'Utterly brilliant... this book really is the last word on the Battle of Arnhem.' James Holland
'Superb... A military historian of originality and insight to compare with the best.' Saul
David ___________ Al Murray has always been obsessed by this legendary battle and in
Arnhem: Black Tuesday he showcases all of his knowledge interpretation and enthusiasm to bear
to tell the story of one of history's great heroic failures differently for the first time.
The Battle of Arnhem is one of the best-known stories in British military history: a daring but
doomed attempt to secure a vital bridgehead across the Rhine in order to end the war before
Christmas 1944. It is always written about with the benefit of unerring 20 20 hindsight as
being destined to fail but the men who fought there men of military legend didn''t know that
that was to be their fate. By focusing on the events of one day as they happened through the
eyes of the British participants and without bringing any knowledge of what would happen
tomorrow to bear Al Murray offers a very different perspective on a familiar narrative. Some
things went right and a great many more went wrong but recounting them in this way allows the
reader to understand for the first time how certain decisions were taken in the moment and how
opportunities were squandered. Tuesday 19 September 1944 was the terrible day which became
known as Black Tuesday. From just after 1200 hours while plans were being made to seize the
initiative and optimism reigned to the following midnight when Arnhem was burning and the
Allied fortunes looked very different a mere twenty-four hours changed the course of the war.
