Al termine di "Bitter Victory" di Carlo d'Este sull'operazione Husky (veramente un gran bel libro), volevo prendere un titolo sull'Operazione Market Garden (ho finito di vedere il film "a Bridge too far" e vorrei approfondire). Mi hanno consigliato questo di Cornelius Ryan: http://www.amazon.it/A-Bridge-Too-Far-ebook/dp/B000S1LX2U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358432615&sr=8-1 E' valido? Avete altri suggerimenti? Grazie, ciao.
Assolutamente sì, Bitter Victory l'ho trovato solo in inglese e l'ho preso da Amazon in formato Kindle pagandolo poco (sugli 8 euro). Non mi soddisfa come un libro cartaceo (specie x le mappe), ma il risparmio e la comodità è innegabile. A volte fatico ma l'inglese di D'Este per me è abbastanza comprensibile... Ciao
http://www.amazon.it/It-Never-Snows...3226/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1358433950&sr=8-2 c'è anche in vesione kindle oppure questo che ho trovato splendido http://www.amazon.it/Operation-Mark...s=english-books&ie=UTF8&qid=1358434012&sr=1-1 secondo volume http://www.amazon.it/Operation-Mark...s=english-books&ie=UTF8&qid=1358434012&sr=1-2 c'è anche la possibilità di comprarli insieme che si risparmia un bel po'. Cornelius Ryan comunque è sempre valido
Cornelius Ryan era un romanziere, più che uno storico. Il libro è un mito (come il film) ma non propriamente storico. Ci sono anche il volumetto Osprey Campaign ed il libro di Middlebrook (Arnhem 1944. The Airborne Battle), ma anch'io ti consiglio vivamente quello di Kershaw, "It never snows in September. German view of Market Garden and the battle of Arnhem", veramente affascinante, con un approccio totalmente nuovo (a metà tra il libro di storia tradizionale ed un AAR molto dettagliato). Ti riporto una sintesi tratta dal sito dell'autore : Arnhem was a resounding defeat for the British, but in human endurance terms, the stuff of legend. Press glamorisation at the time laid the basis for a ‘legend’ upheld by Allied historians for years. Exhaustive research of the few remaining documents covering German post-operational reports corroborated by numerous contemporary eye-witness accounts revealed a new perspective. This was how the battle appeared to the ordinary German soldier, from private to battalion commander level. Kershaw interviewed numerous participants throughout Germany. The immediate post-war view that defeat at Arnhem was caused by Allied mistakes because Germany had already lost the war persisted for a very long time. Extensive research revealed a very different picture. Much vaunted SS panzer divisions ‘waiting’ for the British were only at 30% strength and possessed virtually no tanks. A scratch-built force of German sailors, airmen and reservists fighting as infantry checked the airborne landings. Model the supreme German commander did not flee panic-stricken from the Hotel Tafelberg in Arnhem as paratroopers landed. He was a cold dedicated professional, who had already saved German fronts from defeat and retreat five times before and did so again. It is claimed the British Airborne Division was dropped too far from the Arnhem Bridge. Kershaw’s research of German unit locations suggests defeat may have occurred sooner if they had. The German view was that the British had been skilful in their selection of the drop zone to cloak their intention and ought to have reinforced with another division in the same place. General Urquhart commanding the 1st British Airborne Division was often criticised as being too far forward in the battle, being cut off during a crucial phase. His German opposite, General Kussin, the town Commandant, was killed seeking the same fragmented information. His death resulted in a temporary paralysis of the defence of the Arnhem road bridge, enabling Lieutenant Colonel John Frost’s Second Parachute Battalion to capture it with ease. That Arnhem was ‘A Bridge Too Far’ is the most famous myth exposed by this book. XXX Corps commanded by General Horrocks was reportedly just unable to reach it. An assessment of German troop locations following the capture of the Nijmegen Bridge reveals the remaining 14-kilometer stretch of road to Arnhem was virtually undefended and clear the following night. An opportunity to relive Frost barely holding onto the Arnhem Bridge was missed. It Never Snows in September offers a number of revisionary perspectives to prevailing Arnhem myths. It recognizes the American contribution in keeping the ‘Airborne Corridor’ open despite the German discovery of the MARKET-GARDEN plan. The book reveals the plan was not recovered in its entirety; rather the Germans were never strong enough to exploit the windfall. The ‘chivalric’ battle of Arnhem and Oosterbeek is reassessed in uncompromising terms. Excesses were committed by both sides. German casualties were more than twice previously claimed estimates. The British evacuation caught the Germans unawares, so impressed had they been by the ferocity of resistance, that they could not comprehend the British would abandon their bloodily won bridgehead. It took a further half-day of fruitless fighting against the remaining stragglers after the evacuation before the Germans appreciated their birds had flown the trap. This book has necessitated a re-examination of some of the traditional views of the MARKET-GARDEN battles, which mainly project the allied view. ‘What about the Germans?’ allegedly remarked the commander of the 1st Polish Parachute Brigade when confronted with the Arnhem plan. It Never Snows in September offers just this perspective. Consigliato PS Mappe, schemi e anche OOB molto belli, da wargamer
Ricollegando idealmente il libro alla discussione su BftB/HttR, nell'ottimo racconto di Kershaw (pieno di dettagli e di vicende personali) ritroverai perfettamente il CAOS disorganizzato della guerra, che va ben al di là del concetto di FOW (e soprattutto di quello dei wargames), con scontri e piccole battaglie assolutamente casuali, catene di comando spezzate, unità super-frammentate, ordini disattesi, non pervenuti ... Certo, Market-Garden in questo è stato uno degli episodi più eclatanti, ma non per questo un caso estremo o una eccezione. Purtroppo, oltre ai tanti meriti, il wargame tradizionale ha un grande effetto 'diseducativo' : fornisce una percezione troppo 'razionale' della guerra (come se fosse una partita a scacchi), instigando il 'delirio di controllo' nei giocatori. Episodi come Market Garden e libri come quello di Kershaw dovrebbero far capire quanto di sbagliato ci sia in quella percezione e di irrealistico in quell'atteggiamento. grazie
ho trovato questa discussione in relazione al nuovo wargame della MMP sull'operazione Market Garden " It never snows": What would you consider the definitive book on Market Garden? Is it A Bridge Too Far or something different? In my opinion, no definitive book. There's single volume accounts of the whole operations such as A Bridge Too Far and Magnificent Disaster, but everything has its positives and negatives. I didn't like Magnificent Disaster, but that's me. A Bridge Too Far is a great way to start mostly because Cornelius Ryan is a great writer. The limitation is that he writes mostly from the POV of the participants who he was able to interview, so you get encapsulated views of the fighting. It Never Snows in September will often get referred to mostly because the title matches the game, and while the book is an very good account of the whole operation, it tells it from the view point of the German side. Therefore unless and until you are familiar with the Allied side, this will be mostly one sided. A favorite of mine is Middlebrook's Arnhem, but obviously from the title it's only about the fighting near Arnhem (basically the 1st Brit Airborne and 1st Polish Airborne). Middlebrook writes a soup to nuts account, mostly from personal accounts but in such a way that you can follow this aspect of the operation fully. Margry's Operation Market Garden: Then and Now, a two volume set is an excellent work, but expensive and not for the casual reader of the operation. I would say start with A Bridge Too Far and if you like that work your way down the list. ---- Definitive Book on Market Garden Carl as provided a good list of books. Unfortunately, Market Garden suffers from being a bit too big for most books to cover in depth, so most focus on a only the best-known parts of the operation (such as the politics and planning on the Allied side, the initial breakout of 30 Corps, the 82nd's corssing of the Waal and the 1st Airborne's battles). Margry is closest to a definitive reference source. From the German side, only "It never snows in September" provides more than superficial coverage. Tim Summers has an excellent series of books, "Hell's Highway", "The Island" and "Nijmegen" which each provide a highly detailed analysis of the parts of the operation which are not well covered elsewhere, and are recommended. Other books worth a look are "The Battle of Arnhem" by Cornelius Bauer and "Retake Arnhem Bridge", a detailed account of the German Kampfgruppe Knaust's operations in the Arnhem area.
Aggiornamento. Ho avuto qualche problema con l'edizione ebook di "Bitter Victory" relativo all'invasione in Sicilia. Il libro, in edizione digitale, è pieno di errori di conversione del testo e le mappe sono in bassissima risoluzione (già sono grosse come un francobollo, se uno ingrandisce l'immagine sgrana subito, no comment). Ho contattato piuttosto seccato Amazon (peraltro l'edizione cartacea in economica costava solo 2-3 euro in più) e loro hanno riconosciuto che la conversione in digitale è in bassa qualità (occhio a chi lo volesse prendere) e mi hanno concesso il rimborso. Ne ho approfittato per riacquistare Bitter Victory in cartacea e ho preso in aggiunta qualcosa su Market Garden. Ho preso per ora il libro di Ryan, a cui seguirà (non so ancora se in cartacea o in digitale, francamente con l'esperienza precedente di bitter victory ci sono rimasto un po' scottato) anche "it never snows in september" per avere una visione da una parte all'altra del conflitto. Per questioni "logistiche" di Amazon (i libri in inglese arrivano dalla germania), mi è già arrivato da diversi giorni il libro di Ryan mentre aspetto ancora quello sullo sbarco in sicilia. Ho iniziato a leggere il libro di Ryan e non mi ci sono più staccato, sarà che è in italiano e che lo stile utilizzato è molto bello, ma lo sto letteralmente divorando (peraltro sto scoprendo che il film è fedelissimo al libro)... Saluti.
Scusa l'off topic ma questa è da sapere: http://www.repubblica.it/tecnologia/2013/02/16/news/amazon_germania-52784160/?ref=fbpt
