On September 17, 1944, in broad daylight, the Allies launched the largest airborne operation ever conducted. The objective: to secure a road in Nazi-occupied Holland and a bridge across the Rhine for ground troops to advance into Germany . . . and to end the war by Christmas. For the 101st Airborne, charged with seizing key bridges, that road became known as Hells Highway, and it saw what may have been the most savagely fought single action in the...