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The Devil's Bridge: The German Victory at Arnhem, 1944
This fascinating title offers a new look at Operation Market Garden and the Arnhem campaign from the perspective of the German forces who defended against the Allied offensive.
In the late summer of 1944, SS-Obergruppenführer Wilhelm “Willi” Bittrich found himself in the Netherlands surveying his II SS Panzer Corps, which was in a poor state having narrowly escaped the defeat in Normandy. He was completely unaware that his command lay directly in the path of a major Allied thrust: the September 17, 1944, launch of the largest airborne and glider operation in the history of warfare. Codenamed Operation Market Garden, it was intended to outflank the German West Wall and “bounce” the Rhine at Arnhem, from where the Allies could strike into the Ruhr, Nazi Germany's industrial heartland. Such a move could have ended the war.
However, Market Garden and the battle for Arnhem were a disaster for the Allies. Put together in little over a week and lacking in flexibility, the operation became an all-or-nothing race against time. The plan to link the airborne divisions by pushing an armored division up a sixty-five-mile corridor was optimistic at best, and the British drop zones were not only too far from Arnhem Bridge, but also directly above two recuperating SS Panzer divisions. This new book explores the operation from the perspective of the Germans as renowned historian Anthony Tucker-Jones examines how they were able to mobilize so swiftly and effectively in spite of depleted troops and limited intelligence.
In the late summer of 1944, SS-Obergruppenführer Wilhelm “Willi” Bittrich found himself in the Netherlands surveying his II SS Panzer Corps, which was in a poor state having narrowly escaped the defeat in Normandy. He was completely unaware that his command lay directly in the path of a major Allied thrust: the September 17, 1944, launch of the largest airborne and glider operation in the history of warfare. Codenamed Operation Market Garden, it was intended to outflank the German West Wall and “bounce” the Rhine at Arnhem, from where the Allies could strike into the Ruhr, Nazi Germany's industrial heartland. Such a move could have ended the war.
However, Market Garden and the battle for Arnhem were a disaster for the Allies. Put together in little over a week and lacking in flexibility, the operation became an all-or-nothing race against time. The plan to link the airborne divisions by pushing an armored division up a sixty-five-mile corridor was optimistic at best, and the British drop zones were not only too far from Arnhem Bridge, but also directly above two recuperating SS Panzer divisions. This new book explores the operation from the perspective of the Germans as renowned historian Anthony Tucker-Jones examines how they were able to mobilize so swiftly and effectively in spite of depleted troops and limited intelligence.
320 pages, Hardcover
Published June 23, 2020
6 people are currently reading
75 people want to read
About the author
Anthony Tucker-Jones
76 books29 followersDefence analyst Anthony Tucker-Jones spent nearly 20 years in the British Intelligence Community before establishing himself as a defence writer and historian: commenting on regional conflicts, counter-terrorism, intelligence and military affairs.
He is a highly experienced expert with particular strengths in editing, feature writing, report writing, communicating to specialists and non-specialists alike.
Anthony Tucker-Jones has been extensively published in numerous titles and on various news websites. He has also written a number of books.
He is widely travelled with assignments in Africa, Europe, the Far East, Latin America and the Middle East. He lived for a time in Bahrain.
Anthony holds an MA in International Relations & Strategic Studies from Lancaster University.
(Taken from official website.)
He is a highly experienced expert with particular strengths in editing, feature writing, report writing, communicating to specialists and non-specialists alike.
Anthony Tucker-Jones has been extensively published in numerous titles and on various news websites. He has also written a number of books.
He is widely travelled with assignments in Africa, Europe, the Far East, Latin America and the Middle East. He lived for a time in Bahrain.
Anthony holds an MA in International Relations & Strategic Studies from Lancaster University.
(Taken from official website.)
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
July 14, 2020
Every battle has at least two sides and Operation Market Garden is no exception. You are not familiar with this battle dreamed up by Marshall Montgomery? Ah, you are in for a treat. Sit down and read A Bridge Too Far by Cornelius Ryan, then watch the movie by the same name. Now you are ready for The Devil's Bridge.
Tucker-Jones mined and scoured the German archives and military records to put together the German side of Operation Market Garden. He opens with the situation in early September when the German Army was in retreat all along the front lines. Antwerp has fallen to the Brits, but they had not gained the river ways leading into Antwerp. Scratch forces were in place at the Albert Canal under General Student. Model had recently moved his headquarters to Arnhem when the Brits and Americans dropped out of the skies and almost nabbed him. All the local forces were turned out, no matter their ability, bodies were needed to stem the Allied tide. And they managed, barely, time and time again. They could not prevail and turn back the British and American forces, but they slowed their advance enough that the Allied armies never got over the Arnhem bridge until 1945. It was a heroic action on both sides, but gained the Allied armies little useful ground and continued the whittling of German forces in the West.
If you are looking for the flip-side of A Bridge Too Far, you have the right book in hand!
Tucker-Jones mined and scoured the German archives and military records to put together the German side of Operation Market Garden. He opens with the situation in early September when the German Army was in retreat all along the front lines. Antwerp has fallen to the Brits, but they had not gained the river ways leading into Antwerp. Scratch forces were in place at the Albert Canal under General Student. Model had recently moved his headquarters to Arnhem when the Brits and Americans dropped out of the skies and almost nabbed him. All the local forces were turned out, no matter their ability, bodies were needed to stem the Allied tide. And they managed, barely, time and time again. They could not prevail and turn back the British and American forces, but they slowed their advance enough that the Allied armies never got over the Arnhem bridge until 1945. It was a heroic action on both sides, but gained the Allied armies little useful ground and continued the whittling of German forces in the West.
If you are looking for the flip-side of A Bridge Too Far, you have the right book in hand!
July 27, 2020
Thank you to Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. From the German perspective, this gives the story of the attack on the bridge at Arnhem in World War Two. The adage that the victors write the histories is sometimes very true. To truly understand what really happened you need to see both sides of history. This book gives that to you.
April 2, 2021
A great insight into market garden from the wehrmacht point of view.
The book has a great writing style and doesn't go into a great deal of detail. Preferring to briefly touching on aspects of the battle, the logistics, troop movements and the general's thoughts and opinions etc. Albeit the author doesn't go into detail but still provides enough information to build a picture of the battle. I enjoyed this style of writing, at times books can go into too much detail.
This is definitely one book i can recommend. I love learning about the war from the wehrmacht point of view.
The book has a great writing style and doesn't go into a great deal of detail. Preferring to briefly touching on aspects of the battle, the logistics, troop movements and the general's thoughts and opinions etc. Albeit the author doesn't go into detail but still provides enough information to build a picture of the battle. I enjoyed this style of writing, at times books can go into too much detail.
This is definitely one book i can recommend. I love learning about the war from the wehrmacht point of view.
April 5, 2020
Overall an interesting look at Operation Market Garden from the Germans point of view. The insights into German planning and response coupled with commentary from actual participants made for a good read and a better understanding into what went wrong from the allied side and what the Germans did in response to the attack. The book also provides more details into the overall war effort on this front than just what occurred at Arnhem.
October 14, 2024
Following their success in Normandy on D Day the Allies devised Operation Market Garden. This was an audacious plan to drive deep into the Netherlands, to Arnhem,and from there to follow the Rhine to the Ruhr valley, the industrial heartland of Nazi Germany.
If you only read one book about Operation Market Garden, this isn't it. That book would a "A Bridge Too Far" by Cornelius Ryan. But this is not a criticism of this book.
All authors must make assumptions about readers level of knowledge about the subject they're writing about. On a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is no knowledge at all and 10 is advanced knowledge "A Bridge Too Far" requires a knowledge level of 2 (the movie based on the book required a 1). This book required a 6, at least. For example do you know the difference between a parachute corps, a parachute division, a parachute battalion and a parachute regiment? The author does but I don't. Lacking that knowledge didn't prevent me from understanding the book but having that knowledge, and a lot more besides, would have made the read a lot easier. As it was I found it tough sledding. The people and place names come thick and fast and having some previously knowledge of the battle, the geography and the forces involved would have been a big help.
Having said that this book is unique in that it tells the story from the German side - a force left reeling by the invasion of Normandy, beleaguered by shortages of hardware and properly trained personnel. The allies thought, at the time, that the Nazis left in Holland were all old men and teenagers. To some extent they may have been right but the Germans were masterful in scraping together new divisions and marshaling what forces they did have to apply to the task at hand and came out victorious at Arnhem. And Tucker-Jones goes into this juggling of resources in great detail.
He also, largely, relates the battles from the point of view of the participants on the battlefield giving us a close up look at the destruction of soldiers, civilians, property and military hardware involved.Quite the read.
I can heartily recommend this book but you require a bit of background knowledge to fully appreciate it.
If you only read one book about Operation Market Garden, this isn't it. That book would a "A Bridge Too Far" by Cornelius Ryan. But this is not a criticism of this book.
All authors must make assumptions about readers level of knowledge about the subject they're writing about. On a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 is no knowledge at all and 10 is advanced knowledge "A Bridge Too Far" requires a knowledge level of 2 (the movie based on the book required a 1). This book required a 6, at least. For example do you know the difference between a parachute corps, a parachute division, a parachute battalion and a parachute regiment? The author does but I don't. Lacking that knowledge didn't prevent me from understanding the book but having that knowledge, and a lot more besides, would have made the read a lot easier. As it was I found it tough sledding. The people and place names come thick and fast and having some previously knowledge of the battle, the geography and the forces involved would have been a big help.
Having said that this book is unique in that it tells the story from the German side - a force left reeling by the invasion of Normandy, beleaguered by shortages of hardware and properly trained personnel. The allies thought, at the time, that the Nazis left in Holland were all old men and teenagers. To some extent they may have been right but the Germans were masterful in scraping together new divisions and marshaling what forces they did have to apply to the task at hand and came out victorious at Arnhem. And Tucker-Jones goes into this juggling of resources in great detail.
He also, largely, relates the battles from the point of view of the participants on the battlefield giving us a close up look at the destruction of soldiers, civilians, property and military hardware involved.Quite the read.
I can heartily recommend this book but you require a bit of background knowledge to fully appreciate it.
October 17, 2023
POPKulturowy Kociołek:
https://popkulturowykociolek.pl/most-...
Alianci (szczególnie Brytyjczycy) postrzegają wydarzenia dziejące się w 1944 roku jako heroiczną próbę przyspieszenia upadku Niemiec i tym samym zakończenia II Wojny Światowej. Za niepowodzenie misji od samego początku starali się oni obarczyć winą innych (chociażby generał Sosabowski). Dopiero od niedawna zmieniła się perspektywa oceny tej operacji, a historycy coraz częściej pozwalają sobie na krytykę mocno nierealistycznych założeń misji. Tak właśnie jest w przypadku Anthony’ego Tuckera-Jonesa i jego książki Most diabła. Arnhem 1944.
Autor nie kwestionuje jednak ogólnych założeń operacji i dzielności żołnierzy (różnych narodowości), którzy w poświęcili swoje życie. Oferuje jednak zupełnie inne zrozumienie tego ważnego wydarzenia. Opierając się na licznych źródłach pierwotnych obu stron, pozwala on czytelnikowi na pełniejsze poznanie wydarzeń i wyciągnięcie z nich własnych wniosków.
Publikacja nie skupia się tylko i wyłącznie na tytułowym Arnhem. W książce znajdziemy również obszerne przedstawienie (planowanie i realizacja) całej Operacji Market Garden. Autor szczegółowo omawia błędy popełniane przez siły alianckie. Opisuje słabą komunikację, brak koordynacji i niechęć generałów do przystosowania się do zmieniających się warunków, co ostatecznie doprowadziło do ich porażki. Tucker-Jones znakomicie opisuje również przygotowania, strategię i taktykę sił niemieckich. Czytelnicy mogą zobaczyć, jak Niemcom udało się wykorzystać słabości sił alianckich i wykorzystać teren na swoją korzyść, popełniając przy tym również sporo błędów (których Alianci nie wykorzystali).
Pomimo dogłębnej analizy wydarzeń książka jest bardzo przystępna zarówno dla wielkich miłośników historii, jak i zwykłych czytelników. Tucker-Jones unika przetłaczania czytelnika nadmiarem techniczno-wojskowego żargonu (takowy jednak się pojawia), a jego styl pisania jest bardzo jasny i zwięzły, co ułatwia śledzenie rozwoju wydarzeń....
https://popkulturowykociolek.pl/most-...
Alianci (szczególnie Brytyjczycy) postrzegają wydarzenia dziejące się w 1944 roku jako heroiczną próbę przyspieszenia upadku Niemiec i tym samym zakończenia II Wojny Światowej. Za niepowodzenie misji od samego początku starali się oni obarczyć winą innych (chociażby generał Sosabowski). Dopiero od niedawna zmieniła się perspektywa oceny tej operacji, a historycy coraz częściej pozwalają sobie na krytykę mocno nierealistycznych założeń misji. Tak właśnie jest w przypadku Anthony’ego Tuckera-Jonesa i jego książki Most diabła. Arnhem 1944.
Autor nie kwestionuje jednak ogólnych założeń operacji i dzielności żołnierzy (różnych narodowości), którzy w poświęcili swoje życie. Oferuje jednak zupełnie inne zrozumienie tego ważnego wydarzenia. Opierając się na licznych źródłach pierwotnych obu stron, pozwala on czytelnikowi na pełniejsze poznanie wydarzeń i wyciągnięcie z nich własnych wniosków.
Publikacja nie skupia się tylko i wyłącznie na tytułowym Arnhem. W książce znajdziemy również obszerne przedstawienie (planowanie i realizacja) całej Operacji Market Garden. Autor szczegółowo omawia błędy popełniane przez siły alianckie. Opisuje słabą komunikację, brak koordynacji i niechęć generałów do przystosowania się do zmieniających się warunków, co ostatecznie doprowadziło do ich porażki. Tucker-Jones znakomicie opisuje również przygotowania, strategię i taktykę sił niemieckich. Czytelnicy mogą zobaczyć, jak Niemcom udało się wykorzystać słabości sił alianckich i wykorzystać teren na swoją korzyść, popełniając przy tym również sporo błędów (których Alianci nie wykorzystali).
Pomimo dogłębnej analizy wydarzeń książka jest bardzo przystępna zarówno dla wielkich miłośników historii, jak i zwykłych czytelników. Tucker-Jones unika przetłaczania czytelnika nadmiarem techniczno-wojskowego żargonu (takowy jednak się pojawia), a jego styl pisania jest bardzo jasny i zwięzły, co ułatwia śledzenie rozwoju wydarzeń....
July 11, 2025
The Devil’s Bridge: The German Victory at Arnhem, 1944, by Anthony Tucker Jones, provides a detailed discussion of the German response to Operation Market Garden at the tactical and operational levels of war. Tucker-Jones’s effort is a welcome addition to the body of work on the campaign written in English, which skews heavily toward the Allied perspective.
Tucker Jones focuses on how the German army rapidly reconstituted after the Normandy campaign and subsequent withdrawal from France into the Low Countries, making good losses of combat formations through the creation of ad-hoc battlegroups comprised of survivors of other units, newly conscripted troops, and men drawn from garrison duty. The high command supplemented these forces with personnel from the German Luftwaffe (air force) who had few aircraft left to maintain, service, or operate after five years of combat. He goes on to describe how German leadership instilled in their formations the German doctrinal penchant for rapid, immediate counterattacks when threatened, to disrupt the enemy’s offensive tempo and regain lost ground. The unexpected tenacity of the German defense significantly disrupted the Allied timetable for Market Garden, ultimately contributing to its operational failure.
The book features an excellent selection of photos and maps that supplement the narrative; however, readers will derive full enjoyment from the book if they have some familiarity with military doctrine and organization. It is not an overview of the campaign for the generalist. It succeeds superbly as an account of the German response to the Allied bid to jump the Rhine and end the war in Europe before the end of 1944.
Tucker Jones focuses on how the German army rapidly reconstituted after the Normandy campaign and subsequent withdrawal from France into the Low Countries, making good losses of combat formations through the creation of ad-hoc battlegroups comprised of survivors of other units, newly conscripted troops, and men drawn from garrison duty. The high command supplemented these forces with personnel from the German Luftwaffe (air force) who had few aircraft left to maintain, service, or operate after five years of combat. He goes on to describe how German leadership instilled in their formations the German doctrinal penchant for rapid, immediate counterattacks when threatened, to disrupt the enemy’s offensive tempo and regain lost ground. The unexpected tenacity of the German defense significantly disrupted the Allied timetable for Market Garden, ultimately contributing to its operational failure.
The book features an excellent selection of photos and maps that supplement the narrative; however, readers will derive full enjoyment from the book if they have some familiarity with military doctrine and organization. It is not an overview of the campaign for the generalist. It succeeds superbly as an account of the German response to the Allied bid to jump the Rhine and end the war in Europe before the end of 1944.
August 13, 2020
Insightful new perspective on Market Garden
I was very impressed with the thoroughness the author brings to his subject. The german perspective of Market Garden was highly interesting and brought together in a well done narrative. Highly recommend to students of Market Garden.
I was very impressed with the thoroughness the author brings to his subject. The german perspective of Market Garden was highly interesting and brought together in a well done narrative. Highly recommend to students of Market Garden.
July 25, 2025
An excellent view-from-the-other-side reference book.
Fascinating to see how the Germans reacted to Operation Market Garden with in-depth analysis of the forces they utilised.
The book also describes the aftermath of the Arnhem engagement which was particularly interesting to me too.
Fascinating to see how the Germans reacted to Operation Market Garden with in-depth analysis of the forces they utilised.
The book also describes the aftermath of the Arnhem engagement which was particularly interesting to me too.
March 22, 2024
Listened to audiobook, so it is a bit harder to follow along. The book itself feels a bit unstructured and messy in presenting the information. Quite nice, but I think it can be 20% shorter.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews