These two as well are an excellent account of the battle as john says some of the best researched books out there retake arnhem bridge. As this first day of marketgarden, september 17, ended all the german frustrations now focused on a single obstinate mancolonel john frost at the arnhem bridge. He was the loader of a panzer iii tank, which took part in the attacks on the british positions at the north end of the rhine bridge at arnhem. Walter harzer september 29, 1912 may 29, 1982 was a german ss commander during the nazi era.
The germans launch an attack across the arnhem bridge in an attempt to retake the city. Retake arnhem bridge is based on the numerous photographs taken by karlheinz kracht, who in 1944 was at a tank training school in germany but had been warned that his unit would be required to form an adhoc kampfgruppe if circumstances warranted. Regarding books, there is a new release from the arnhem bridge volumes, retake arnhem, incase there is interest let me know. A significant portion of the book flows from the impressive collection of photographs snapped by karlheinz kracht before and during the battle. Crossing the full rhine before it splits into its delta branches at wesel would have had the strategic result that montgomery was pushing for, and in fact, that is what he did some six months later.
Retake arnhem bridge by bob gerrtisen, 9789081270335, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. As we are sure you are aware many books have been written about arnhem and it would be. Retake arnheim bridge is based on a series of published and unpublished photos. Among the allies and the dutch people there was a feeling that the. A bridge too far is a 1977 world war ii film directed by richard attenborough, adapted by william goldman from the bestselling 1974 book of the same name by cornelius ryan the longest day. The battle of nijmegen or liberation of nijmegen occurred in the netherlands from 17 to 20 september 1944, as part of operation market garden during world war ii. Wij zijn een eigentijdse en toegankelijke boekhandel met een passie voor boeken. He would have to retake the arnhem bridge and open the highway route to nijmegen. Karlheinz kracht was a 19 year old german corporal, who first saw action during the battle of arnhem.
Unlike the majority of books on the topic, however, retake arnhem bridge focuses on the german side of the story, in particular the operations of kampfgruppe knaust. An illustrated history of kampfgruppe knaust, septemberoctober 1944. Scott is a former signal officer in the australian army, a graduate of australias sandhurst equivalent who i have known for a number of years. As the subtitle suggests, it is a photo study of the german soldier fighting in and around arnhem, september 1944 its more of a picture book composed of known and unknown german photographs of eight german war photographers. Retake arnhem bridge kampfgruppe knaust german ww2 third reich history r. After the war, harzer became active in hiag, a lobby group established by senior waffenss men in. Rarely seen photos of battle of arnhem reveal terrifying.
The only book with much information on pb108 appears to be steve zalogas the siegfried line 194445 osprey. Retake arnhem bridge an illustrated history of kampfgruppe knaust. Its informative, the pictures chosen were beautiful, and some trivia sort of items were mixed in, such as bridges in movies, and record braking bridges. We use cookies to give you the best possible experience. Scott is arguably the foremost expert on german aspects of the battle of arnhem and this booklet follows a number of highly acclaimed and much sought after publications, including retake arnhem bridge and arnhem. An illustrated history of kampfgruppe knaust, september october. He commanded the ss division hohenstaufen and ss polizei division. Due out 19th feb 2010 retake arnhem bridge an illustrated history of the kampfegruppe knaust covers their role in retaking arnhem bridge in september 1944 and then their fightnig on the island till october about 200 photos 170 ish pages if anyone wants more details please pm me. In the film and book a bridge too far you might be forgiven for thinking that 30 corps dragged their feet however when you delve into the accounts and records you can see why the route from eindhoven to arnhem is called the the devils highway. Scott revells new book, retake arnhem bridge, was published last month by robert n.
It then covers kampfgruppe knausts actions to retake the rijn bridge. British wwii army map s hertogenbosch nijmegen airborne op market g. The road to nijmegen needed to be cleared of enemy obstacles as. Im enjoying this book very much in addition to the obvious focus on arnhem, there is an interesting section on the subsequent fighting in the betuwe the area between arnhem and nijmegen. Arnhem 1944 operation market garden nijmegen bridge too far medal citati. Again, many very good photos, including a good selection of knockedout panzers including tiger is. An illustrated history of the kampfgruppe knaust september to october 1944 arnhem, a few vital hours. It was involved in destroying the british stronghold at arnhem bridge and stopping the allied advance in the betuwe during operation market garden. Hi do you have any plans to reprint retake arnhem bridge or a. This book is very graphically appealing, but to actually read this book is cumbersome and at times uncomfortable due to its size.
So in a nutshellkershaws book provides a great foundation but these new books about german units retake arnhem bridge, a few vital hours, fighting the british at arnhem take it to the next level. Kampfraum arnheim is not another book to tell you the battle of arnhem in september 1944. Operation market garden was a failed world war ii military operation fought in the netherlands from 17 to 25 september 1944. A few general accounts, unit histories and personal accounts. Retake arnheim bridge is based on a series of published and unpublished photos taken by a member, gefreiter kracht, of the panzer. It boasts an allstar cast that includes james caan, michael caine, sean connery, edward fox, elliott gould. As we are sure you are aware many books have been written about arnhem and it would. My new book, a bloody week, looks at the irish at arnhem. This book covers the personal history of a member of kampfgruppe knaust, mr karlheinz kaebel krachtand his personal photos during the epic battle around arnhem bridge in september 1944.
It was the brainchild of field marshal sir bernard law montgomery and strongly supported by winston churchill and franklin roosevelt. An illustrated history of the kampfgruppe knaust september to october 1944 by gerrtisen, bob and a great selection of related books. We found 85 books set in arnhem and 3 others set nearby. The book ends with kampfgruppe knaust being disbanded and does not cover the fighting in the area after the dissolution of kampfgruppe knaust. Retake arnhem bridge by bob gerritsen and scott revell. Discover book depositorys huge selection of scott revell books online. Recommended books the books mentioned on this page are split into three groups of books.
The allies primary goal was to capture the two bridges over the waal river at. Bob gerritsen is the author of retake arnhem bridge an illustrated history of kampfgruppe knaust septemberoctober 1944 0. Publisher of nonfiction books, modern history, specialized in the battle of. Operation market garden was a combination of two plans. The german requirement to retake the arnhem road bridge was urgent and critically important as it was part of the main supply route for the defence of nijmegen. I use the information they share with me, combined with primary sources, to complete my books. We are delighted to announce that this book will be available to purchase from our website from next week. Retake arnhem bridge an illustrated history of kampfgruppe knaust, sept oct. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.
Harmel knew there was only one solution to the problem. Retake arnhem bridge written by gerritsen, bob revell, scott published by r. Just finished reading the battle of arnhem by cornelis bauer. An illustrated history of kampfgruppe knaust, septemberoctober. Like many soldiers who took photos that chronicled the events that took place during this battle, they were saved and placed in a photo album. For me it was eye opening in that most if not all of the books ive read about market garden were by americans and the focus was of course mainly on nijmegan and eindhoven andthe 82nd and 101st, with an aside to 30 corps and the british paras. Frosts 700 men did reach their position at arnhem bridge, but the help expected within two days from the tanks. The movie actually used the ijssel bridge at deventer as the arnhem bridge had too much traffic to be inconvenienced by the making of the movie. Bottom photo is the pzkpfw iii after crossing the bridge and entered the betuwe dutch which is 10 miles of flat boggy polder land between the rhine river at arnhem and the waal river at nijmegen. Top photo is a panzerkompanie mielke pzkpfw iii approaching the arnhem bridge on the north ramp. The book then follows kracht through his time with the rad, training in his panzer regiment and deployment to arnhem as part of kampfgruppe knaust. Of course it would have been nice to include this grouping in my previous book, retake arnhem bridge, however we are still fortunate to view them here on this site. Operation market was an airborne assault against the dutch towns of eindhoven, nijmegen, and arnhem. Cornelius ryans a bridge too far gives an account of operation market garden, a failed allied attempt to break through german lines at arnhem in the.
A bridge too far is cornelius ryans masterly chronicle of the battle of arnhem, which marshalled the greatest armada of troopcarrying aircraft ever assembled and cost the allies nearly twice as many casualties as dday. Friedrichaugust bartling who was wounded during the battle but only after being decorated with a few awards. One of the men enlisted in this unit was karlheinz kracht, who took a photo camera with him into battle. This book has merits the description of localised fighting, particularly around arnhem, the acknowledgement of the bravery of the the average fighting man, the highlighting of the outstanding courage of the dutch, the effort to give some of the german perspective and the positive attempt to rehabilate the unfortunate and wrongly maligned sosabowski are all creditable insights. The book then covers the british surrender there and subsequent fighting in the butuwe area. A rapid advance from nijmegen to arnhem to retake the bridge, was blocked.