He began his career as a war correspondent in 1943 and covered the entire European war up to the fall of Berlin after the end of hostilities in Europe, he covered the Pacific war. About the AuthorĬornelius Ryan was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1920 and became an American citizen in 1951. Rich in detail, terrifying in suspense, breathlessly exciting, superb in its recreation of a great event, A Bridge Too Far is Cornelius Ryan s finest book. Pointing to the Arnhem bridge on the map he asked, 'How long will it take the armor to reach us?' Field Marshal Montgomery replied briskly, 'Two days.' Still looking at the map, Browning said, 'We can hold it for four.' Then he added, 'But, Sir, I think we might be going a bridge too far.' 1944

It was the fifth, the crucial bridge over the Lower Rhine at a place called Arnhem, sixty-four miles behind the German lines, that worried Lieutenant General Frederick Browning, Deputy Commander, First Allied Airborne Army. They had to be seized intact by airborne assault. On the narrow corridor that would carry the armored drive, there were five major bridges to take. The cast of characters includes Dutch civilians, British and American planners, commanders, and soldiers, and the German defenders, all of them plunged into a battle that was perhaps the most dramatic of the entire war and that cost the Allies nearly twice as many casualties as D Day. Eisenhower, proposed to end the war in 1944, dropping the combined airborne forces of the American and British armies behind German lines to capture the crucial bridge across the Rhine at Arnhem, and then sending a vast army to catch up with them for the drive into Germany.Ī Bridge Too Far is the masterly chronicle of a daring and grandiose operation that ended in bitter defeat for the Allies. Its subject is the battle of Arnhem, the greatest airborne operation of the war, the masterstroke by which Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery, having won over a reluctant General Dwight D. Already an international sensation, it is perhaps the most thrilling, moving and powerful work of history to come out of World War II. So begins the book by Cornelius Ryan, author of The Longest Day and The Last Battle. Shortly after 10 am on Sunday, September 17, 1944, from airfields all over southern England, the greatest armada of troop-carrying aircraft ever assembled for a single operation took to the air. Reviews the individuals, tactics, and events involved in Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery's plan to end World War II. GGA Image ID # 1661f88bfeġ974 A Bridge Too Far by Cornelius Ryan. Front Cover (Dustjacket) of A Bridge Too Far by Cornelius Ryan, 1974.