The Last German Victory – Operation Market Garden 1944

The Last German Victory – Operation Market Garden 1944 written by Aaron Bates published by Pen & Sword Books – £20.00 – Hardback – Pages 216

Operation Market Garden – the Allied airborne invasion of German-occupied Holland in September 1944 – is one of the most famous and controversial Allied failures of the Second World War. Many books have been written on the subject seeking to explain the defeat. Historians have generally focused on the mistakes made by senior commanders as they organized the operation. The choice of landing zones has been criticized, as has the structure of the airlift plan. But little attention has been paid to the influence that combat doctrine and training had upon the relative performance of the forces involved. And it is this aspect that Aaron Bates emphasizes in this perceptive, closely argued and absorbing re-evaluation of the battle.

As he describes each phase of the fighting he shows how German training, which gave their units a high degree of independence of action, better equipped them to cope with the confusion created by the surprise Allied attack. In contrast, the British forces were hampered by their rigid and centralized approach which made it more difficult for them to adapt to the chaotic situation.

Aaron Bates’s thought-provoking study sheds fresh light on the course of the fighting around Arnhem and should lead to a deeper understanding of one of the most remarkable episodes in the final stage of the Second World War in western Europe.

This book is about one of those events that as allies we should have won, if there is one part of the war that gets everyone’s attention it is Operation Market Garden, and although there were some good points and acts of British heroism, there was also a large number of mistakes that cost lives. But this looks at events from the opposite view, from the German viewpoint. It’s always a good book when it looks at the whole picture rather than just the one side because so much more is revealed. Now I must admit to really enjoying reading about Operation Market Garden and this is a great book to add to that collection.

What I enjoyed most about the book was the way it was laid out, in that it gives you the events as they happened but then also the events from both sides as to how it played out, the book then looks at a number of the situations that occurred and then eventually comes to a conclusion which I found very balanced. Supporting the book is about 20 black and white photographs with great detailed descriptions that comes with them, a great addition to the book. An excellent piece of work by the author and a book I would highly recommend.