A Bridge Too Far: The true story of the Battle of Arnhem

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Oh, and by the way, gliders are not the same thing as airplanes—something that first-time glider pilots attempted to communicate with leadership without much success. But, nevertheless, their dedication was impressive. One of the pilots of the IX Troop Carrier Command even managed to get his jumpers into the green light zone despite the fact that his plane was on fire!

For starters, the book makes no bones- Monty was the wrong man to listen to in 1944 (the book, by inference, leads the reader to believe who was- George Patton). The Allies were coordinating too many troops in too many places with far far too many variables. The book does a superb job explaining these moving parts to the reader (complete with very well detailed maps) without making the reader feel overwhelmed. Its a very good and clean read. He married Kathryn Morgan (1925–1993), a novelist, and became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1951. Probably the best book written about a single operation in WWII, A Bridge Too Far chronicles the ambitious plan of Montgomery to airlift troops into Holland, capture the bridges and cross the Rhine, culminating in the defeat of the German Panzer units on the other side. It was and still is one of the greatest Allied defeats of World War II. The logistics were a mess. The 82nd Airborne Division's initial success, with 89% of troopers hitting their drops, and 84% of gliders making it within 1,000 meters of their Landing Zone (LZ), proved to be the exception, rather than the rule. The 101st Airborne Paratroopers (below) had danger coming from all directions, including themselves. One Private, after dropping a match into an oil drum, was “the only member of the 101st jumping into Holland with no eyebrows.” Ryan was awarded the French Legion of Honor, and an honorary Doctor of Literature degree from Ohio University, where the Cornelius Ryan Collection is housed (Alden Library). He was diagnosed with cancer in 1970, and struggled to finish A Bridge Too Far during his illness. He died in Manhattan, while on tour promoting the book, A Bridge Too Far, only two months after publication.The best one-liner regarding Monty, though, definitely came from Ryan's interview with Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands who said: “My country can never again afford the luxury of another Montgomery success.” Yes, this LZ! As others have pointed out before A Bridge Too Far was something of a ground-breaker. Operation Market-Garden was a forgotten battle in the annals of World War II. Forgotten by all except those who fought it in it (both sides) and those who survived it (soldiers and civilians). Yes there had been a few books and a couple films about the failed operation. In 1954 Clark Gable starred in a movie called Betrayed that blamed the failure on a traitor within the Dutch resistance which made for great drama, but wasn't the case. The Allies did it to themselves. Operation Market Garden was a bold plan that involved tremendous risk. Browning was not the only senior officer who thought Montgomery was “nuts” for even attempting this risky undertaking. Nevertheless, the plan moved ahead. The concerns of senior leaders, however, were not unwarranted. Operation Market Garden, the largest airborne operation in history, would prove to be one of the biggest disasters of the Allied war effort. Allied troops suffered more than 15,000 casualties and the loss of 88 tanks in Operation Market Garden. Nevertheless, Montgomery claimed that the campaign was “90 per cent successful.” In response, Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, retorted: “My country can never again afford the luxury of another Montgomery success.” Operasi ambisius yang dirancang oleh Jendral Bernard "Monty" Montgomery ini dimaksudkan untuk merebut sejumlah jembatan penting untuk mendahului pasukan darat dengan sasaran utamanya adalah jembatan di sungai Rein di Arnhem yang mengarah langsung ke perbatasan Jerman. Dengan demikian bisa mendobrak Siegfried Line dan menyusup ke daerah Ruhr, kawasan industri terpenting di Jerman. Montgomery yakin bila Ruhr bisa direbut maka dipastikan Jerman akan menyerah dan dia percaya bisa mengakhiri perang dunia sebelum Natal 1944. Pada saat bersamaan komandan US 3rd Army Jendral Patton mengajukan usul yang sama untuk mem by-pass Siegfried Line lewat jalur selatan melalui Metz dan Saarland. Akibat masalah suplai yang rumit, Panglima Perang sekutu, Eisenhower (dengan berbagai pertimbangan) memutuskan lebih memilih usul Monty untuk menyerbu lewat jalur utara (Belanda) dan mengalihkan seluruh suplai untuk operasi Market Garden. Kemarahan Patton meledak ketika pasukannya yang tengah merangsek maju meninggalkan pasukan yang lain harus menghentikan lajunya dan "menganggur" selama lima hari di tepi sungai Meuse akibat permintaan 40 ribu gallon bahan bakar hanya dipenuhi setengahnya saja. Jendral temperamental ini tentu saja naik pitam, "Anak buah saya bisa memakan ikat pinggang mereka kalo mereka lapar. Tapi tank2 saya tidak bisa makan ikat pinggang! Mereka butuh BBM!" teriaknya dongkol. Hehehe.. sabar Jendral.. sabaaaaar. Pemakaian bahasa nyeletuk yang bikin geli. Misalnya, jendral anu nyeletuk, Mayor anu nyeletuk. Kesannya mereka yang lagi berperang ini suka becanda deh, hehehe

Tanggal 17 Sept 1944 sekitar jam 10 pagi, rakyat Inggris dikejutkan oleh suara yang menggemuruh dan mereka ternganga menyaksikan suatu pemandangan diudara sambil berdecak kagum. Suatu formasi yang sangat dahsyat, megah, mempesona sekaligus mengerikan terhampar di angkasa. Bagaimana tidak? Sekitar 5000 pesawat secara serentak lepas landas dari 24 pangkalan udara. 1.500 pesawat pembom Halifax, Albermarles, dan Stirlings terbang beriringan dengan lebih dari 2000 pesawat angkut C-47/Dakota dan 2500 pesawat Glider/Peluncur seperti Horsa, Waco dan Hamilcars yang membawa pasukan para, tank kecil, artileri, truk dan logistik lainnya. Diatas, dibawah dan samping kiri kanan formasi itu dikawal sekitar 1500 pesawat pemburu Inggris seperti Spitfire, Typhoon, Mosquito dan pesawat pemburu AS spt Thunderbolt, Lightning dan Mustang. Formasi dahsyat ini membentang di angkasa dalam tiga kolom raksasa dengan lebar sekitar 10 mil dan panjang sekitar 100 mil di udara. Masya Allah! Yang tidak diketahui rakyat Inggris saat itu adalah bahwa hari itu sebuah penyerbuan udara terbesar sepanjang sejarah militer tengah berlangsung. Yep! Operation Market Garden. History if written without care can be terribly tedious. This person on this date at this time did this thing and that other person over at this place at another time did that thing etc. The author here does and excellent job connecting you to the people that went through the events he writes about. He puts it into context of the broader picture of the war and yet while understanding the big picture you feel what the man on the ground feels and experiences along with them in little stories scattered through the book.Ryan ignored that "Understanding" and wrote (in-depth) about the defeat. It was his last book and one that took an almost superhuman effort to finish because of the cancer that was killing him. How Eisenhower was talked into this disastrous invasion by Montgomery is dealt with early in the book, but is worth pondering. While it may be true that many unforeseen and unforeseeable events conspired to doom the invasion, still one wonders if Eisenhower was to some extent simply worn out by having to deal with Montgomery and finally gave in to him on this idea because it was the least bad of all that he had proposed so far. Certainly he never envisioned the actual result.