Books in the Past & Present series

Bastogne will live forever in the annals of American military history. From the resounding 'Nuts', in response to the German demand for surrender, to the breaking of the siege by Patton¿s Third Army ¿ brilliantly disengaged from its positions on the Saar, wheeled 90 degrees and marched northwards faster than any thought possible ¿ the defense of Bastogne and victory in the Ardennes was one of the greatest feats of American arms in the European Theatre. This title in the Past & Present series looks at the encirclement, siege, and relief with then and now photographs; specially commissioned aerial photos, and a wealth of detail.

Now part of the successful GWR franchise, the line from Swindon to Bristol forms part of Brunel's original Great Western Railway from Paddington to Bristol, Wales and the south-west of England.

Operation Tonga began at 22:56 on the night of 5 June, when six Halifax heavy bombers took off from Tarrant Rushton towing six Horsas carrying a coup¿de¿main force consisting of D Coy, Ox and Bucks LI reinforced with two extra platoons from B Coy and a party of sappers, who were tasked with capturing the bridges over the Caen Canal and the River Orne. 6th Airborne Division¿which included 1st Canadian Para Bn¿had been allotted three specific tasks to achieve, apart from protecting the eastern flank of the Allied seaborne landings. First, it was to capture intact the two bridges over the Caen Canal and the Orne River at Benouville and Ranville. Second, the division was to destroy the heavily fortified Merville coastal artillery battery located at Franceville Plage, to ensure that it could not shell the British forces landing on Sword Beach. A third task was to destroy several bridges spanning the River Dives¿at Varaville, Robehomme, Bures, and Troarn. The division would then hold the territory that it had seized until it could be relieved by advancing Allied ground forces.

Photographs old and new reconstruct the battles of the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte in 1944, providing a vivid comparison between then and now.