In the Shadow of Arnhem - Tapa dura

The Battle of Arnhem in September 1944 has been much publicised, with its extraordinary parachute drop and the gallant defence by Frost's few men of the bridge at Arnhem. However, its relative failure left the Allies holding a 30-mile stretch with the enemy firmly entrenched on both sides. The village of St Oedenrode was liberated on 18 September, but Allied troops did not capture Schijndel, four miles away, until 23 October. The Arnhem debacle left vast stretches of Holland to the left and right of the salient occupied by enemy forces, strategically placed to menace any future plans. These areas of Holland had to be cleared by Allied troops in platoon or company strength, fighting in tight situations against bitter skilled resistance, losing one or two casualties at a time. There was none of the awesome and inspirational massing of troops and armour as seen in the battle for Normandy, for Arnhem itself, or in the Battle of the Bulge yet to come. Interweaving narrative with eyewitness accounts of British, Canadian and Polish troops, Ken Tout reveals how these men suffered and died on a scale far exceeding the casualties of the immediate assault on Arnhem.

Ken Tout OBE, PhD, served as an NCO with the 1st Bn Northants Yeomanry during the Second World War, fighting in Sherman tanks, and saw action in the battles for the Lower Maas in 1944. He is the author of A Fine Night for Tanks (1998) and The Bloody Battle for Tilly. (2000), both for Sutton. He lives in Essex.