Nijmegen: U. S. 82nd Airborne And Guards Armoured Division

by Tim Saunders

The 82nd Airborne Division fought some of its most desperate battles in support of the British landings at Arnhem, yet these actions are little known today. All of the units, personalities and actions of this hopeless struggle are covered in the acclaimed Battleground Europe style. This heavily illustrated work also contains a guide to the battle sites, monuments and local facilities as they are today.

Genres: War, World War II, History, Nonfiction, Military Fiction

208 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2001

About the author

Tim Saunders MBE MA (1956 - ????) served in the British Army as an officer in the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment and The Rifles for over 30 years before leaving to become a full time military historian. In his second career he brings together the overlapping spheres of writing, battlefield guiding and military history film making. His intuitive knowledge of warfare and soldiers that is abundantly clear from his insightful and entertaining writing is a result, of his military training, service across the world and his operational experience.
Tim's portfolio of work is wide, with videos from Vikings to WW2 being made with Battlefield History TV and Pen & Sword Digital, variously as presenter, director and editor, His books, now totalling more than twenty title, however, are mainly focused on the Napoleonic Wars and the battles of the Second World War
Tim lives on the edge of the Army's Salisbury Plain Training area and often finds himself writing to the accompaniment of the sound of real tanks and gunfire.

Reviews

[Mr DWJ Cason · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book because my father flew a glider to Nijmegen and I wanted to find out more about what happened unfortunately this book does not cover the role of the gliders. He flew equipment for General Browning's HQ and then spent some time fighting with the soldiers.
Generally a disappointing read. I learnt a lot more reading from Geoffrey Deevor's book on Arnhem which also includes Nijmegen

[Dr.J.G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is difficult to describe in short the whole humongous war machine and the excellent men that came together in the fight for survival of humanity on one side, with glory of one nation out to conquer civilisation on the other. Cornelius Ryan has attempted that in his several excellent books on various parts including A Bridge Too Far about Operation Market Garden to control bridges across Rhine and especially the one at Arnhem. This book by Tim Saunders is about the part of that operation that was the attempt to control the bridge across the Rhine at Nijmegen.

The entire plan was ambitious and not impossible but only practical with some guaranteed miracles, and much of men were lost in the process. Was it all for the glory of one prima donna, is not clear.

This is what they did, this is how they fought and died so we can live as free men and women, and it is worth a look or more, several looks, reads.