.) [See Prepub Alert, LJ7/08.]
—Michael Farrell
Overview
In September 1944, with the Allies eager to break into Nazi Germany after Normandy, thirty-five thousand U.S. and British troops parachuted into Nazi held territory in the Netherlands. The controversial offensive, code named Operation Market Garden, was conceived by British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery to secure the lower Rhine—Germany’s last great natural barrier in the west—and passage to Berlin. Allied soldiers outnumbered Germans by two to one, but they were poorly armed against the German Panzer tanks and suffered devastating casualties. After nine days of intense fighting, they were forced to retreat. Several months later, in March 1945, Montgomery orchestrated another airborne attack of the Rhine. This time the ...