One of the best sources of primary material when researching any military campaign are the documents that were made at the time, and this Royal Engineers account of the campaign in Europe 1944-1945 that covers operations from after the Seine crossing to the Rhine crossing by 30 Corps in March 1945 is one such impressive source.
These books give an account of operations in France and Flanders 1940, and then go on to look at operations in Belgium and the advance of 30 Corps to the Nederrijn, 1 Airborne Division at Arnhem, airfield construction in the Eindhoven area, the battle of the Rhineland between the Maas and the Rhine in February 1945, and concludes with details of the Rhine crossing.
The two-book set is full of details and includes all the original maps reproduced in colour. These volumes are fundamental to an understanding of the overall picture of these operations, and the maps add even more to that picture.
BAOR: ROYAL ENGINEERS BATTLEFIELD TOUR – THE SEINE TO THE RHINE Vol. 1 – An account of the operations included in the tour Vol. 2 – A guide to the conduct of the tour
Prepared in 1946, these volumes were designed for succeeding generations of Royal Engineers who would visit the battlefields of north-west Europe after the war. Their purpose was to demonstrate the problems faced by the Royal Engineers in the major campaigns of the Second World War and the problems they used to solve them. The operations chosen for inclusion in this tour were done so because they were regarded as typical examples of engineering tasks. There is fabulous detail on the Royal Engineers’ aspects of operations, including Arnhem, the Battle of the Rhineland and the Rhine crossing, and numerous accounts by participating officers and NCOs, with exceptional detailed colour printed maps of operations.
The two-book set (bound in one volume) is newly republished in large format on heavy paper.
The original edition of this work is now very scarce with second-hand copies fetching £250+ on the used book marketplace.