Operation Market Garden

[TheDruid-3X3]

Greetings:

I am watching the Movie 'One Bridge Too Far' and I have realized One Thing.

If I were to do the Operation over again, I would have held off launching the Parachute Drop onto Arnhem until the Parachute Link Up with the 2nd Bridge was assured of being Successful and On Time.

Once it was assured that the 2nd Bridge was being taken NP, then I would have Launched the Landing into Arnhem.

But around the time the 2nd Bridge was taken, the attack may have Diverted the Panzer Divisions down South away from Arnhem allowing the British Airborne Divisions to Land with not as much Trouble as they did encounter.

Do you guys think it would have been better to Delayed the British Airborne Landings until later?

3X3
 

[woolley]

It would have ruined the film.

[RIchard Britten]

Gene Hackman's accent almost did that...

[mojomonkey]

If only the generals had watched the film before planning their attack.

[Tarne]

It wasn't just what was going on in the film that was the issue, but yes, there were failures. That's the thing with war, you generally don't know exactly what forces the enemy has and where. 

Not enough armour, not enough air support, too well defended areas. Ah well, six months later it got sorted out. 

[Donald Trumps]

Everything had gone too far ahead in the planning & scheduling to rearrange the airdrop when significant German motorised armour was discovered to be in the Arnhem area

[woolley]

3 hours ago, mojomonkey said:

If only the generals had watched the film before planning their attack.

You wouldn't put it past them to have carried on anyway.

[Donald Trumps]

Well, that's what they did effectively

& as an operation it was two thirds successful

[Albert Tatlock]

Arnhem...where one of the best VC's of World War 2 was awarded to a Manxman.

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Henry_Cain

 

 

 

.

[TheDruid-3X3]

Cain's Story was Interesting.  Good Post for Grumpy Old Man.

 

 

3X3

 

[Donald Trumps]

There's a YouTube video about the great man, made by Jeremy Clarkson

[quilp]

Monty's petulant vanity also played a part. He was so insistent that his plan should be followed, even going so far as to tear an alternative plan to shreds in front of Ike. Ike said something like, 'you can't do that Bernard, I'm your boss'.

Complete underestimation of German available forces, firepower and conditions of the terrain led to this debacle and had it happened later the outcome actually could've been worse because of Allied supply problems: support artillery arriving late, lack of light, personal anti-tank weapons. Who knew there'd be 2 SS Panzer divisions on 'rest and refit', one of them fully operational, for instance? Or that a ferry was available that could provide a way across the Rhine? Allied intelligence failure, big-time. 

 

So, whether the time was right or not? It was a costly gamble and destined to be a strategic failure down to poor planning and intelligence. Those first few months were testing for the Allied powers. 

[Albert Tatlock]

Hindsight...such a wonderful thing.

[dilligaf]

7 hours ago, Donald Trumps said:

There's a YouTube video about the great man, made by Jeremy Clarkson

Clarkson's father in law wasn't it?

[Donald Trumps]

Not any more!