Al Murray explains why the Battle of Arnhem was one of Britain’s greatest defeats

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“Britains are magnetically drawn culturally to defeat, it seems.”

Al Murray talks about his new book Arnhem: Black Tuesday based on the real events that inspired the film A Bridge Too Far, “my dad served with people who fought at the bridge.”

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9 thoughts on “Al Murray explains why the Battle of Arnhem was one of Britain’s greatest defeats”

  1. Not a defeat. A setback.
    A Mammoth feat of Arms which contributed hugely to undermine German morale and boost the Dutch resolve.
    It was an example of what we could and would do and the Germans did not know what would come next.
    The operation captured several key bridges and drove the frontline forwards dozens of miles. Freeing Eindhoven and Nijmegen. Several small towns and millions of Dutch people.

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  2. I take issue with your statement. The British 1st Airborne Division was unable to secure the bridge at Arnham and was withdrawn from the north side of the Rhine after suffering 8,000 dead, missing, and captured out of a complement of 12,000 men. So on the face of it, it would appear to have been a bad defeat. However you have to look at the full facts that they held out more than twice as long as was originally planned and were opposed by a panzer unit which was not supposed to have been there. The end result was as much a problem of insufficient ammunition to last as long as they did. If you want the biggest defeat – The Battle of Isandlwana on 22 January 1879 was the worst. The British Army had suffered its worst defeat against an indigenous foe equipped with vastly inferior military technology.

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  3. The price of Freedom is a heavy one, much more than 2% GDP

    Age shall not weary them nor the years condemn,
    At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them
    🪖📯

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  5. Any Squaddie or Veteran will always find fault with civilians portraying British soldiers, like wearing berets that look like cow pats, or saluting when not wearing a hat, or saying Sarge instead of Sarnt, etc. I must admit that some of the scenes in A Bridge Too Far had me cringing, but other actors, notable Connery, Caine, Hopkins, and Fox were very true to military life.

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