"On September 17, 1944, over 2,000 transport aircraft lifted off from airfields across England and set a course for Holland. They were the first wave of the largest airborne operation in history, code-named Operation Market Garden. Their task was to open a sixty-mile corridor for Allied ground forces from the Belgian border to Arnhem on the Lower Rhine. Nine days later, the remnants of the British 1st Airborne Division were evacuated from a precarious foothold seven miles west of Arnhem, having failed utterly. William Buckingham's ... account of this infamous military operation, from conception to costly failure"--P. [4] of cover.

Originally published as: Arnhem, 1944 : a reappraisal. Stroud, Gloucestershire : Tempus, 2002. Originally published: 2002.

From parachute raiders to an arm of service -- The 1st Airborne Division, patronage and one-size-fits-all command philosophy -- Arrogant, hindered by parachute machismo and at the back of the queue for resources -- Plagiarized, bullied and hijacked -- Change at the top, hurry up and wait at the bottom -- From comet to market -- Fatally flawed by misconceptions, ignorance and dogma -- Neither old men on bicycles nor elite SS Panzers -- The first lift in the corridor -- The landings and immediate German reactions at Arnhem -- Courageous but too slow and too little -- The battle in the corridor -- So near but so far -- The second lift at Arnhem -- Ramming a brick wall -- The fight for the North end of the Arnhem Road Bridge -- 1st Airborne at bay -- The Poles and the island -- The last act -- The aftermath and reflections.