Tucker-Jones, Anthony The Battle for Arnhem 1944-1945. Rare Photographs from Wartime Archives

Operation "Market Garden", September 1944, the Netherlands. Three parachute drops and one armoured charge. The prize was the last bridge at Arnhem over the Neder Rijn. Taken intact it would provide the Allies with a back door into Germany - the famous "Bridge Too Far". This was one of the most audacious and imaginative operations of the war, and it failed, and Anthony Tucker-Joness photographic history is a vivid introduction to it. In a sequence of almost 200 archive photographs accompanied by a detailed narrative he describes the landing of British and American parachutists and glider troops. At the same time British tanks spearheaded a sixty-mile dash along Hells Highway to link up with the lightly armed and heavily outnumbered airborne forces. Most books about the resulting battle concentrate on the struggle at Arnhem and the heroism of the British 1st Airborne Division. This book puts that episode in its wider context. In particular it focuses on the efforts of the US 101st and 82nd airborne divisions to hold off counterattacks by German battlegroups during the tanks advance. The photographs give a dramatic insight into all sides of a remarkable but ill-fated operation which has fascinated historians and been the subject of controversy ever since. They also portray, as only photographs can, the men who were involved and the places and conditions in which the fighting took place.

In a series of almost 200 contemporary photographs, accompanied by a detailed account of the events, he describes the landing of British, American and Polish airborne troops. At the same time, British armoured troops fought their way through a narrow, 60-mile corridor, the so-called "Hell Highway", to join up with the lightly armed airborne troops, who were heavily outnumbered by the Germans. Most books on the resulting battle focus on the fight in and around Arnhem and the heroism of the British 1st Airborne Division. This book places this episode in a wider context. In particular, it focuses on the efforts of the American 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions to repel counter-attacks by German combat units during the advance of British armoured troops. The photographs provide a dramatic insight into all aspects of a remarkable but ill-fated operation that has been the subject of fascination and controversy among historians ever since. They also show, as only photographs can, the men involved and the places and conditions in which the battle took place.