Another Operation Market-Garden Tale

Van Lunteren, Frank.  The Battle of the Bridges: The 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment in 
        Operation Market Garden.  Philadelphia: Casemate, 2014.  ISBN: 978-1-61200-232-3

The Battle of the Bridges covers some of the fiercest fighting during Operation Market-Garden.  The 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) of the 82nd Airborne Division captured the Maas River Bridge and the Mass-Waal Canal Bridge on September 17, 1944,  the first day of Operation Market-Garden.  Then on September 20th, the 504th launched a daylight river crossing to capture the bridges over the Waal River at Nijmegen against fierce opposition.  They succeeded at great cost.  The 504th continued to hold part of the front line until relieved in November 1944.

Frank Van Lunteren relates the story of the 504th PIR using as much as possible the veterans' own words.  He has done extensive research, interviewed as many remaining veterans as possible, and used their letters to home and diaries.  He also mined the official records and quoted from the texts of the medal citations.  He tells an exciting story which is reasonably well organized around particular events and time periods.  However, due to the narrative style he chose, the tale is episodic and sometimes repetitive.  He provides little background and the  numerous switching of character viewpoints can lead to confusion.

The Battle of the Bridges is great for World War II aficionados who want a first-hand account of the 504th PIR's exploits during Operation Market-Garden.  However, if you have not read many accounts of World War II, especially those dealing with airborne operations, the reader will want a campaign map and more detailed background than is provided in this book.