Download or read book The Battle of the Bridges written by Frank van Lunteren and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2014-06-19 with total page 366 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Operation Market Garden has been recorded as a complete Allied failure in World War II, an overreach that resulted in an entire airborne division being destroyed at its apex. However, within that operation were episodes of heroism that still remain unsung. On September, 17, 1944, the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, floated down across the Dutch countryside, in the midst of German forces, and proceeded to fight their way to vital bridges to enable the Allied offensive to go forward. The 101st Airborne was behind them; the British 1st Airbourne was far advanced. In the 82ndÕs sector the crucial conduits needed to be seized. The Germans knew the importance of the bridge over the Waal River at Nijmegen as well as James Gavin and his 82nd troopers did. Thus began a desperate fight for the Americans to seize it, no matter what the cost. The Germans would not give, however, and fought tenaciously in the town and fortified the bridge. On September 20 Gavin turned his paratroopers into sailors and conducted a deadly daylight amphibious assault in small plywood and canvas craft across the Waal River to secure the north end of the highway bridge in Nijmegen. German machine guns and mortars boiled the water on the crossing, but somehow a number of paratroopers made it to the far bank. Their ferocity thence rolled up the German defenses, and by the end of day the bridge had fallen. This book draws on a plethora of previously unpublished sources to shed new light on the exploits of the ÒDevils in Baggy PantsÓ by Dutch author and historian Frank van Lunteren. A native of ArnhemÑthe site of ÒThe Bridge too FarÓÑthe author draws on nearly 130 interviews he personally conducted with veterans of the 504th, plus Dutch civilians and British and German soldiers, who here tell their story for the first time.
Download or read book Arnhem written by Antony Beevor and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2018-05-17 with total page 480 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Sunday Times #1 Bestseller The great airborne battle for the bridges in 1944 by Britain's Number One bestselling historian and author of the classic Stalingrad 'Our greatest chronicler of the Second World War . . . his fans will love it' - Robert Fox, Evening Standard 'The eye for telling detail which we have come to expect from Antony Beevor. . . this time, though, he turns his brilliance as a military historian to a subject not just of defeat, but dunderhead stupidity' Daily Mail On 17 September 1944, General Kurt Student, the founder of Nazi Germany's parachute forces, heard the growing roar of aeroplane engines. He went out on to his balcony above the flat landscape of southern Holland to watch the air armada of Dakotas and gliders carrying the British 1st Airborne and the American 101st and 82nd Airborne divisions. He gazed up in envy at this massive demonstration of paratroop power. Operation Market Garden, the plan to end the war by capturing the bridges leading to the Lower Rhine and beyond, was a bold concept: the Americans thought it unusually bold for Field Marshal Montgomery. But could it ever have worked? The cost of failure was horrendous, above all for the Dutch, who risked everything to help. German reprisals were pitiless and cruel, and lasted until the end of the war. The British fascination with heroic failure has clouded the story of Arnhem in myths. Antony Beevor, using often overlooked sources from Dutch, British, American, Polish and German archives, has reconstructed the terrible reality of the fighting, which General Student himself called 'The Last German Victory'. Yet this book, written in Beevor's inimitable and gripping narrative style, is about much more than a single, dramatic battle. It looks into the very heart of war. 'In Beevor's hands, Arnhem becomes a study of national character' - Ben Macintyre, The Times 'Superb book, tirelessly researched and beautifully written' - Saul David, Daily Telegraph 'Complete mastery of both the story and the sources' - Keith Lowe, Literary Review 'Another masterwork from the most feted military historian of our time' - Jay Elwes, Prospect Magazine 'The analysis he has produced of the disaster is forensic' - Giles Milton, Sunday Times 'He is a master of his craft . . . we have here a definitive account' - Piers Paul Read, The Tablet
Download or read book Pegasus Bridge written by Stephen E. Ambrose and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2013-04-23 with total page 218 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The acclaimed WWII historian’s “illuminating account of . . . an operation as strategically important as any fought on D-Day” (The New York Times Book Review). In the early morning hours of June 6, 1944, a small detachment of British airborne troops stormed the German defense forces and paved the way for the Allied invasion of Europe. Pegasus Bridge was the first engagement of D-Day, the turning point of World War II. It was a mission so crucial that, had it been unsuccessful, the entire Normandy invasion might have failed. In Pegasus Bridge, Stephen Ambrose draws on original interviews with British, German, and French survivors to present a thrilling, ground-level view of the battle. Ambrose traces each step of the preparations over many months to the minute-by-minute excitement of the hand-to-hand confrontations on the bridge. This is a story of heroism and cowardice, kindness and brutality—the stuff of all great adventures.
Download or read book The War of the Fists written by Robert Charles Davis and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1994 with total page 242 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The War of the Fists" is a study of 17th-century worker culture in the city of Venice, focusing on the mock battles, or "battagliole", which the town's two popular factions waged on public bridges. Their importance in the city's plebeian life makes bridge battles an extremely valuable point of entry for exploring structures of Venetian popular culture, a task which Robert Davis attempts at several levels.
Download or read book The Battle of the Bridges written by Frank van Lunteren and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2014-12-16 with total page 567 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “On these pages, the human story comes to life, sometimes tragic, sometimes amusing, but always poignant and compelling” (John C. McManus, author of Fire and Fortitude). Operation Market Garden has been recorded as a complete Allied failure in World War II, an overreach that resulted in an entire airborne division being destroyed at its apex. However, within that operation were episodes of heroism that still remain unsung. On September, 17, 1944, the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, floated down across the Dutch countryside, in the midst of German forces, and proceeded to fight their way to vital bridges to enable the Allied offensive to go forward. The 101st Airborne was behind them; the British 1st Airborne was far advanced. In the 82nd’s sector, the crucial conduits needed to be seized. The Germans were as aware of the importance of the bridge over the Waal River at Nijmegen as James Gavin and his 82nd troopers were. Thus began a desperate fight for the Americans to seize it, no matter what the cost. The Germans would not give up, however, and fought tenaciously in the town and fortified the bridge. On September 20, Gavin turned his paratroopers into sailors and conducted a deadly daylight amphibious assault in small plywood and canvas craft across the Waal River to secure the north end of the highway bridge in Nijmegen. German machine guns and mortars boiled the water on the crossing, but somehow, a number of paratroopers made it to the far bank. Their ferocity rolled up the German defenses, and by the end of the day, the bridge had fallen. This book by Dutch historian Frank van Lunteren draws on a plethora of previously unpublished sources to shed new light on the exploits of the “Devils in Baggy Pants.” A native of Arnhem—the site of the “Bridge Too Far”—the author draws on nearly 130 interviews he personally conducted with veterans of the 504th, plus Dutch civilians and British and German soldiers, who here tell their story for the first time.
Download or read book The Red River Bridge War written by Rusty Williams and published by Texas A&M University Press. This book was released on 2016-05-20 with total page 285 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Winner, 2017 Oklahoma Book Award, sponsored by the Oklahoma Center for the Book Winner, 2016 Outstanding Book on Oklahoma History, sponsored by the Oklahoma Historical Society At the beginning of America’s Great Depression, Texas and Oklahoma armed up and went to war over a 75-cent toll bridge that connected their states across the Red River. It was a two-week affair marked by the presence of National Guardsmen with field artillery, Texas Rangers with itchy trigger fingers, angry mobs, Model T blockade runners, and even a costumed Native American peace delegation. Traffic backed up for miles, cutting off travel between the states. This conflict entertained newspaper readers nationwide during the summer of 1931, but the Red River Bridge War was a deadly serious affair for many rural Americans at a time when free bridges and passable roads could mean the difference between survival and starvation. The confrontation had national consequences, too: it marked an end to public acceptance of the privately owned ferries, toll bridges, and turnpikes that threatened to strangle American transportation in the automobile age. The Red River Bridge War: A Texas-Oklahoma Border Battle documents the day-to-day skirmishes of this unlikely conflict between two sovereign states, each struggling to help citizens get goods to market at a time of reduced tax revenue and little federal assistance. It also serves as a cautionary tale, providing historical context to the current trend of re-privatizing our nation’s highway infrastructure.
Download or read book Milvian Bridge AD 312 written by Ross Cowan and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2016-07-20 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In AD 312, the Roman world was divided between four emperors. The most ambitious was Constantine, who sought to eliminate his rivals and reunite the Empire. His first target was Maxentius, who held Rome, the symbolic heart of the Empire. Inspired by a dream sent by the Christian God, at the Milvian Bridge region just north of Rome, he routed Maxentius' army and pursued the fugitives into the river Tiber. The victory secured Constantine's hold on the western half of the Roman Empire and confirmed his Christian faith, but many details of this famous battle remain obscured. This new volume identifies the location of the battlefield and explains the tactics Constantine used to secure a victory that triggered the fundamental shift from paganism to Christianity.
Download or read book The Burning Bridge written by John Flanagan and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2006-06-08 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The international bestselling series with over 5 million copies sold in the U.S. alone! Bracing for a final clash with the evil warlord Morgarath, the Rangers rally the kingdom’s allies, and Will is chosen, along with his friend Horace, as special envoys to nearby Celtica. But the simple mission soon takes an unsettling turn – the Celticans have disappeared, their town abandoned. The scheming hand of Morgarath, it seems, has been far from idle. He has found a way to bring his legions over the once impassible eastern mountains and is planning to ambush the king’s army in a rout. Now with help many miles away, Will and Horace are the only ones standing in the way of the dark lord’s plans.They have shown great skill and courage in their training, but how will they fare in the face of true evil? Perfect for fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, T.H. White’s The Sword in the Stone, Christopher Paolini’s Eragon series, and George R. R. Martin’s Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire series. Watch a QuickTime trailer for this book.
Download or read book The Bridge of San Luis Rey written by Thornton Niven Wilder and published by Aegitas. This book was released on 2022-12-19 with total page 75 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The story is based on a fictional disaster that occurred in Peru on July 20, 1714. A rope bridge woven by the Incas on the road between Lima and Cuzco collapsed when five people were crossing it. They all fell into the river from a great height and were killed. Brother Juniper, a Franciscan friar who was about to cross the bridge himself, witnessed the tragedy. Being deeply pious, he saw in what happened a possible divine providence. Did the dead deserve to have their lives cut short in such a terrible way? The monk tries to learn as much as he can about the five victims, finding and questioning people who knew them. As a result of years of investigation, he compiles a voluminous book with all the evidence he has gathered that the beginning and end of human life are part of God's plan... The Bridge of San Luis Rey won the 1928 Pulitzer Prize for the Novel, and remains widely acclaimed as Wilder's most famous work. In 1998, the book was rated number 37 by the editorial board of the American Modern Library on the list of the 100 best 20th-century novels. Time magazine included the novel in its TIME 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005.
Download or read book The Battle of the Berezina written by Alexander Mikaberidze and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2010-08-19 with total page 323 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The full story of Napoleon’s legendary escape from Russia under seemingly impossible odds is recounted in this thrillingly vivid military history. In the winter of 1812, Napoleon's army retreated from Moscow under appalling conditions, hunted by three separate Russian armies. By late November, Napoleon had reached the banks of the River Berezina—the last natural obstacle between his army and the safety of the Polish frontier. But instead of finding the river frozen solid enough to march his men across, an unseasonable thaw had turned the Berezina into an icy torrent. Having already ordered the burning of his bridging equipment, Napoleon's predicament was serious enough: but with the army of Admiral Chichagov holding the opposite bank, and those of Kutusov and Wittgenstein closing fast, it was critical. In a gripping narrative that draws on contemporary sources—including letters, diaries and memoirs—Alexander Mikaberidze describes how Napoleon rose from the pit of despair to execute one of the greatest escapes in military history.
Download or read book The Bridge written by Thane Gustafson and published by Harvard University Press. This book was released on 2020-01-07 with total page 521 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Europe and Russia are pushing against each other in a contest of economic doctrines and political ambitions, seemingly erasing the vision of cooperation that emerged from the end of the Cold War. Thane Gustafson argues that natural gas serves as a bridge over troubled geopolitical waters, uniting the region through common economic interests.
Download or read book The Bridges at Toko Ri written by James A. Michener and published by Dial Press Trade Paperback. This book was released on 2015-05-05 with total page 113 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In one of his beloved early bestsellers, Pulitzer Prize–winning author James A. Michener crafts a tale of the American men who fought the Korean War, detailing their exploits in the air as well as their lives on the ground. Young and innocent, they arrive in a place they have barely ever heard of, on a ship massive enough to carry planes and helicopters. Trained as professionals, they prepare for the rituals of war that countless men before them have endured, and face the same fears. They are American fighter pilots. Together they face an enemy they do not understand, knowing their only hope for survival is to win. Praise for The Bridges at Toko-Ri “A vivid and moving story, as well as an exciting one . . . The humanity of the people is deeply felt.”—Chicago Tribune “The Banshees screaming over Korea, the perilous landings on an aircraft carrier deck ‘bouncing around like a derelict rowboat,’ a helicopter rescue from the freezing waters . . . all are stirringly rendered.”—The Denver Post “Michener’s best . . . a story of action, ideas, and civilization’s responsibilities.”—Saturday Review
Download or read book A Bridge Too Far written by Cornelius Ryan and published by Hodder Paperbacks. This book was released on 2007 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: War historian Cornelius Ryan chronicles in detailed, readable prose the battle of Arnhem, one of the most important -- and bloodiest -- campaigns in World War II.
Download or read book No Better Place to Die written by Robert Murphy and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2009-04-07 with total page 267 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The you-are-there story of one of the most ferocious small-unit combats in US history . . . As part of the massive Allied invasion of Normandy, three airborne divisions were dropped behind enemy lines to sew confusion in the German rear and prevent panzer reinforcements from reaching the beaches. In the dark early hours of D-Day, this confusion was achieved well enough, as nearly every airborne unit missed its drop zone, creating a kaleidoscope of small-unit combat. Fortunately for the Allies, the 505th Regimental Combat Team of the 82nd Airborne Division hit on or near its drop zone. Its task was to seize the vital crossroads of Ste Mère Eglise, and to hold the bridge over the Merderet River at nearby La Fière. Benefiting from dynamic battlefield leadership, the paratroopers reached the bridge, only to be met by wave after wave of German tanks and infantry desperate to force the crossing. Reinforced by glider troops, who suffered terribly in their landings from the now-alert Germans, the 505th not only held the vital bridge for three days but launched a counterattack in the teeth of enemy fire to secure their objective once and for all, albeit at gruesome cost. In No Better Place to Die, Robert M. Murphy provides an objective narrative of countless acts of heroism, almost breathtaking in its you are there detail. No World War II veteran is better known in 82nd Airborne circles than Robert M. (Bob) Murphy. A Pathfinder and member of A Company, 505th PIR, Bob was wounded three times in action, and made all four combat jumps with his regiment, fighting in Sicily, Italy, Normandy, and Holland. He was decorated for valor for his role at La Fière, and is a Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor. After the war, he was instrumental in establishing the 505th RCT Association. A selection of the Military Book Club
Download or read book The History of Kuwait written by Michael S. Casey and published by Greenwood. This book was released on 2007-08-30 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presents a comprehensive history of the nation of Kuwait from the first Mesopotamian settlements as early as 3000 BCE, its independence from British control, occupation by Iraq in 1990, and liberation and reconstruction.
Download or read book Bridges Battles of the Civil War written by Daniel Rosen and published by Benchmark Education Company. This book was released on 2010 with total page 52 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Washington Roebling s Civil War written by Diane Monroe Smith and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2019-07-01 with total page 461 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Washington Roebling is well known as the man who supervised construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. His path to overseeing that monumental task began during the Civil War. In addition to his brave, dramatic actions at Gettysburg, his Civil War service was remarkable: artilleryman, bridge builder, scout, balloonist, mapmaker, engineer, and staff officer. His story reveals much about Gettysburg but also about Civil War intelligence and engineering and the politics and infighting within the Army of the Potomac’s high command. Roebling’s service—leadership, engineering, decision-making, and managing personalities and politics—prepared him well for overseeing the Brooklyn Bridge.
