Before the events of September 1944 fade into history, After the Battle presents the story of the airborne landings in Holland through hundreds of 'then and now' comparison photographs. Editor Karel Margry has studied the battle and explored the battlefield for more than 20 years and has collected virtually every photograph taken during those fateful ten days. Many are published here for the first time giving an unrivalled pictorial account of a bold initiative which the Allied Land Commander, Field-Marshal Bernard Montgomery, believed would shorten the war. The failure to capture and hold the last bridge of the nine to be taken spelled disaster for the lst Airborne Division from which over 8,000 men failed to return.

Contents Volume 1

• VOLUME 1 covers the mounting of the operation and the crucial first two days of the battle. The story opens with the planning and preparation of the double undertaking - of 'Market' by the newly created First Allied Airborne Army in the UK and 'Garden' by the British Second Army on the Belgian-Dutch border. The scene then switches to describe the German military situation in the Netherlands on the eve of battle. The massive initial airborne landings of September 17, 1944, are then recounted with equal attention to each of the three airborne divisions involved. The break-out battle by the Guards Armoured Division, spearhead of the ground army, is likewise illustrated with an unprecedented wealth of photographs. The second day of the operation, September 18, sees the Guards reaching the 101st Airborne at Eindhoven, making their first contact with the airborne army.
   
• INTRODUCTION
• PART I: OPERATION 'MARKET-GARDEN'The Creation of First Allied Airborne ArmyThe Planning of Operation 'Market-Garden'The Battle of the Belgian CanalsSecond Army prepares for Operation 'Garden'The German Situation in the Netherland
• PART II: THE FIRST DAYPreliminary Bombing OperationsThe PathfindersThe 101st Airborne DivisionThe 82nd Airborne DivisionThe 1st Airborne DivisionThe XXX Corps Break-Out
• PART III: LOSS OF MOMENTUMThe 101st Airborne Division takes EindhovenThe First Link-Up: XXX Corps reaches Eindhoven101st Airborne Division: The Second Lift82nd Airborne Division: The Second LiftBomber Resupply for the American Divisions1st Airborne Division, September 18 (D+1)
   
• Index for Volume 1
  
  Contents Volume 2
   
• VOLUME 2 of this two-volume history of Operation 'Market-Garden' continues the story as XXX Corps links up with the 82nd Airborne at Nijmegen which leads to the dramatic and spectacular capture of the vital bridges there over the Waal river. But at Arnhem the tide of battle has already turned. The main force of lst Airborne is thrown back to the Oosterbeek perimeter, leaving John Frost's isolated force at the road bridge to fight it out till the end. As the Polish Brigade is dropped south of the Rhine, and the ground army desperately tries to relieve the beleaguered British paras, down in the south the Germans launch repeated attacks on the narrow corridor in an attempt to cut the Allied supply artery. As savage battles rage for possession of 'Hell's Highway', the airborne battle is lost and on September 26 the survivors of lst Airborne are evacuated back across the Rhine.
   
• PART IV: IN SEARCH OF TIME LOST
  The Second Link-Up: XXX Corps reaches Nijmegen
  First German Attacks on the Corridor
  1st Airborne Division, September 19 (D+2)
  Arnhem Bridge, September 17-21
  The Allies capture the Nijmegen Bridges
   
• PART V: THE BATTLE IS LOST
  The 43rd (Wessex) Division moves up
  Hell's Highway
  VIII and XII Corps cover the Flanks
  The Guards are stopped short of Elst
  The Polish Parachute Brigade lands at Driel
  The Third Link-Up: XXX Corps reaches Driel
  The Long-delayed Last Lift
   
• PART VI: THE OOSTERBEEK PERIMETER
  The Perimeter Battle, September 20-25
  The Evacuation
   
• PART VII: AFTERMATH
  A German Appraisal of Operation 'Market-Garden'