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==Introduction==

Operation Market Garden, in September 1944, was an unsuccessful Allied offensive mainly, fought in the Netherlands. It was the largest airborne operation in history up to that time. The operation was a daring one and it was the brainchild of the British General Bernard Montgomery. His intended the airborne offensive to allow the allies to break into the German heartland and to end the war, quickly. However, this was not the case, the allied offensive was to prove to be a costly failure and may have even delayed their victory in Europe. This article will discuss the reasons for the failure of the operation and they will be optimistic planning, poor strategy, intelligence failures, poor leadership, German resistance and the weather.

==Background==

==Reasons for Market Garden==

By the Autumn of 1944, it was apparent to the Allied High Command that the Germans had managed to retrieve the situation and would offer stiff resistance to any future Allied offensive. In the Autumn of 1944, a British assault failed to take the deep water port of Antwerp and had allowed some 80,000 German troops from Scheldt Estuary. This became known as the ‘Great Mistake’ and was perhaps one of the biggest in the entire war <ref> Burgett, p. 37</ref>. The Allied high command was reluctant to attack the Germans from eastern France, as the Nazi government had constructed a massive line of defense, consisting of fortresses, on their border with Germany, this was known as the Siegfried Line. The British and the Americans had to go through the Low Countries to invade Germany and to end the war<ref> Ryan, Cornelius, A Bridge Too Far (Wordsworth Editions, London, 1999), p. 78</ref>. The Allies believed that they would need an innovative plan to break the German frontline in the Low Countries and in Alsace Lorraine. General Eisenhower and other leaders turned their attention to the Low Countries. It offered them ports which could be used to re-supply the Allied divisions, who still were reliant on the Normandy ports for their supplies. The more forward thinking of the allied strategists became concerned about the Rhine<ref> Ryan, p. 46</ref>. This would form a formidable natural barrier to any Allied advance and the Low Countries could allow the Allies bridges that would allow them to cross the Rhine and in turn enable them to cross into Northern Germany and then onto Berlin. The American and the British governments became increasingly eager to end the War in Europe and they wanted to turn their attention to the Pacific War. Then the western allies believed that they were in a race to Berlin with the Soviet Army. Many wanted to secure as much territory in Europe to prevent them from falling into Communist hands who would presumably set up puppet governments in these areas.

The allies needed to break the Germans and cross the Rhine in the Low Countries. General Bernard Montgomery, the hero of the British victory at EL Alamein, proposed a daring plan. Field Marshal Montgomery’s goal, as recounted in his memoirs was to invade Germany by securing the bridges over the Lower Rhine in the Netherlands<ref> Montgomery, Bernard Law. Normandy to the Baltic ( Hutchinson & Co. London, 1947), p. 157. This had several advantages such as by-passing the Siegfried Line. Montgomery wanted an airborne assault in the Netherlands to secure key bridges over the Lower Rhine. This would allow the Allies to enter into the Northern German plains, where there were no natural barriers, to their advance to Berlin <ref>Burgett, p. 117</ref>. Montgomery’s plan was initially more ambitious but he scaled back his plans in response to Eisenhower’s criticism. Montgomery proposed the following that airborne units would be dropped behind the German lines to secure the bridges over the Meuse and the two tributaries of the Rhine. The airborne units would hold the bridges until the British army reached the bridges. Montgomery believed that not only would this airborne operation succeed in securing bridges over the Rhine, but result in the retreat of German Divisions into Germany. The Allied High Command agreed to the plan. Montgomery staked his reputation on the strategy and was backed by Churchill. The offensive was to be called Market Garden. The Market part of the plan involved the airborne aspect of the operation <ref>Montgomery, p. 113</ref>. The operation would involve four airborne divisions. The paratroopers would land in the area by gliders or they would parachute into the target zones. Some 50,000 troops were involved and they would also be supplied with some light artillery. They were American, British and Polish units involved. The ‘Garden’ part of the plan would involve several British Armored Divisions moving into the Netherlands to link up with the paratroopers and to secure the bridges from any German counterattack. According to Montgomery, for the strategy to have worked it was dependent on two things, the quick capture of all the bridges by the Allies and the ground forces linking with the paratroopers, within days<ref>Montgomery, p. 118</ref>.