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[[File:82nd_Grave.jpg|thumbnail|350px250px|left|82nd Airborne Division dropped near Grave]]Operation Market Garden, launched 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. This operation was even the subject of the 1977 star -studded movie <i>[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0792839730/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0792839730&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=9a43d7d4c531bad29c0c0e65b6ce2267 A Bridge Too Far]</i> directed by Richard Attenborough. His He 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 . The allied offensive was to prove to be a costly failure and may have even delayed their victory in Europe. Why did this operation fail? Was it Montgomery's over-optimistic planning, poor strategy, poor leadership, German resistance , or the terrain.?
===Background=Why were the Allied advances grinding to half before Market Garden? ==[[File: Montgomery E010786478-v8.jpg|thumbnail|200px250px|left|General Bernard Montgomery (1944)]]The Allies had landed in Normandy on the 6th of June 1944. After establishing several beach heads beachheads in Normandy, the Allies managed to push forward into the Normandy countryside.<ref>Harclerode, Peter, ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0297846825/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0297846825&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=4d838669f1b185bdbb1d8898e27add71 Wings Of War: Airborne Warfare 1918–1945]'' (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 2005), p. 45</ref> The Germans initially managed to slow the Allies advance, however. However, a brilliant piece of Allied strategy, resulted in the encirclement of a large part of the Nazi German army, in the Falaise Pocket. The combined Anglo-American divisions inflicted huge losses on the Germans. The German army was forced into a headlong retreat. Paris was soon retaken by the Allies.<ref>Harcerode, p. 46</ref> The Nazi army was practically forced out of France and retreated towards Alsace-Lorraine and Belgium. It seemed to many that the Allies were on the verge of invading German and some even spoke optimistically of ending the war by Christmas.
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. There were American, British and Polish units involved in the massive airdrops. The ‘Garden’ part of the plan would involve several British Armored Divisions moving into the Netherlands governments became increasingly eager to link up with end the paratroopers war in Europe and wanted to turn their attention to defend the bridges from any German counterattackPacific Theater. According The western allies believed that they were in a race to MontgomeryBerlin with the Soviet Army, for and they did not want the strategy Red Army to have worked it was dependent on two things, the quick capture of all the bridges by the Allies Germany and the ground forces linking with the paratroopers, within days.<ref>Montgomery, pturn it into a client state of Moscow. 118</ref>
===The Battle=What was Montgomery's Strategy for Operation Market Garden? == [[File:Sherman_tanks_of_the_Irish_Guards_GroupBritish paratroopers in Oosterbeek.jpg|thumbnail|275px250px|Irish Guard Sherman tanks advance on September 17, left|British paratroopers at Arnhem (1944) during Operation Market Garden]]Operation Market Garden began on The allies needed to break the Germans' resistance and cross the Rhine in the 17th of September 1944Low Countries. It was a coordinated action by AmericanGeneral Bernard Montgomery, the hero of the British victory at El Alamein, proposed a Polish Airborne and mainly British forcesdaring plan. The operation began with heavy air raidsAs recounted in his memoirs, in order field Marshal Montgomery’s goal was to weaken any resistance. The paratroopers began landing at 13.00hrs around targets invade Germany by securing the bridges over the Lower Rhine in the Netherlands, chiefly Eindhoven, Arnhem and Nijmegen.<ref> DevlinMontgomery, Gerard M.Bernard Law. ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0860510689B0007J1BXO/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0860510689B0007J1BXO&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=649bb9080e6f13f739965427274aedcb Paratrooper: The Saga Of Parachute And Glider Combat Troops During World War II1ed80a46adf53fbeae6a37e7dbcb15e2 Normandy to the Baltic]''(Hutchinson & Co. Robson BooksLondon, NY, 19791947), p. 117157</ref>. The paratroopers This idea had the advantage of surprise and they achieved their objectives. The Germans had been taken completely several advantages such as by surprise. The initial phase of -passing the operation was a total successSiegfried Line. It had been feared that the Germans would blow up Montgomery wanted an airborne assault in the Netherlands to secure key bridges and this would mean that over the plan Lower Rhine. This would have to be aborted. The rapid capture of the bridges meant that allow the ground forces would be able Allies to reach enter into the landing zonesNorthern German plains, and support the paratrooperswhere there were no natural barriers, to their advance to Berlin.<ref>DevlinBurgett, p. 119117</ref>
The British operation would involve four airborne divisions. The paratroopers soon found themselves surrounded as would land in the SS had encircled them. The lightly armed British soldiers fought bravelyarea by gliders, but or they could not hold out for longwould parachute into the target zones. An elite British unit, the Irish GuardsSome 50, was fighting its way forward to help the airborne 000 troops. Howeverwere involved, because of the terrain they had to fight their way up to Arnhem on a single road and they would also be supplied with some light artillery. There were constantly attacked. This road came to be known as American, British, and Polish units involved in the Highway to Hellmassive airdrops. The tanks ‘Garden’ part of the Guards could not leave plan would involve several British Armored Divisions moving into the narrow road as Netherlands to link up with the ground was very marshy paratroopers and much of it was bog landdefend the bridges from any German counterattack. As According to Montgomery, for the Irish Guards made their way strategy to Arnhem they were easily picked off by the Germanshave worked, who attacked them from the cover of woodland. Eventuallyit depended on two things, such was the ferocity quick capture of all the German resistance that bridges by the British came to a halt. The paratroopers at Arnhem were isolated Allies and cut-off and were forced to surrender. Operation Market Garden had achieved all of its objectives, except the most important one, ground forces linking with the capture of the Bridge at Arnhemparatroopers within days.<ref>HastingsMontgomery, p. 135118</ref>
===Montgomery’s Optimistic Planning=What Happened during Operation Market Garden? ==Even before [[File:Sherman_tanks_of_the_Irish_Guards_Group.jpg|thumbnail|left|250px|Irish Guard Sherman tanks advance on September 17, 1944, during Operation Market Garden]]Operation Market Garden began on the start 17th of the September 1944. It was a coordinated action by American, British a Polish Airborne, and mainly British forces. The operation, many feared that Montgomery’s plan was too optimisticbegan with heavy air raids to weaken any resistance. The commander of paratroopers began landing at 13.00hrs around targets in the Polish airborne unit declared that the plan was flawed Netherlands, chiefly Eindhoven, Arnhem, and famously stated that the prime objective of the offensive the Arnhem Bridge was ‘a bridge too farNijmegen.’<ref> RyanDevlin, Gerard M.. ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0860510689/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0860510689&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=649bb9080e6f13f739965427274aedcb Paratrooper: The Saga Of Parachute And Glider Combat Troops During World War II]'' Robson Books, NY, 1979), p 89. 117</ref> He meant that Montgomery’s aims were simply too ambitious . The paratroopers had the advantage of surprise, and that he they achieved their objectives. The Germans had been taken completely by surprise. The initial phase of the operation was asking too much of his mena total success. Montgomery also assumed It had been feared that the paratroop unit could retain their landing zones and Germans would blow up the bridges for a given period , which would mean that the plan would have to be aborted. The rapid capture of time. Paratroops were only lightly armed the bridges meant that the ground forces would be able to reach the landing zones and without support from ground troops and tanks they could hold out for longthe paratroopers. The British General<ref>Devlin, was wrong to believe that airborne troops could resist assault from ground troops supported by armor for a period of daysp. 119</ref>
Crucially Montgomery failed to understand the terrain that he expected his men to fight in. The roads in the Netherlands were narrow, and that the ground around them was unsuitable for armor. This was a fundamental error- Montgomery had simply assumed that his tanks could rapidly make their way to the landing zones by using only the roads. During the battle, the roads became death traps for many British units. They soon became clogged with burned-out tanks and vehicles. This critically delayed the ground forces coming to the support of the paratroopers in Arnhem in particular. Perhaps the Montgomery plan's biggest failing was that it assumed that the Germans had been decisively beaten and that any counter-attack that they could launch in the area would be limited.<ref>Montgomery, p. 178</ref> == Were the Allies prepared for the German Counter-attack during Operation Market Garden?==[[File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-J27784,_Arnheim,_Walter_Model,_Heinz_Harmel.jpg|thumbnail|225px|General Walter Model with SS-Brigadeführer Heinz Harmel]] The Germans had been driven back some two hundred miles in a matter of weeks. The British and the Americans dominated the skies and constantly harassed the Germans. The roads had become very unsafe for the Germans, and they had also come under attack from the local resistance movements. The Germans had lost some 90,000 killed or wounded during the summer of 1944, and a further 200,000 had been taken prisoner or missing in action.<ref> Ryan, p. 1, 45</ref> However, after the British army failed to encircle the German army in the Scheldt Estuary, it allowed the Germans time to regroup in the Netherlands. The German front had begun to stabilize. They were also ably led by the very experienced General Walter Model. He also received some reinforcements in the remaining units of the 9th and 10th SS Panzer Divisions. Unfortunately, for the Allies, especially the British, the SS units were positioned in Arnhem. This was not merely bad luck, but due to good German intelligence.<ref>Hastings, p. 119</ref> == Why did Montegomery ignore the Dutch Resistance's Intelligence regarding German Troop Movements? ==The Germans had anticipated that there would be an offensive launched to seize Arnhem, Wesel, and Nijmegen. A senior intelligence official argued that the British and the Americans would use airborne troops. However, he did not predict where the assault would be. Nevertheless, German intelligence provided the High Command with the information they needed to prepare for any planned Allied attack. The German General Model heeded his intelligence officers, and this was to prove decisive. The British had excellent intelligence.<ref> Ryan, p. 45</ref> They had reliable information on the Germans' movements from the Dutch Resistance, and they could also employ aerial reconnaissance planes to obtain photographic intelligence. One reconnaissance mission was able to provide images that seemed to show German forces in the Arnhem area. This was confirmed by information from the local resistance. This was compelling proof that the Germans had significant forces and that any air assault on the region would be a great risk. The intelligence officer who reported this to Montgomery was not believed. When he tried to persuade Montgomery that there was a large build-up of German forces near Arnhem, he was relieved of his command, and rumors spread that he had a nervous breakdown. Montgomery’s refusal to heed intelligence was to result in a near disaster for the British. It appears that the General refused to countenance anything that contradicted his views as he was utterly convinced of the brilliance of his plans for Market Garden and his own infallibility.<ref> Harclerode, p. 127</ref> ==What were the Consequences of the failure of Operation Market Garden? === The operation was not a total failure as it did lead led to the liberation of large areas of southern Netherlands areas and gained hold of several strategic bridges. However, it failed to secure the key bridge at Arnhem, that which would have allowed the Allies to cross the Rhine. The failure at Arnhem meant that any planned invasion of Germany had to be delayed. The Germans, although they had lost ground, were we're able to establish a strong defensive line. In total, the Allies had suffered some 15,000 casualties and had many thousands more taken prisoner. The Germans had also lost equipment and vehicles that they could ill-afford to use. An unintended consequence of the offensive was a serious famine in the Netherlands. The Dutch railways stopped during the battle, to stop German reinforcements from getting to the front line. In revenge, the Germans forbade the transportation of food, by train and in the following winter , there were serious food shortages throughout the Netherland’s and thousands died of starvation or malnutrition.<ref>Ryan, p. 378</ref> ===Conclusion=Operation Market Garden failed to meet any of its Objectives ==Operation Market Garden was a tactical defeat for the Allies, as it failed to achieve all its objectives. It failed to secure the key bridge at Arnhem and this , which meant that they were halted at the Rhine. This probably delayed the eventual Allied victory in western Europe. The operation failed because of a failure in planning, intelligence, and a lack of understanding of the terrain's nature of the terrain. There was also a mistaken belief that the Germans had been all put but defeated. Market Garden was moreover fundamentally flawed as it mistakenly believed that airborne forces could resist heavily armed troops for an extended period. While not exclusively to blame, many of these failures were a result of Montgomery and his over-optimistic ideas and his arrogance. The failure of Operation Market Garden was largely the result of the poor leadership and tactics of General Montgomery.{{Mediawiki:Cell}}<div class="portal" style="width:85%;">==Related DailyHistory.org Articles==*[[Causes of World War II Top Ten Booklist]]*[[How did Joseph Stalin react to the German invasion during WWII?]]*[[How historically accurate is the movie 'A Bridge Too Far'?]]*[[Why was France defeated in 1940?]]*[[Why did Germany lose the Battle of Stalingrad?]]</div>
Moreover, Market Garden was fundamentally flawed as it mistakenly believed that airborne forces could resist heavily armed troops for an extended period. While not exclusively to blame, many of these failures resulted from Montgomery and his over-optimistic ideas and arrogance. The failure of Operation Market Garden was largely the result of General Montgomery's poor leadership and tactics.
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Updated November 21, 2020