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Yep......
Okay, sorry I thought it was about expecting 1million+ dead GI's.
Regards
Kruska
Most of the planners who were going to be responsible for actually moving the dead and wounded or giving them medals had a better idea than revisionist.
"Had the British been able to secure and hold Arnhem, the whole operation would have succeeded."
The British 1st Airborne captured and held Arnhem longer than anticipated and all the men there fought with extreme determination and bravery. The plan did not just fail because the British failed to "secure and hold Arnhem".
Operation "Market Garden" failed for countless reasons, and the Americans were at fault too. First and foremost the lack of communication between commands and intelligence staff was a bad start; the intelligence was present from the outset but it wasn't taken onboard - and the true extent of the German presence wasn't realised.
Secondly there weren't enough aircraft for the drops to be made; the British drops at Oosterbeek were made in waves and the initial surprise was lost. The U.S. drops had all the aircraft required. The British drop at Oosterbeek was too far from the objective; and the paratroopers had to struggle on foot to Arnhem bridge. And I believe the U.S drop at Nijmegen was also made too far from that bridge.
Short range radios for the 1st Airborne left them out of contact for days.
The British XXX Corps were held back for confirmation of the drop, and then refused to make a night march on the first night. The Son bridge had been blown by the Germans when the U.S. 101st approached; this led the XXX Corps to slow down and then stop to repair the bridge.
XXX Corps then had to help the 82nd Airborne capture Nijmegen bridge. And then were held on the single road leading to Arnhem. Meanwhile British 1st Airborne clung onto their positions on the north side of Arnhem which they had captured on the 3rd day of the battle.
The American fliers were also partially to blame for not making the entire drop on the first day, despite having all the aircraft available for the U.S drops. One large drop on day one would have secured Nijmegen and, possibly, Son.
And finally, the skill and determination of the German defenders is always forgotten. The German defence was quick to apply pressure to the attacking paratroopers and there was a constant aggressive drive toward the landing zones. Without delay or meetings the average German soldier would head toward the firing and jump in the line against the Allied troops...
I believe it was Gen. Urquart. The grounds closer to the city were too wet (general probelm here) and the airforce didn't want to drop near the bridge because of anti a/c on the bridge itself.Marcel, thanks for the fast reply. I appreciate it.
So we're looking at kinda hilly terrain? Just general ups and downs or something like rolling hills you get in say, Southern Germany or Western France.
Well, not like germany or France. It was the end of a glacier in the iceage, and the ground has been pushed up. Not very high, but some ups and downs, highest point about 60m.
Do you know if the ground has changed any since the war? Are there more towns, is it more built up (assuming the drop zones were pretty clear and the city itself was, well, a city).
Not more towns, but the villages got way bigger after the war. The drop zones are still clear, it's a nature preservation
15-20KM!? That's well over ten miles!? Given you are carrying around 60lbs of equipment and have to cover that before the Germans get organized...what nut thought this one up!?
I dunno, it just seems like a squirrely plan that had so many elements in it that worked against it that success was a long shot. You can only screw so many things up before it just all falls apart.
Thanks for the map Kruska and the info. Good stuff from all.
Couple of quick questions, does the deployments on the map show the the positions of the German Troops at the time of the jump or during the battle (after a couple of days of fighting)? What is the scale of the map in terms of distance?..............