A vivid chronicle of the first battle between British and German paratroopers-the unsung battle that prefigured The Battle of Arnham.
From July 13th to 16th, 1943, British paratroopers fought for control of a strategically important bridge in Sicily. Now, the Battle of Primosole Bridge is brought to life in the first narrative solely dedicated to one of the bloodiest and hardest fought battles for British airborne troops of World War Two.
The British paratroopers of the famed 1st Parachute Brigade, known as the 'Red Devils,' fought their equally esteemed German paratrooper opponents, known as the 'Green Devils,' during the Allies' first invasion of Hitler's Fortress Europe. The paratroopers found themselves cut off behind enemy lines with dwindling ammunition as they faced ever-growing enemy forces. Yet they courageously maintained the fight until ground forces arrive to capture the bridge before it was destroyed.
The hard-won experience of the 1st Parachute Brigade was then tested only a year later in an almost identical battle on a larger scale: The Battle of Arnhem-the battle christened "a bridge too far." While Arnhem is well documented, the events at Primosole Bridge deserve to be told at last.
