Edisi aslinya gue kasih bintang lima tapi untuk buku ini bintang empat aja deh. Semata-mata karena ini buku versi abridged dan unsur "fun" dalam gaya bahasa terjemahannya yang bikin nyengir. Kalo ini buku ini terbitnya tahun 2000an dijamin gue bakal ngasi bintang satu buat bahasa yang rada2 kacau balau:D Jadi inget review-nya buku perang yang laen dari seorang Jendral di rumah sebelah yang ngadat ngerasa dikibulin penerbit ampe dia minta duitnya dibalikin lagi , hihihihi *tiaraaaaaap ~ takut dilempar granat ama Jendral Pantouw*Abis baca bukunya trus dilanjut ama nonton filmnya yang disebut-sebut sebagai.. ehm.. Film Perang Terbesar Dalam Abad Kita ehehehe. Filmnya seru! Untuk masalah "keotentikan" detail perangnya, filmnya keknya gak usah diragukan lagi bila mengingat lima Jendral yang terjun langsung dalam perang sebenarnya dilibatkan sebagai "War Consultant" ( Gavin, Horrocks, Urquhart, Vandeleur dan Frost) Blom lagi jika melihat sederet nama seperti James Caan, Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Gene Hackman, Anthony Hopkins, Ryan O'Neal, dan Robert Redford yang membintangi film yang disutradarai Sir Richard Attenborrough. Hmm.. nyam nyam. Eh, malah ngomongin film...Tanggal 17 Sept 1944 sekitar jam 10 pagi, rakyat Inggris dikejutkan oleh suara yang menggemuruh dan mereka ternganga menyaksikan suatu pemandangan diudara sambil berdecak kagum. Suatu formasi yang sangat dahsyat, megah, mempesona sekaligus mengerikan terhampar di angkasa. Bagaimana tidak? Sekitar 5000 pesawat secara serentak lepas landas dari 24 pangkalan udara. 1.500 pesawat pembom Halifax, Albermarles, dan Stirlings terbang beriringan dengan lebih dari 2000 pesawat angkut C-47/Dakota dan 2500 pesawat Glider/Peluncur seperti Horsa, Waco dan Hamilcars yang membawa pasukan para, tank kecil, artileri, truk dan logistik lainnya. Diatas, dibawah dan samping kiri kanan formasi itu dikawal sekitar 1500 pesawat pemburu Inggris seperti Spitfire, Typhoon, Mosquito dan pesawat pemburu AS spt Thunderbolt, Lightning dan Mustang. Formasi dahsyat ini membentang di angkasa dalam tiga kolom raksasa dengan lebar sekitar 10 mil dan panjang sekitar 100 mil di udara. Masya Allah! Yang tidak diketahui rakyat Inggris saat itu adalah bahwa hari itu sebuah penyerbuan udara terbesar sepanjang sejarah militer tengah berlangsung. Yep! Operation Market Garden.Operasi ambisius yang dirancang oleh Jendral Bernard "Monty" Montgomery ini dimaksudkan untuk merebut sejumlah jembatan penting untuk mendahului pasukan darat dengan sasaran utamanya adalah jembatan di sungai Rein di Arnhem yang mengarah langsung ke perbatasan Jerman. Dengan demikian bisa mendobrak Siegfried Line dan menyusup ke daerah Ruhr, kawasan industri terpenting di Jerman. Montgomery yakin bila Ruhr bisa direbut maka dipastikan Jerman akan menyerah dan dia percaya bisa mengakhiri perang dunia sebelum Natal 1944. Pada saat bersamaan komandan US 3rd Army Jendral Patton mengajukan usul yang sama untuk mem by-pass Siegfried Line lewat jalur selatan melalui Metz dan Saarland. Akibat masalah suplai yang rumit, Panglima Perang sekutu, Eisenhower (dengan berbagai pertimbangan) memutuskan lebih memilih usul Monty untuk menyerbu lewat jalur utara (Belanda) dan mengalihkan seluruh suplai untuk operasi Market Garden. Kemarahan Patton meledak ketika pasukannya yang tengah merangsek maju meninggalkan pasukan yang lain harus menghentikan lajunya dan "menganggur" selama lima hari di tepi sungai Meuse akibat permintaan 40 ribu gallon bahan bakar hanya dipenuhi setengahnya saja. Jendral temperamental ini tentu saja naik pitam, "Anak buah saya bisa memakan ikat pinggang mereka kalo mereka lapar. Tapi tank2 saya tidak bisa makan ikat pinggang! Mereka butuh BBM!" teriaknya dongkol. Hehehe.. sabar Jendral.. sabaaaaar.Operasi ini menerjunkan 35.000 pasukan para (hampir dua kali lipat jumlah pasukan para yang diterjunkan di Normandia). Divisi Angkatan Udara ke-101 Amerika yang dipimpin Jendral Maxwell D. Taylor ditugaskan merebut dan mengamankan jembatan dan penyeberangan sungai antara Eindhoven dan Veghel. Pasukan Para AS dari Divisi ke 82 pimpinan Brigjen James M.Gavin diterjunkan untuk mengamankan titik antara Grave dan Nijmegen. Sasaran utama dari operasi ini adalah jembatan utama di kota Arnhem. Jembatan yng melintasi sungai Rein hilir selebar 400 yard adalah titik terpenting yang akan menghubungkan pasukan sekutu ke perbatasan Jerman. Tugas untuk merebutnya dibebankan kepada Divisi Angkatan Udara ke-1 Inggeris yng dipimpin oleh Mayjen Robert "Roy" Urquhart yang disokong oleh Mayjen Stanislaw Sosabowsky dengan Brigade Parasut Polandianya. Operasi yang dinamai Market ini nantinya akan disokong oleh operasi Garden dari Korps ke-30 yang terdiri atas pasukan tank, artileri dan infanteri yang dikepalai oleh Letjen Brian Horrocks yang akan merangsek lewat jalur darat pada saat yang bersamaan.Kenyataannya? Operasi itu ternyata hanya megah diawal saja. Secara keseluruhan operasi itu bisa dianggap gagal total. Jembatan Arnhem yang merupakan sasaran utama gagal direbut. Operasi ini sendiri menelan korban sekitar 17.000 tentara di pihak Sekutu. Dua kali lipat korban Operasi Normandia yang mengerahkan sekitar satu juta tentara. Banyak aspek yang "mendalangi" kegagalan operasi tsb dan sampai sekarang masih sering diperdebatkan. Seperti perencanaan yang kurang matang, lemahnya intelijen, Divisi Angkatan Udara ke-1 Inggeris yang belum berpengalaman diturunkan terlalu jauh dari sasaran sehingga kehilangan daya pukul dan elemen kejutnya, radio yang tidak berfungsi, kegagalan Korps ke-30 menembus pertahanan Jerman yang bertarung habis-habisan dan macem-macem lagi dah.Disini Ryan mendokumentasikan cerita ini dengan bagus. Dia menuliskannya dari perspektif Sekutu, Axis (bukan operator seluler, ya!) dan penduduk sipil. Kita seakan diajak berada dalam situasi chaos sebuah pertempuran yang mengerikan. Pertempuran jarak dekat ala koboy, diberondong ketika menyebrangi sungai, ikut merasakan kepedihan seorang Urquhart yang harus menyaksikan satu persatu anak buahnya kehilangan nyawa dibantai Jerman tanpa bisa berbuat apa-apa. Ikut menyaksikan perjuangan Kolonel John Frost bersama pasukannya yang berperang dengan heroik mempertahankan bagian utara jembatan Arnhem sampai titik darah penghabisan meski pada akhirnya mereka "disapu bersih" oleh Jerman.Kelak jembatan ini oleh pemerintah Belanda dinamakan "John Frost Bridge" untuk mengenang kepahlawanan Kolonel Frost dan anak buahnya. Divisi Angkatan Udara ke-1 Inggeris yang dipimpin Urquhart menjadi "tumbal" untuk operasi ini. Hanya sekitar 20 persen dari 10.000 anak buahnya yang selamat, sisanya tewas, hilang dan ditawan Jerman. Perintah awal mereka hanyalah ditugaskan merebut dan mempertahankan jembatan Arnhem selama dua hari (empat hari paling lama). Tapi kenyataannya mereka harus bertempur habis-habisan selama sembilan hari tanpa suplai makanan dan amunisi dalam posisi terkepung sampai akhirnya ada perintah dari Letjen Browning untuk mundur karena sampai hari ke sembilan Korps ke-30 masih tertahan di Nijmegen. Adegan favorit gue ada di akhir chapter buku ketika ketika Mayjen Urquhart setelah mundur dari Arnhem dan dalam perjalanan menuju Driel ia mampir dimarkas Jendral Thomas untuk meminjam jip untuk pulang. Ia menolak ketika dipersilakan masuk dan tetap berdiri tegak diluar dibawah guyuran hujan menunggu jip datang. Pun demikian ketika ia berada di markas Letjen Browning. Dengan sabar ia tetap berdiri sekian lama menunggu Browning yang sedang... molor! Dengan tegas ia menolak tawaran ajudan Browning untuk mengganti bajunya yang dekil, bau dan basah. "Tidak usah." tolak Urquhart, "Saya ingin menemui Browning dalam keadaan basah kuyup ini. Persis seperti keadaan kami yang sebenarnya." Ketika Browning bangun pembicaraan pun berlanjut. Gue embat dari adegan filmnya aja, kurang lebih sama sih ama yang dibuku. Urquhart dengan jantan meminta maaf atas kegagalannya. "I'm sorry about the way it worked out.""You did all you could." kata Browning mencoba menghibur. Urquhart dengan dingin berkata, "Yes, but did every one else?" Tak kuasa menjawab pertanyaan itu Browning mengalihkan pembicaraan."They've got a bed for you upstairs, if you want it."Urquhart menjawab tawaran itu dengan nada getir. "I took 10.000 man into Arnhem. I've come out with less than 2000. I don't feel much like sleeping."Koq susah ya bikin review pendek? :D
Cornelius Ryan has a knack for writing military histories that are incredibly accessible. I'm a far cry from being an “armchair general.” I didn't grow up playing Risk, and my primary point of reference for distinguishing between aircraft carriers and destroyers is the number of pegs required to sink them in the game Battleship (and even then I manage to mix them up). Don't get me wrong, Ryan's trio of WWII accounts (The Longest Day, The Last Battle , and A Bridge Too Far ) tell you who was doing what, when, and where—there are plenty of references to squadrons, troops, battalions, and divisions. However, they are full of smaller stories that give my mind something to hold on to. I figure that if you really want to know the ins and outs of Operation Market Garden, there's plenty of excellent material out there (including this book); the quick and dirty version is basically that it was the largest airborne operation to-date, took place in the Netherlands and Germany and was not a success. So, I'm now gonna go with the “Jeff approach” I co-opted for my review of The Last Battle , and dish out some assorted bits and pieces that stuck out along the way. Frenemies From WithinWorking with other people is never easy. In retrospect, it's easy to think of the Axis and the Allies as unified fronts, but (as usual) there's way more nuance to the story. Honestly, it wasn't really until I read Panzer Commander: The Memoirs of Colonel Hans von Luck that I began to consider the difference between a German soldier and a Nazi. So, contentious relationship number one is between the Desert Fox, Erwin Rommel, and der Führer, Adolf Hitler. Rommel loathed Hitler, and with good reason—because, in September of 1944, Hitler's orders to Rommel et al. in the Western front were suicidal and insane. Long of the short, Rommel was part of a plot to assassinate Hitler, and then Hitler basically “let” Rommel kill himself. Meanwhile, the Allied leadership wasn't exactly having an easy time of things. Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery (aka “Monty”, above right) wasn't the only diva Supreme Allied Commander DDE had to deal with, but he definitely earns himself a nomination for Most Difficult Colleague for Market Garden (which was, after all, his show). Monty's intentions were good—he wanted to march straight into Berlin and end the war for once and for all. However, in addition to demanding absolute priority for all resources, and declaring that he simply couldn't/wouldn't work with Patton, Monty's plans were a bit “offhanded.” One Lieutenant Colonel describes the slipshod orders to the effect of: “First, we'll take this bridge; then that one and hop this river...” It was at Monty's HQ that Lieutenant General Frederick Browning tried to challenge the Field Marshall: “But, sir, I think we might be going a bridge too far.” The best one-liner regarding Monty, though, definitely came from Ryan's interview with Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands who said: “My country can never again afford the luxury of another Montgomery success.” Yes, this LZ!The logistics were a mess. The 82nd Airborne Division's initial success, with 89% of troopers hitting their drops, and 84% of gliders making it within 1,000 meters of their Landing Zone (LZ), proved to be the exception, rather than the rule. The 101st Airborne Paratroopers (below) had danger coming from all directions, including themselves. One Private, after dropping a match into an oil drum, was “the only member of the 101st jumping into Holland with no eyebrows.” Oh, and by the way, gliders are not the same thing as airplanes—something that first-time glider pilots attempted to communicate with leadership without much success. But, nevertheless, their dedication was impressive. One of the pilots of the IX Troop Carrier Command even managed to get his jumpers into the green light zone despite the fact that his plane was on fire! Myrtle the Parachick and more...Ryan's knack for weaving anecdotes in with military maneuvers makes it all feel more real. Lieutenant "Pat" Glover had a chicken, Myrtle, who'd accompanied him on six prior training jumps. He described that “this rather gentle pet would wait patiently on the ground for me to land and collect her.” Though Myrtle made the jump successfully, she, like so many others, died in the trenches on the ground in the ensuing battle. Glover “buried her with honor and properly–with her badge of rank–as befitted those who died in action.” I'm never a fan of bringing birds, or any animals into battle, this story reminded me of the fact that each fallen soldier was more than just a number.4.5/5 stars but I'm happy to round up, since the Ryan WWII trilogy was overall great (and Ryan was dying while finishing this one up).
Do You like book A Bridge Too Far (1975)?
Simply one of the best military histories out there. Mr. Ryan's last book was his masterpiece. He got the pathos and the tragedy of Market Garden right, and he lays the blame squarely where it belonged. At the feet of Field Marshal Sir Bernard Law Montgomery. The plan was flawed, and trying to run an entire corps up a road that was barely one tank wide should have been enough to kill the plan...as it was, it was not, and some 8000 British paras, along with thousands of Americans and Dutch civilians paid the price, and instead of ending the war by Christmas, it arguably prolonged it. This book illustrates all of this in a readable style and is eminently quoteable (I mined it repeatedly for paper topics for Military Science and Military History courses, though my calling Model "Hitler's fair haired boy now that Rommel was dead" was a bit unscholarly, c'est' la vie) In short, read this book. The movie, while good, is a pale shadow to the book, and to be honest, the DVD version is horrid.
—Jason
The celebrated, exhaustive story of the ill-fated invasion of Holland by the Allies in September, 1944. Mr. Ryan left no stone unturned in researching this book. All written work, government records, and interviews with seemingly every living survivor he could find, both Allied and German. His work is staggering in its thoroughness, and unlike many efforts of this kind, the final product emerges as readable and even exciting. He has managed to shape all his data into a coherent narrative, and to use his interviews and anecdotes to enliven and humanize the story. No mean feat. Could it have been shorter? Yes, but given all Mr. Ryan's work, who can begrudge him a paltry 600 pages? How Eisenhower was talked into this disastrous invasion by Montgomery is dealt with early in the book, but is worth pondering. While it may be true that many unforeseen and unforeseeable events conspired to doom the invasion, still one wonders if Eisenhower was to some extent simply worn out by having to deal with Montgomery and finally gave in to him on this idea because it was the least bad of all that he had proposed so far. Certainly he never envisioned the actual result. At any rate, one comes away from this book with a renewed belief in the insanity of war, necessary as it may sometimes be. I was particularly struck by the numerous instances of chivalry and even fraternizing between the two sides, even in the midst of almost unbelievable carnage. Where then were the drone aircraft, which could have taken Hitler out early and spared so many lives?
—Al
Much like Ryan’s excellent book, The Longest Day, this work about World War II alternately presents the perspectives of the Germans and the Allies during a critical initiative in 1944. The time is September, three months after D-Day, and the Allies have retaken France and Belgium and are poised along a line on the western boarder of Germany and the Belgium-Holland boarder. Holland awaits liberation, and Montgomery, chafing under the direction of Eisenhower, wants to initiate a lightening thrust north to Arnhem and then into the Ruhr and on to Berlin. Eisenhower has been reluctant to concentrate his forces in one area and is further constrained by his forces having reached the limit of their supplies, needing a halt to consolidate and resupply before moving into Germany along a broad front. In addition, Montgomery’s plan is not without major risks, requiring coordination of paratroopers along a single road sixty-five miles in length, the taking of several critical bridges (the most important and most distant being that at Arnhem), and the maintaining of access for the infantry and artillery throughout the length of this road. But Eisenhower is ultimately convinced of the need to maintain the initiative and to initiate a bold stroke. There is also pressure on him to utilize several groups of airborne troops that have been frustrated by their inactivity and are eager to participate in action before the end of a war that they see quickly coming to a conclusion.I became interested in this particular campaign two years ago when visiting Arnhem, spending time in the small museum dedicated to the action that occurred there, listening to a Dutchman who had been a child at the time and was eager to present his memories to all who would listen, and wandering through the cemetery containing the bodies of many of the soldiers who fell in the battle, Allied and German alike. At the time I was unsure how this campaign fit into the chronology and strategy of the war, and the reading of Ryan’s book enabled me to fill in puzzling gaps.This book is significantly longer than Ryan’s book about D-Day, and a lesser author might not have been able to clarify for the reader the multiple sub-actions and sub-plots that occurred during a little more than a week. Ryan accomplishes this masterfully, following individual members of many different units and differing locations, both German and Allied, throughout the conflict. Abundant detailed maps are included and are much appreciated. One cannot help but be struck by the influence on events of differing philosophies among the officers involved, by the vagaries of weather and topography that influenced events, by what Ryan characterizes as the undue caution on the part of the British compared with the Americans, and the fateful and unfortunate distrust of the Dutch Resistance on the part of the British (who early in the war had been betrayed by Nazi infiltrators into the Dutch Resistance). Most of all the reader comes away with a vivid understanding of the chaos of this unfortunate campaign, the horrific suffering of the soldiers and the Dutch civilian population (and of the Germans troops as well), the many episodes of group and individual heroism during what became increasingly apparent as a lost cause, and the tragic fact that, inasmuch as this mission failed, the war which looked to be nearing its end dragged on for another eight months.As at D-Day, this action began with massive bombing and airborne actions, utilizing troops from Britain, America, and free Poland (the ground troops who arrived later also included Canadians) who arrived by parachute and also in gliders. These men were supposed to secure the road and the bridges, to be followed by infantry, artillery, and tanks moving up the by now secured roadway. From the beginning nothing went as planned, in part because there were far more Germans, including Panzer divisions, in the area than had been thought; this was partly due to ignored or disbelieved intelligence reports, often coming from the Dutch Resistance. The airborne assault therefore was never able to accomplish its mission, completing only some of the objectives and often taking much longer to do so than anticipated. Furthermore, the ground troops that followed them did not anticipate either such stiff German resistance or the folly of trying to move armored vehicles and masses of ground troops sixty-five miles along what seemed often to be a single-lane road with soft shoulders unable to sustain vehicular weight. As the campaign moved to its inevitable disastrous end, a primary concern became the extrication of the small, determined, heroic, and progressively dwindling number of men trying desperately to hold the northern end of the Arnhem bridge without adequate supplies or reinforcement. I appreciated Ryan’s providing details of the assistance provided to the Allies by Dutch civilians, often at the cost of their own lives and property. And he also gave credit for individual actions of humanity on the part of German soldiers who suffered no less than the Allies. Until I read this book I had not realized that the Allies suffered more casualties in this action than during D-Day itself.This was an informative and gripping book, enabling me better to understand a piece of history about which I had little solid knowledge. Ryan, born in Ireland in 1920 (he became an American citizen in 1951), became a preeminent war correspondent and wrote several books. I would like to read his The Last Battle, an account of the battle for Berlin that ended WWII in Europe.
—Bruce
