It never snows in September by Robert Kershaw

[Bootie]

Bought this book recently on my way back from Spain and have just started it. It is the German perspective of Market Garden and so far... only 3 chapters in it is rivetting.

It highlights the amazing power of German reorganisation as they pulled stragglers rushing from France and formed them into 'Kampfgruppes'.... units strong enough to hold their lines against the advancing allies!!

 

[Breakthrough]

Best Market-Garden book Ive ever read.. His approach is that it wasnt so much what the Allies did wrong but what the Germans did right.. Great book about Market-Garden from the German side..

 

[Rico]

I agree -- an awesome book -- illustrates an amazing feat of speed and improvisation that defeated Market Garden -- ruthless at times as many cobbled together units were used as basically canon fodder. What it also implodes is the myth of the two elite SS Pz Divisions that beat the Paras at Arnhem... neither had much more than a battalion's worth of proper infantry, and a LOT of their boots on the ground initially were dismounted AT gunners, AA gunners, vehicle crews organised into quick reaction forces -- but it was just enough. What is amazing is the contrast of German's speed of decision making and speed of movement, often on foot or bicycle -- sometimes faster than Allied motorised units and the British paras at Arnhem positively sauntered along, while their opponents sprinted in a metaphoric sense to get into position to stop them

What's also interesting was how differently the German command saw the battle... while most Allied accounts focus a lot on the Arnhem fighting, for the Germans the Nijmwegen bridge was main focus and key to the battle.... briliant book and really impressive piece of research and great read!

 

[Aragorn2010]

It is indeed a very impressive book. I noticed that Kershaw also wrote a book on D-Day. Is it as good as this one?

 

[Cargol]

Just finished it, great book.
By reading it one can realise why Germans although in desperate situation manage to prolong the war for
so long.It also break the myth of the Market-Garden failure,that is if the British were dropped closer to Arnhem they would have managed to keep the Arnhem bridge and finally
link up with XXX Corps.