Merry Christmas from We Have Ways of Making You Talk. Over the next 12 days Al and James are reading extracts from some of their favourite books about the Second World War. Today James is reading from And No Birds

Chapter 18: The Cauldron, by Zeno In September, 1944, the British 1st Airborne Division found itself in a fierce battle for the Dutch city of Arnhem. Al Murray reads the story of a single platoon trapped in the smoking ruins

By 1945 the British Indian Army was the largest volunteer force in history.Military historian Rob Lyman argues that Indian soldiers were not given enough credit for their efforts in helping beat the Japanese.

Chapter 20: The Cauldron, by Zeno In September, 1944, the British 1st Airborne Division found itself in a fierce battle for the Dutch city of Arnhem. Al Murray reads the story of a single platoon trapped in the smoking ruins