The Battle of the Bridges: The 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment in Operation Market Garden

by Frank Van Lunteren

Operation Market Garden has been recorded as a complete Allied failure in World War II, an overreach that resulted in an entire airborne division being destroyed at its apex. However, within that operation were episodes of heroism that still remain unsung.On September, 17, 1944, the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, floated down across the Dutch countryside, in the midst of German forces, and proceeded to fight their way to vital bridges to enable the Allied offensive to go forward. The 101st Airborne was behind them; the British 1st Airbourne was far advanced. In the 82nd s sector the crucial conduits needed to be seized.The Germans knew the importance of the bridge over the Waal River at Nijmegen as well as James Gavin and his 82nd troopers did. Thus began a desperate fight for the Americans to seize it, no matter what the cost. The Germans would not give, however, and fought tenaciously in the town and fortified the bridge. On September 20 Gavin turned his paratroopers into sailors and conducted a deadly daylight amphibious assault in small plywood and canvas craft across the Waal River to secure the north end of the highway bridge in Nijmegen. German machine guns and mortars boiled the water on the crossing, but somehow a number of paratroopers made it to the far bank. Their ferocity thence rolled up the German defenses, and by the end of day the bridge had fallen. This book draws on a plethora of previously unpublished sources to shed new light on the exploits of the Devils in Baggy Pants by Dutch author and historian Frank van Lunteren. A native of Arnhem the site of The Bridge too Far the author draws on nearly 130 interviews he personally conducted with veterans of the 504th, plus Dutch civilians and British and German soldiers, who here tell their story for the first time. REVIEWS "Through years of painstaking research and close contact with 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment veterans, Frank van Lunteren has added much to our understanding of Market Garden. On these pages, the human story comes to life, sometimes tragic, sometimes amusing, but always poignant and compelling." John C. McManus, Ph.D., Author of SEPTEMBER HOPE: THE AMERICAN SIDE OF A BRIDGE TOO FAR and THE DEAD AND THOSE ABOUT TO DIE, D-DAY: THE BIG RED ONE AT OMAHA BEACH It is rare to find such an engrossing book as Frank van Lunteren s The Battle of the Bridges. Anyone who wants to read firsthand experiences of one of the most amazing actions in the western European Theater of the Second World War must get this book. Doug McCabe, curator of the Cornelius Ryan Collection Battle of the Bridges provides an exhaustively researched account of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment s exploits during Operation Market Garden. The legendary crossing of the Waal river to seize the Nijmegen bridges is covered in exceptional detail. Steven Zaloga, Author of US Airborne Divisions in the ETO" and his most recent "The Devil's Garden: Rommel's Desperate Defense of Omaha Beach on D-Day""

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

540 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 19, 2014

Reviews

[Cold War Conversations Podcast · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whilst rightly so there has been a lot of focus on British 1st Airborne at Arnhem, I’m not aware of many detailed works on the actions around Nijmegen. Frank Van Lunteren’s book corrects this glaring omission.

504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) of the 82nd Airborne Division fought some of its most desperate battles at Nijmegen in support of the British landings at Arnhem, yet these actions are little known today.

Using many of the veteran’s own words Van Lunteren covers the key actions of 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) specifically the first day of Market Garden when they captured the Maas River Bridge and the Mass-Waal Canal Bridge and subsequently on September 20th, when the 504th launched a daylight river crossing to capture the bridges over the Waal River at Nijmegen against fierce opposition, immortalised by Robert Redford in the film “A Bridge Too Far”.

The author lives in the area of the battle and it really shows that the he has deeply researched his subject using local knowledge, personal documents as well as the official records. The maps are very clear and there is a whole host of previously unseen photos.

The writing style makes for exciting reading, but can be a bit difficult to follow at times. Definitely a must have for the Market Garden scholar.

[Smaileh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I do realize that it is strange to say that I have affection for Operation Market Garden, but I do. When I was a history major in college, I did my senior research paper on the battle of Arnhem which was just one part of the Operation. I did tons of reading on the battle and even had a Dutch classmate whose parents answered some of my questions in a series of letters.

Operation Market Garden was a huge operation, conceived of by Field Marshall Montgomery, that--if successful--could have allowed the Allies to invade Germany and end the war by Christmas of 1944. It consisted of 3 parachute zones and a tank corps that tied them all together. Unfortunately, it was too ambitious and failed at the farthest point--the bridge at Arnhem, which became know as the "bridge too far" of Cornelius Ryan's book.

As I said, my own research paper focused on the battle of Arnhem, so I was interested to read this book with its focus on the 504th regiment of the US 82nd Airborne Division. This was the middle of the 3 zones and is notable for the daring river crossing that allowed the paratroopers to take the Nijmegen bridge by capturing both ends at once. I had a broad understanding of this battle, and this book filled in details. A lot of details.

It is obvious that Van Lunteren did extensive research for this book. Besides the written record of military reports, there are also the memories of a number of the men who participated in this battle. In addition to his own interviews, he had access to the interviews that Ryan conducted--information that did not make it in to Ryan's book. There is even information that shows the German side of the experience. I found it interesting that some of the stories cited here show the same events from different points of view. One man may talk about how he witnessed a certain officer perform heroic acts, only to be cut down by enemy gunfire. Right after would be another man's memory of how he helped to carry that officer back to behind the lines for medical aid. This helps to tie together what might otherwise be a fragmented narrative.

Even after the supposed end of the Operation--the retreat and escape of the British from Arnhem--these men had to continue to hold their territory they had won. The battle may have been over and done with in September, but the occupation lingered. Fortunately, they had a lot of assistance from the Dutch citizens, who housed and fed them, and in some cases formed relationships that lasted for years after.

As much as I enjoyed this book, I do wonder how wide its appeal will be. I won't be recommending it for my relatively small library. But I could see it in large public libraries, academic libraries where there is a strong history program, and libraries with a specialized military collection.

I received this book as an e-ARC from NetGalley.

[patrick Lorelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will admit I am a little partial to any WWII books about the 82 Airborne. This is mostly about the 504 but it does talk about the 505, 508, and the Glider Company and an artillery unit assigned to the 82. This mission is named Market Garden or The Bridge too Far. The 82 was to jump 57 miles behind enemy lines and capture and hold four bridges, (7, 8, 9, &10), these bridges were over the Mass-Waal Canal and also included the longest bridge in Europe or longest span Nijmegen. The author starts off with the history of the 504, and how they took a beating with the two jumps in Italy, they would not jump in D-Day due to lack of personal. By September 17, they were ready to jump with the rest of the 82. My father was with the 508, and he did not talk much about the war but I do remember that when the movie came out we went to go see it and he did not say whether he liked it or not. He was very critical of other units not American, just felt that Americans always watched out for each other. He was also very vocal about the officers in the 82nd, saying that they would always be right there with you know matter what. That even in this battle Gen. Gavin got in the water with the men and that always impressed him. I found out that in many of his interviews that many of the family members did not know what their fathers or grandfathers did during the war, they just did not talk about it. They had a job to do and they did it. This book is filled with a lot of information, for example that some men would get crushed by the supply packs that weighed 1800 lbs. that was the first time I read about those. The 504 with grit and determination does take charge of the bridge. Crossing the river is really what cause the most casualties for they had to do this in daylight and at the same time make that the Germans did not try to blow the bridge. I know the author criticized Gavin for not having boats their right away, but let us not forget that this was Montgomery’s idea and how when the U.S. planed an invasion they were the ones responsible to have the equipment there when needed. The British did not have to request the day of the attack they should have known if you are expecting infantry to capture a bridge from the other side of the canal you need a boat. My father did tell me that the canal was like a river. The 82nd captured all of their objectives before the British were to arrive with their tanks. The day they arrive they stopped instead of going as far as they could until night fall. Why they stopped in the afternoon is knows idea. But what is known they never got to their own 1st division Paratroopers and from there it just seem to get worse. With the Germans sending in more troops and these were veterans that were combat experienced this fight would continue on for days. The 504 after a day’s rest was sent to relive and help the 508 north from where they were at to recapture a town this would go on back and forth. This is a fascinating story told by men who were there and though some have passed on since the Author interviewed them I feel privileged to have read their accounts. They were all heroes though they never thought that they were. A good book. I got this book from net galley.

[Randy M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Battle of the Bridges chronicles the role of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment in Operation Market Garden during World War II. This is perhaps better known to many of us as “A Bridge Too Far” from the eponymous book/film.

Operation Market Garden was an attempt to capture several bridges in the German-occupied Netherlands, with the goal of outflanking German defenses and ending the war by Christmas of 1944. The operation began in September, just a few months after D-Day.

Operation Market Garden was ultimately not successful. The Allies were not able to gain control of a key bridge crossing the Rhine River in Arnhem. The focus of Battle of the Bridges is the seven other bridges that were part of Operation Market Garden, particularly the railway and road bridges spanning the Waal River in Nijmegen. The 504th PIR was integral to the successful commandeering of these bridges, displaying many great acts of heroism and bravery along the way.

The amount of research the author put into this book is exhaustive and immediately apparent. What is special about The Battle of the Bridges is the depiction of the events of Operation Market Garden using the actual words of the men who fought the battles. The author ties all of this together into a functional narrative, but most of the content is actual quotes from the servicemen themselves, and it is extremely compelling.

The Battle of the Bridges is a highly-detailed account of what occurred. Particularly harrowing is the daylight river crossing over the Waal River in Nijmegen. This had to be accomplished using small canvas row-boats, in plain sight of the enemy and under constant fire, in an effort to get control of the north ends of the railway and road bridges. The fear these men had to overcome to accomplish this is on display in these pages and it is absolutely oppressive. The bravery they exhibited is equally on display, and it is not possible to adequately express the gratitude these men have earned from every one of us.

I appreciated that Battle of the Bridges includes many photographs of the people and places that constituted Operation Market Garden. It was even more meaningful to be able to put faces to the names of these gallant men. Anyone who may have had family or friends that served in the 504th PIR should own this book. It commemorates them proudly.

Operation Market Garden is, in broad strokes, remembered as a military failure. But that is misleading, and an injustice to the men who took part. These are stories that needed to be told, and I am grateful to the author for providing them.

[Jrobertus · Rating 4 out of 5]

British general Montgomery panned Operation Market Garden as an effort to race through Holland and into Germany to end the war shortly after D-day. In addition to a British armored corp and airborne division, two American airborne divisions, the 82nd and 101st were attached. The whole story is narrated in a Cornelius Ryan book, “A bridge too far”, later made into a big motion picture. This book focuses on one regiment, the 504, of the 82nd. Its job was to secure the Waal river bridges near Nijmegen Holland. You might recall Robert Redford, as Major Julian Cook, paddling across the river in crappy canvas boats, chanting “Hail Mary full of grace” to take the far bridgehead. Well it’s all true. The author has used battle reports from the units, medal citation documents and interviews with veterans to elucidate the stories of individual soldiers in the campaign. It is history on the small, but gallant, scale, not the epic size. I found it a fascinating read and made me appreciate the courage and dedication of the men. Much of the combat is small fire fights over short distances to reach small goals, a hillock, and a barn, who knows. Still each step was part of an effort, often fraught with errors that still summed to a strategy. I was surprised by the randomness of death and injury from shelling, mines, and friendly fire. It added to the sense of waste that permeates war.

[Hans · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book describes the creation of the 504th PIR and its role during Operation Market Garden and the period shortly after it. Obviously the Waal River crossing is an important part of this. The details given of the training and combat operations makes for a book that is hard to put down. The author has done his homework well and supplies the reader with a wealth of interesting and often new information. He interviewed a large number of veterans who supplied him with firsthand information and pictures in order to piece together the actions that took place. Often this is seen from different points of view that makes things even better.

I have read several books about Market Garden, being Dutch this should not come as a surprise, but Frank's book gives the most detailed description of the Waal River crossing I have read sofar. One of the brave para's that was killed in action, shortly after the crossing, was Pfc. Walter J. Muszynski. He earned the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary bravery and his name is being mentioned, together with several of his comrades, on the monument near the Waal River crossing site. Due to my hobby, boardwargaming, I got the chance to write about him in two magazines and a boardwargame of which his unit, and the crossing operation, are part. Reading the action in this book again showed what the price of freedom is and that we owe, to Walter and his comrades, our efforts to protect it.

Great book and highly recommended!

[George Polansky · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of Operation Market Garden in the words of the men who were there. very readable.

[MR CHRISTOPHER · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought provoking

Fascinating thought provoking book, good to know the facts and the people involved in an infamous part of world war II.

[Peter Hoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good background reading to accompany the blockbuster film and the episode in Band of Brothers.

[Steve Smits · Rating 5 out of 5]

I spotted this book on a WWII history blog. It is of particular interest to me as my late father was in the 3rd Battalion of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division. I knew he participated in the Market Garden campaign in Holland in September 1944. This was his third combat jump after Sicily and Salerno. (His involvement was more significant as he was born in Holland and moved to the US at a young age.) As a soldier in the 3rd Battalion he took part in the famous amphibious crossing of the Waal River. His company was in the second wave of crossing this river, an amazing action that is remembered for its audacity.

Dad didn't talk much about this campaign other than to say it was a very fearful thing. He mentioned that the river's water looked like heavy rain falling in it from the bullets striking it. Of the 26 boats in the first wave only eleven returned to pick up the second wave.

What's especially good about this book is the use of first person recollections of the action from the drop on September 17 until the relief of the division in October. The author collected accounts from unit histories and the like, but he interviewed many surviving participants from 2002 to 2013. It is indeed fortunate that he did so as the number of living paratroopers rapidly declined throughout the decade. The maps are quite good, but like all military histories it's difficult to fully imagine the settings if one is not familiar with the terrain. This is why the troopers eyewitness accounts make this story so vivid. One certainly gets a full understanding at how incredibly brutal was this fight and a sense of the aggressiveness and bravery of the regiment.

The author (a young Dutchman) has a second book on the 504th detailing its role in blocking the advance of the Germans in the Battle of the Bulge. I am looking forward to reading it.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Battle of the Bridges covers some of the fiercest fighting during Operation Market-Garden. The 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) of the 82nd Airborne Division captured the Maas River Bridge and the Mass-Waal Canal Bridge on September 17, 1944, the first day of Operation Market-Garden. Then on September 20th, the 504th launched a daylight river crossing to capture the bridges over the Waal River at Nijmegen against fierce opposition. They succeeded at great cost. The 504th continued to hold part of the front line until relieved in November 1944.

Frank Van Lunteren relates the story of the 504th PIR using as much as possible the veterans' own words. He has done extensive research, interviewed as many remaining veterans as possible, and used their letters to home and diaries. He also mined the official records and quoted from the texts of the medal citations. He tells an exciting story which is reasonably well organized around particular events and time periods. However, due to the narrative style he chose, the tale is episodic and sometimes repetitive. He provides little background and the numerous switching of character viewpoints can lead to confusion.

The Battle of the Bridges is great for World War II aficionados who want a first-hand account of the 504th PIR's exploits during Operation Market-Garden. However, if you have not read many accounts of World War II, especially those dealing with airborne operations, the reader will want a campaign map and more detailed background than is provided in this book.