The Rhine Crossings 1945

By Ken Ford

'The last great heave of war,' according to Churchill, took place with the crossing of the Rhine in 1945. No invading army had crossed this great river since Napoleon's in 1805, and the task fell to Field Marshal Montgomery's 21st Army Group. Opposing them were the forces of a failing fascist regime, including battalions of old men and boys, strengthened by several formations of crack troops, including paratroopers and Panzer Grenadiers.

This book details the devastating Anglo-American assault from Arnhem during World War II (1939-1945), starting with the battle of Arnhem, and leading on to the successful crossing of the Rhine and eventual breakout, and continuing with the advance across northern Germany. Including comprehensive details on all aspects of the operation, including the amphibious assault, airborne landings, special forces' attack and armored land battle, this book charts the history of the last great set-piece battle of the war, second in magnitude only to the Normandy invasion, that ultimately brought the defeat of Hitler's Nazi regime one step closer.


From the Trade Paperback edition.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
• Release date: Apr 19, 2011
• ISBN: 9781849087230

Ken Ford

Ken Ford was born in Hampshire in 1943. He trained as an engineer and spent almost thirty years in the telecommunications industry. He now spends his time as an author and a bookseller specialising in military history. He has written a number of books on various Second World War subjects. Ken now lives in Southampton.

Reviews for The Rhine Crossings 1945

[ericcostello-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Solid entry in Osprey's Campaign series, this one looking at the crossings by Anglo-American forces of the Rhine River, in March of 1945. While the battle does not have the drama of other campaigns (probably the sole drawback for this entry), Ford does an admirable job of laying out how the battle was set up, and how it was carried out.