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The Journal of Military History 68.1 (2004) 291-292



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Arnhem: The Battle Remembered. By Robert Jackson. Shrewsbury, U.K.: Airlife Book, 2003 [1994]. ISBN 1-84037-437-3. Maps. Photographs. Notes and sources. Bibliography. Index. Pp. 184. $19.95. Available from Stackpole Books at 1-800-732-3669 or www.stackpolebooks.com.

Few battles continue to capture the imagination of World War II enthusiasts like the operation designed to capture the road and rail bridges in the Dutch village of Arnhem, September 1944. Operation Market-Garden, planned during a period of extreme Allied optimism, is arguably one of the boldest and most audacious airborne and ground operations ever undertaken. Incorrectly proclaimed as "90% successful" by Sir Bernard Montgomery, Market-Garden failed to achieve the objective of bypassing the Siegfried Line to the north and capturing the Ruhr.

British author Robert Jackson set out to "strike a balance between hard fact and personal experience" in his compact and concise work entitled Arnhem: The Battle Remembered. The author certainly achieves his objectives in this detail-packed book, which contains no less than nine maps and eighty-five photos and draws upon thirty-one personal experiences of the battle.

The book's organization is straightforward, following the chronological evolution leading to the battle. The introductory chapter carefully sets the [End Page 291] strategic background for Allied optimism, while following chapters outline in necessary detail the formation of the Airborne Army, the operational plan, German regrouping, and the final preparations. Subsequent chapters are devoted to each of the nine days of the Arnhem battle, concluding with an epilogue which aptly summarizes the tragic cost of the operation.

The author's expertise in aviation history quickly becomes evident as he draws upon the under-utilized primary source materials provided by Air Transport Forces. Focusing upon Intelligence Summaries of the Royal Air Force No. 38 Group, Mr. Jackson is able to skillfully weave together the various more traditional accounts with the lesser known, but equally valuable, aerial history. The true strength of the source materials utilized in this book is in their diversity: personal experiences blended with official, unit, and academic histories.

My only criticism of the work concerns the final chapter, where the author provides a summary of the five most often suggested reasons for the failure at Arnhem. Mr. Jackson does not attempt to engage in scholarly analysis of any of the five theories, only offering that there is a "general agreement on them." Certainly those seeking a more in-depth analysis of the reasons for the Allied defeat at Arnhem would be better served by such works as Martin Middlebrook's Arnhem 1944: The Airborne Battle or Peter Harclerode's Arnhem: A Tragedy of Errors.

In summary, Jackson's book serves as a concise, yet detailed account of the battle of Arnhem. Offering extensive use of personal experiences combined with previously accepted historical detail, the work serves to educate while maintaining the reader's interest. Those interested in gaining an understanding of the setting in which the operation was devised and the evolution from formation of the Airborne forces to the ultimate defeat of the British 1st Airborne Division will be well served by the short time it takes to read this work.



Steven D. Rosson
Richmond Hill, Georgia

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