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==Montgomery's Strategy==
[[File:British paratroopers in Oosterbeek.jpg|thumbnail|270px|British paratroopers at Arnhem (1944)]]
The allies needed to break the Germans resistance 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</ref>. This idea 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; 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 ground forces arrived. 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 operation involved the airborne aspect of the operation. <ref>Montgomery, p. 113</ref>
