Arnhem Lift

by Louis Hagen

A tale of great heroism and tragic misjudgement, by an extraordinary man with an extraordinary story to tell Our huts had been locked and left just as they were when we left them on Monday morning. We took the keys, went in and sat down on our beds. The four of us looked round the hut. There were eighteen empty beds. It was very quiet now . . . Of the 10,000 men who landed at Arnhem, 1,400 were killed over nine days, and more than 6,000—about a third of them wounded—were captured. It was a bloody disaster. The remarkable Louis Hagen, an "enemy alien" who had escaped to England having been imprisoned and tortured in a Nazi concentration camp as a boy just a few years earlier, was one of the minority who made it back. What makes this book so unforgettable is not only the breathtaking drama of the story itself, it is the unmistakable talent of the writer. The narrative was first published anonymously in 1945. When 45 years later at a dinner party in Germany, Louis Hagen met Major Winrich Behr, Adjutant to Field Marshal Model at Arnhem, Louis added Behr's side of the story to add even more insight to the original work.

Genres: Military History, World War II

152 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1945

About the author

Louis Edmund Hagen

Reviews

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

So few people are aware of the contribution made by the Glider Pilot Regiment. Unlike their American counterparts that were basically civillians that were evacuated home as soon as they landed, these troops were every bit as much a special force as those that they were carrying; They formed part of the frontline - fighting.

Louis Hagen, a veteran of the Regiment takes you on an historical journey through their history, culminating in the debacle at Arnhem.

[Richard Valle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book for a very low level look at what it was like during the Operation Market Garden battle. I had wondered what happened to the glider pilots when they landed... they became foot soldiers like everyone else. At the end there is a few pages of what the Germans saw as told by one of the officers there though this is a high level view.

[Keli · Rating 3 out of 5]

I might pop it up to four stars. I found it astoundingly mundane yet mad, so much so that it felt almost tedious. There's no real omph to it but it is just a biography of 7 days in Arnhem.

[Ian Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The amazing story of a German who became an Englishman and then fought at Arnhem with distinction.

[Bob the gnome · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a reason not all diary writers have published great novels, and it’s a simple reason: not all people who write are (great) writers. The same goes for Louis Hagen. He wasn’t a great writer and his diary on the battle of Arnhem seems rather tedious and dull. But that’s because it’s a detailed account of what happened. If you look at this book not from the perspective of “is it a great novel?” but through the question “is it a great historical document?” than one has to answer, yes. Yes it is. And anyone who wants to understand the life of a simple soldier on both sides of the frontline should read it.

[Kyle Mackenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extraordinary story of an extraordinary man