Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy
Banned
I can't think of any specific POD, but I'm pretty sure that with better planning Operation Market Garden might have worked out. WI it did?
Having been to Arnhem Bridge at the Museum,
Which museum?
As an aside, a friend and I spent a week once driving from the Belgium border up through the Netherlands along the route XXX Corps took. Fascinating. The bridge at Grave tends to get glossed over in the books because it was captured and held easily but it's at least as long as the Nijmegan and Arnhem bridges. How XXX Corps didn't have enough bridging equipment when they were going to have to cross 3 major rivers I don't know.
For me the highlight was crossing the Lower Rhine on the Driel ferry and then wandering around Oosterbeek. You can just see the top of Nijmegen Bridge from the high ground there. I was also surprised by how many British Airborne flags the locals fly - not much anti-war sentiment there.
Would a successful Market Garden have given the Allies a deep water port for reupply or just extended the lines even further from the already far away beaches and few ports they had working?
Far beter to have used what forces were avilalbe to try to open Antwerp sooner.
Any thoughts on my alternate Market Garden plan?
What do you mean with The Island? The Betuwe?
Any thoughts on my alternate Market Garden plan?
I'd have to look at a map, also is Ridgeway going to have gretaer concerns about the roads in and reports of German armour in the area?
What gets me is why XXX corps after crossing the Nijmegan bridge they stopped. Horrocks should have "driven like hell" (as he said he would) to cover the 6-8 miles to Frosts men at the bridge. I still think if XXX Corps had driven all out they could have battered through the Panzer corps attacking the bridge, trapping them from behind.
[*]XXX corps advances on the original schedule.
[*]The US airborne divisions capture all the Waal and Lower Rhine bridges and are in a strong, defensible position on the Island.
[*]The SS armoured divisions attack the Arnhem bridgehead, Forces from 1st Parachute army attack Renkum and forces in the Reichswald attack Nijmegen but US reserves are available to defend threatened sectors.
[*]The Poles come under heavy pressure around Grave due to the Goesbeek heights not being secured but XXX corps arrives on day three, before the bridge is severely threatened.
[*]XXX Corps has to put in a major attack to clear the ground between Grave and Nijmegen but once there advances across the Island to Arnhem and Renkum.
[*]With the link up complete, a day is spent reorganising and consolidating.
[*]50th (Northumbrian) Division attacks and secures the Groesbeek Heights.
[*]43rd Wessex Division attacks out of the Arnhem Bridgehead tying up the SS Divisions while the Guards Armoured division breaks out from Renkum.
[*]Deelan Airfield is secured by the Guards Armoured Division.
[*]52nd Lowland division lands at Deelan airfield and attacks the German forces around Arnhem from the rear.
[*]The Guards Armoured drives for the coast.
[*]The trapped German forces in Holland start withdrawing.
[*]Although some German units punch through the thin Allied defensive line, huge numbers are destroyed, captured or surrender.
[*]
Query did the allies have tactical aircraft with an effective anti tank capacity that could have been deployed?
My scenario uses the OTL Allied OOB so logistics will be no better or worse than OTL unless I'm missing something? The parachute division's logistics should be better with the supply drop zones not being under German control/fire.Originally posted by Shimbo I'm a little worried about logistics in your scenario. If I understand correctly, we have at least 6 divisions supplied only with one road. While paras can be supplied by air, I'm not so sure about regular infantry divisions and Guerds Armoured Division - it takes a lot of fuel, not to mention ammunition for artillery, spare parts, food etc. IOTL Allies had enormous problems with traffic on the Hell's Highway.
Patton wanted to bounce METZ and reach the Rhine. If he had been given the supplies there is no reason to think it would not have happened.
And he was ready to attack right away-did not have to take a week to get ready.
That week was very important as the Germans were already starting to recover from their panic in Belgium.