There would have been little point in writing yet another book on Operation Market Garden without adding a good deal of new material and human detail to the story. As it turned out there was far more than I ever expected, and for that I am deeply grateful to all the people who helped me at every turn.
I owe a huge debt to Rick Atkinson, who so generously passed on all his notes from both American and British archives. It was also Rick who sent me to the Mahn Center for Archives and Special Collections in the Alden Library at Ohio University, which holds the Cornelius Ryan papers. Ryan had a superb team of researchers and interviewers who provided him with a staggering quantity of material, most of which he never used. I am deeply grateful to Douglas McCabe, the then Curator of Manuscripts, whose advice and generous help made all the difference to my work there.
In the United States, the knowledge and assistance of other archivists also proved invaluable. I once again owe a great deal to Dr Tim Nenninger of the National Archives at College Park, Maryland; to Dr Conrad Crane and his colleagues at the United States Army Military History Institute in Carlisle, Pennsylvania; and to Lindsey Barnes and Taylor Benson at the Eisenhower Center, World War II Archives and Oral History Collection, University of New Orleans, courtesy of the National WW II Museum in New Orleans.
In the Netherlands I am especially grateful to Robert Voskuil who, with his unrivalled knowledge, guided us around the battlefields and corrected many misapprehensions, always explaining what had changed since 1944 and what had remained the same. Archivists who greatly helped the research included Hubert Berkhout at the Nederlands Instituut vor Oorlogs Dokumentatie, Amsterdam; Geert Maassen, the head of collections at the Gelders Archief Arnhem; Derek Prins and Freek Huitink of the Regionaal Archief Nijmegen; Jan Suijkerbuijk, service co-ordinator Regionaal Historisch Centrum Eindhoven; Conservator Rense Havinga of the Nationaal Bevrydings Museum Groesbeek; and Marieke Martens and Tim Streefkerk of the Airborne Museum Hartenstein at Oosterbeek. H. C. Moolenburgh kindly offered his research into the King Kong saga, and the de Bourgraaf family in Oosterbeek generously loaned the manuscript diary of Piet van Hooydonk.
For Polish sources, I would very much like to thank Dr Andrzej Suchcitz of the Polish Institute and Sikorski Museum; Ms Jadwiga Kowalska of the Polish Underground Movement Study Trust, London (Studium Polski Podziemnej w Londynie); Sławomir Kowalski from the Polish Army Museum; and the staff of POSK, the Polish Cultural Association in London, for all their help.
In Germany Frau Elfriede Frischmuth at the Bundesarchiv-Militärarchiv, Freiburg-im-Breisgau, Gunnar Goehle at the Feldpost Archiv in Berlin, and once again Frau Irina Renz, the archivist of the Sammlung Sterz at the Württembergische Landesbibliothek in Stuttgart, were all a great help. Dr Jens Westemeier at the Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen generously shared his own research into the Waffen-SS; and Professor Dr Clemens Schwender, the great expert on Feldpost sources, also kindly provided material.
It has been a very great pleasure as well as a huge benefit to work with Angelique Hook on Dutch sources, Angelica von Hase on German and Anastazja Pindor on Polish archive material. Their diligence and professionalism in research and translation have literally made all the difference. They, and Robert Voskuil, also checked the final version of the text and pointed out some necessary corrections, but naturally any mistakes which remain are entirely my responsibility.
Once again I owe a great deal to Sebastian Cox, the head of the Ministry of Defence’s air historical branch, and above all to his colleague Dr Sebastian Ritchie, the author of Arnhem: Myth and Reality and Arnhem: The Air Reconnaissance Story. They have provided much valuable advice and detail on the air side of Operation Market Garden and helped me clarify my thoughts, even if we did not end up in entire agreement over the thorny issue of planning responsibilities.
I am also most grateful for the observations, suggestions and advice of many people, including Professor Sir Michael Howard, the late Professor M. R. D. Foot who taught me a lot over the years about airborne and special operations, Professor Allan Millett, Field Marshal Lord Bramall, John Howes, Michael Bottenheim, Harry de Quetteville, Maurice Kanareck, Lieutenant General Mark Carleton-Smith, Lieutenant General Sir John Lorimer, Menzies Campbell (Baron Campbell of Pittenweem) and Judith Urquhart, the daughter of Major General Roy Urquhart. Louise Baring generously lent me books, as did my old friend Sir Max Hastings who once again also provided intriguing tips and quotes.
At Penguin Venetia Butterfield has provided wonderful encouragement, Daniel Crewe has proved a masterly editor, and John Hamilton who designed the jacket for Stalingrad twenty years ago has again shown himself to be a peerless art director. It has also been hugely reassuring to work with Peter James as the copyeditor once again. At Penguin in the United States Kathryn Court and Victoria Savanh have been ideal editors. I am also blessed once more with Alex Hippisley-Cox’s inspired planning and handling of publicity. And Andrew Nurnberg, who has been my literary agent and great friend for the last thirty-five years, has again advised me superbly. His outstanding team has continued to maintain excellent relations with all my foreign publishers, and Robin Straus has handled everything in the United States to perfection.
Finally my eternal gratitude and love go to my editor of first resort Artemis Cooper for having agreed to marry me in the first place and then to have put up with me for so long. This book is dedicated to her.