The Build Up to the Beginning

Book excerpt: This is the first volume of a most impressive tribute and accurate four part work that uniquely presents a complete account of the air operations throughout Market-Garden in September 1944 when British, US and Polish airborne troops made a gallant attempt to seize and hold bridges across the Lower Rhine in Holland as a springboard for crossing into Germany. Market, the aerial side of the proceedings, was at the time the largest airborne operation in history. In this unprecedented and insightful account, the exploits of the First Allied Airborne Army are relayed in full detail; supplemented with historical notes regarding the ground operations, this is sure to offer an unparalleled account of the events as they unfolded in the skies above Holland.If successful, the war could be over by Christmas. What could go wrong? That it did and on such a massive scale is the underlying theme throughout this series. The action was at times very confused, so a narrative of events contained in sixteen timelines at intervals throughout this series cuts through the fog of battle to explain the situation from its over-optimistic beginning to the tragic conclusion.