Casemate Publishing

Magnificent Disaster The Failure of the Market Garden, The Arnhem Operation, September 1944

by  David Bennett

Reviewed By  Ned Ricks, IPMS #36013

MSRP: $32.95 ISBN: 978-1-932033-85-4 www.casematepublishing.com Modeling leads us to gain lots of new insights. To get the correct scale representation on plastic posing as shiny metal, flat metal, fabric, glass or rubber, we learn about color, texture and shading. We pick up arcane skills such as using tiny masking media, multiple adhesives and minute abrasives. In the process of seeking the right representations for our miniatures, we also become history students. A Magnificent Disaster brings previously overlooked viewpoints of a battle I thought I knew a lot about. I didn't. After Normandy, the most spectacular Allied offensive of World War II was Operation Market Garden, which saw three divisions of paratroopers dropped behind German lines, to be joined by massive armored columns breaking through the front. The ultimate object was to seize a crossing over the Rhine to outflank the heartland of the Third Reich and force a quick end to the war. The Operation utterly failed, of course, as the 1st British Airborne was practically wiped out, the American 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions became tied down in vicious combat for months, and the vaunted armored columns were foiled at every turn by improvisational German defenses. In many circles the battle has become known as "Hitler's last victory." In this book, Professor Bennett puts forward a balanced account of the British, American, Polish, Canadian and German actions, as well as the strategic background of the Operation in a different way. He shows, for example, that rather than a bridgehead over the Rhine, Montgomery's ultimate aim was to flank the Ruhr industrial area from the north. (Ike's "wide front" was not to Monty's liking.) The book also deals with the key role of all three Corps of British Second Army, not just Horrocks' central XXX Corps. For the first time, we learn the dramatic, untold story of how a single company of Canadian engineers achieved the evacuation of 1st Airborne's survivors back across the Rhine when all other efforts had failed. In the photos, these heroes who performed such incredible feats look like any other soldiers of the era, but they stepped up when the circumstances called on them Also revealed is the scandal of how Polish General Sosabowski was humiliated, insulted and dismissed by the mendacious hostility of the British military authorities. And the book shows, too, how the Operation would have failed at the outset but for the brilliant soldiery of the two American airborne divisions who overcame a variety of odds to achieve their objectives. Respectfully nodding to "A Bridge Too Far" and other excellent works on Market Garden, the author has interviewed survivors, walked the ground, and performed prodigious archival research to increase our understanding of the battle. From the actions of the lowliest soldier to the highest commander, Allied and German, the Operation develops in highly readable style, with the author's expert analysis unveiling new insights at every step. This is not a coffee table picture book, but a historical work of research of real people's stories. For those of us who dig for any new aspect that can set our work apart form other in accurately portraying past extraordinary actions, there are numerous vignettes that make this a worthwhile read. This is a book for that history student that modeling calls up in you. The book is 6 x 9 inches, 352 pages, 16 pages of black & white photos, and maps. Thanks to Casemate Publishing and Book Distributors, LLC, ( www.casematepublishing.com ) for providing the sample copy. The cover price is $32.95 USD.

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