"Compellingly chronicles one of the least studied great episodes of
World War II with power and authority...A riveting read" (Donald L.
Miller, New York Times bestselling author of Masters of the Air)
about World War II's largest airborne operation--one that dropped 17,000
Allied paratroopers deep into the heart of Nazi Germany.
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.
In this viscerally exciting account, paratrooper-turned-historian James
Fenelon "details every aspect of the American 17th Airborne Division's
role in Operation Varsity...inspired" (The Wall Street Journal).
Reminiscent of A Bridge Too Far and Masters of the Air, Four Hours
of Fury does for the 17th Airborne what Band of Brothers did for the
101st. It is a captivating, action-packed tale of heroism and triumph
spotlighting one of World War II's most under-chronicled and dangerous
operations.
