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====Background====[[File: Montgomery E010786478-v8.jpg|thumbnail|200px|left|General Bernard Montgomery (1944)]]The Allies had landed in Normandy on the 6th of June 1944. After establishing several beach heads 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, 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 German 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. However, in truth, the Allied successes had brought its own problems. The Allies supply lines were overstretched and this was slowing down the Americans and British in particular, the shortage of oil meant that Patton’s armored divisions had to halt their advance. This was to prove crucial and it allowed the Germans to regroup in the west, when it appeared that they would disintegrate, leading to the end of the war.<ref> Burgett, Donald. The Road to Arnhem: A Screaming Eagle in Holland. Dell Publishing, NY, 2001), p. 9</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 river would form a formidable natural barrier to any Allied advance but if they liberated the Low Countries it would allow them to cross the Rhine and then 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 and they did not want the Red Army to capture all Germany and to turn it into a client state of Moscow.
===Montgomery's Strategy===
[[File:British paratroopers in Oosterbeek.jpg|thumbnail|350px|left|British paratroopers at Arnhem (1944) during Operation Market Garden]]
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. ''[https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007J1BXO/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0007J1BXO&linkCode=as2&tag=dailyh0c-20&linkId=1ed80a46adf53fbeae6a37e7dbcb15e2 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>
===The Battle=== [[File:Sherman_tanks_of_the_Irish_Guards_Group.jpg|thumbnail|left|275px|Irish Guard Sherman tanks advance on September 17, 1944 during Operation Market Garden]]Operation Market Garden began on the 17th of September 1944. It was a coordinated action by American, British a Polish Airborne and mainly British forces. The operation began with heavy air raids, in order to weaken any resistance. The paratroopers began landing at 13.00hrs around targets in the Netherlands, chiefly Eindhoven, Arnhem and Nijmegen.<ref> Devlin, 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. 117</ref>. The paratroopers had the advantage of surprise and they achieved their objectives. The Germans had been taken completely by surprise. The initial phase of the operation was a total success. It had been feared that the Germans would blow up the bridges and this would mean that the plan would have to be aborted. The rapid capture of the bridges meant that the ground forces would be able to reach the landing zones, and support the paratroopers.<ref>Devlin, p. 119</ref>
==Intelligence Failure==Montgomery’s Optimistic Planning====The Germans had anticipated that there would be an offensive launched with Even before the objective start of seizing Arnhemthe operation, Wesel and Nijmegenmany feared that Montgomery’s plan was too optimistic. A senior intelligence officer argued The commander of the Polish airborne unit declared that the British plan was flawed and famously stated that the American would use airborne troops. However, he did not predict where prime objective of the assault would be. Nevertheless, German intelligence was able to provide offensive 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 Arnhem Bridge was to prove decisive‘a bridge too far. The British had excellent intelligence’<ref> Ryan, p. 4589</ref>He meant that Montgomery’s aims were simply too ambitious and that he was asking too much of his men. They had reliable information on Montgomery also assumed that the movements paratroop unit could retain their landing zones and the bridges for a given period of the Germans, time. Paratroops were only lightly armed and without support from the Dutch Resistance ground troops and tanks they could also employ aerial reconnaissance planes to obtain photographic intelligencenot hold out for long. One reconnaissance mission The British General was able wrong to provide images believe that seemed to show German forces in the Arnhem area. This was confirmed airborne troops could resist assault from ground troops supported 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 riskarmor for several days.
====German Counter-attack====[[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 failure of the British army to encircle the German army in the Scheldt Estuary, 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 form of 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> ====Intelligence Failure====The Germans had anticipated that there would be an offensive launched with the objective of seizing Arnhem, Wesel, and Nijmegen. A senior intelligence officer argued that the British and the American would use airborne troops. However, he did not predict where the assault would be. Nevertheless, German intelligence was able to provide 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 movements of the Germans, 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> ====Consequences of Market Garden====<div class="portal" style='float:right; width:35%'> ====Related DailyHistory.org Articles===={{#dpl:category=World War Two History|ordermethod=firstedit|order=descending|count=7}}</div>The operation was not a total failure as it did lead to the liberation of large areas of southern Netherlands and the gain gained hold of several strategic bridges. However, it failed to secure the key bridge at Arnhem, that 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 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 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 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 nature of the terrain. There was also a mistaken belief that the Germans had been all put 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.
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