The Waffen SS at Arnhem (Paperback)
Rare Photographs from Wartime Archives
Imprint: Pen & Sword Military
Pages: 112
ISBN: 9781399012942
Published: 14th January 2022
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The 1944 Arnhem airborne operation, immortalized by the film A Bridge Too Far, will forever be remembered as a great British feat of arms. British and Polish paratroopers displayed outstanding courage and tenacity in a desperate last stand situation. And yet, as this book describes, the plan was fatally flawed as the 9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisions were recuperating and concealed nearby. What followed was a bloody battle of attrition the result of which was arguably inevitable.
Drawing on rare and unpublished photographs, this Images of War series work reveals the historical combat record of the Hohenstaufen and Frundsberg divisions. It describes the intensity of the fighting in and around Arnhem between these elite SS and supporting units against a lightly armed yet equally determined enemy. In spite of the war being only months away from its end and the defeat increasingly certain, the SS soldier remained fanatically motivated.
This superbly illustrated book with its well-researched text and full captions captures the drama of that historic battle for a bridge over the Rhine.
In September 1944, units of the Waffen-SS position itself around Arnhem, in Netherlands to protect the bridge over the Rhine. A British and Amerian military thrust aimed to capture the bridge and roll on into Germany. The Allied intension was to seize the bridge, many miles behind German lines, to stop it being demolished by retreating German troops.
Richard Gough - Historian, writer, author of the Escape from Singapore, The jungle was Red, Outpost of the Empire, SOE Singapore 1941-42. Waiting publication Tony Poe, CIA Paramilitary in SE Asia.
Expecting little resistance, more than 6000 British and Polish little armed airborne troops dropped over the fields close to the bridge.
Thet were met by surprised Waffen-SS units, seasoned soldiers who had fought on the eastern front against the
Russian's sprinkled with recently trained troops lacking combat experience. The allied mission to seize the bridge was a failiare. The operation was called 'Market Garden, but it became better known as 'The bridge to far'.
Ian Baxter's 'The Waffen-SS at Arnhem' is part of 'Images of War' series and full of rare photographs' from wartime archives, which one can linger over.
"The 146 black and white photos illustrate the SS troops, delighting uniform buffs and dioramists."
Historical Miniatures Gaming Society, May 2022
"You will also gain a much better understanding of the British and Allied efforts from reading the brief written narratives which precedes each chapter and accompany the photographs."
IPMS/USA, May 2022
The true story of A Bridge Too Far - latest in Pen and Swords' Images of War series, which is without parallel in military history publishing. Amazing...
Books Monthly
This should prove a particularly useful reference on uniform and the camouflage used.
Armorama
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"...a neat photo album about this battle"
AMPS Indianapolis
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This book follows the story of one of WW2’s most written about missions, most will remember the film A Bridge Too Far which helped convey the message and mistakes that occurred during this operation. I mean you have to feel fro the British and Polish troops involved in what they then had to face, but you can also imagine what the Germans thought of what was happening. I really enjoyed this particular book because it did focus mostly on the fighting and the timeline of the operation. Sometimes these books can go a bit technical with facts, which is good, but it was just nice to have a really good read. Another good book for the Images of War series.
UK Historian
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Review as featured in
History of War
Overall, this is a very interesting book to read, and the images are wonderful. The saying “images speak a thousand words” is very true for this volume and if period images are of interest, then this book will be of exceptional value to you. The authors have done a good service to the history of the Waffen-SS at Arnhem, and they have produced a good tome based on their research.
Dr Stuart C Blank, Military Archive Research
This book is of interest for all those that are interested in Military History as well as those with an interest in the 20th Century and the wars the world had to face. It is an excellent book with some fabulous pictures. As a historian I can say this is an excellent resource, especially when teaching not only about this battle but tactics and intelligence.
GoodReads, Paul Diggett
Excellent book highly recommend it.
5 stars
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Two Ian Baxter books arrived on the review desk; ‘The Waffen-SS in Normandy’ and ‘The Waffen-SS at Arnhem’. Both follow the expected formula of delivering images that are focused on the soldiers, their weaponry and the battle context and supported by a good narrative history and interpretation. I tend to use this format to cross reference sources in other books (for example the excellent ‘The Last German Victory’ by Aaron Bates) where the images add real value in supporting (or otherwise) the opinion or insight being offered. Two good books for the shelf.
Michael McCarthy
Michael McCarthy. Battlefield Guide
About Ian Baxter
Ian Baxter is a much-published author and photographic collector whose books draw an increasing following. Among his many previous titles in the Images of War Series are Hitler’s Boy Soldiers, Nazi Concentration Camp Commandants, The Ghettos of Nazi Occupied Poland, German Army on the Eastern Front – The Advance, German Army on the Eastern Front – The Retreat, The Crushing of Army Group (North) and the SS Waffen Division series including SS Leibstandarte Division, SS Totenkopf Division At War, Waffen SS of the Baltic States, Waffen SS at Arnhem and Waffen SS in the Ardennes. He lives near Chelmsford, Essex.