Four Hours of Fury: The Untold Story of World War II's Largest Airborne Operation and the Final Push into Nazi Germany

FOUR HOURS OF FURY                        JAMES M. FENELON

On the morning of March 24, 1945, more than two thousand Allied aircraft droned through a cloudless sky toward Germany. Escorted by swarms of darting fighters, the armada of transport planes carried 17,000 troops to be dropped, via parachute and glider, on the far banks of the Rhine River. Four hours later, after what was the war’s largest airdrop, all major objectives had been seized. The invasion smashed Germany’s last line of defense and gutted Hitler’s war machine; the war in Europe ended less than two months later.

Four Hours of Fury follows the 17th Airborne Division as they prepare for Operation Varsity, a campaign that would rival Normandy in scale and become one of the most successful and important of the war. Even as the Third Reich began to implode, it was vital for Allied troops to have direct access into Germany to guarantee victory—the 17th Airborne secured that bridgehead over the River Rhine. And yet their story has until now been relegated to history’s footnotes.

PAT'S REVIEW

This WWII book is about Operation Varsity, an allied paratrooper assault which included the U.S. 17th Airborne and also the British 6th Airborne. It would be the largest paratrooper landing in WWII with the objective being the Northern part of the Rhine River with its bridges and towns forcing the Germans from the North and South especially after the Battle of the Bulge. The first part of the book goes into the planning and details of the mission. How Montgomery wanted Ridgeway to be the American commander and who Ridgeway fought not to but was ordered. Them how he would disagree with Montgomery on when the jump should take place and other items as well. The second part of the book is about the jump into the different drop zones different battles that took place and the gallant and sometimes heroic effort to make sure that what was planned was succeeded. I found all of this book to be very informative especially since none of the information is ever covered in any other history books that I can think of. The efforts again of the troops go and show the dedication to each other and to the defeat of Germany and its war machine. Overall a very good book and worth the read for anyone who likes history. I received this book from Netgalley.com I gave it 5 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com