Arnhem...

[Wing Nut]

I'm curious about the British side of the story concerning operation Market-Garden.  I have read Cornelius Ryan's books, and Roy Urquhart's book about it, but what do you Brits see as the major factors contributing to the failure of the offensive?  Personally, I would have to give it to:

Ignoring recons of the area
The rush to get the British 1st Airborne into any battle
Lack of communication because of faulty equipment
Loss of the Division cammander for almost an entire day

I would say XXX corps and the 2 American airborne divisions did their jobs marvelously, considering they had to attack straight up one road that was totally unsuitable for tanks.  The 1st Airborne did a fantastic job, considering what they were up against, especially Frost's battalion in holding onto their end of the bridge for so long.

I think honestly, the the whole thing was doomed from the start, but is there any way it could have been won?

[Hagar]

I think the title of the book & film "A Bridge Too Far" says it all. It was a daring plan that would have considerably shortened the war & saved many lives if it had succeeded. It might also have changed the whole history of the post-war period if the British & American troops had reached Berlin before the Soviet troops. This must have been a big consideration in carrying it out.

My late father-in-law was with XXX Corps & he told me they ran out of fuel when they were in sight of Arnhem. They could hear the fighting going on but there was nothing they could do to help. He said it was frustrating & upsetting. They had outrun their supply lines which is the big problem with any invasion.

From what I've read on the subject the weather played its part as it so often does. The delays to the original plans caused inevitable problems. The communications problems were inexcusable but not uncommon in this type of operation, even today.

This gives a good general outline of Operation Market Garden. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/war/wwtwo/battle_arnhem_01.shtml

[ozzy72]

My great uncle was a junior officer in the Paras at Arnhem, and fought his way out. He ran out of bullets and used his knife (I still have it).
Frankly it was a mixture of senior officer arrogance, and bad weather handicapping the situation.... Not quite our finest hour

Ozzy

[Woodlouse2002]

I think the main problem was the lack of transport to get the troops in there. There wern't enough gliders and DC-3's to lift all the airborne troops into the area in the time needed and set by the plan.