WI: Successful Operation Market Garden?

The Market Garden operation was a mistake in all respects . It used a single road that was used pre war by the Dutch army to demonstrate to it's officer cadets the stupidity of such an exercise . It was a road with soft ground unsuitable for heavy vehicles on both sides .

As I mentioned in another M/G thread my father had a NATO meeting in this area. His NATO guide was in the Dutch Underground during this period. He drove my father up and down XXX Corps route (much of which hasn't changed since 1944), neither of them could understand just how XXX Corps was supposed to get up this easily defended road in 2-3 days. You had to know the Germans would throw every reinforcement available in to stop them...
 
Would an earlier air drop work also.

It seems silly for the operation to kick off at around 14.00 hrs instead of around 07.00ish in the mourning, that would give time for a probable 2nd drop and allow XXX Corp the chance to gain some extra miles before dusk.

Regards filers.


If at all possible that would simplify thing for all AB divisions. All would have their complete orbat available and perhaps allow Nijmegen bridge to be snatched quickly.

However, the fly in the ointment is whether there is sufficient lift to allow for losses due to unservicability, damage and Enemy action without inducing high levels of confusion and chaos into the loading plans. All of which would need to be done in advance predicated on an amount of lift available.

Be very interested to know that!
 
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As I mentioned in another M/G thread my father had a NATO meeting in this area. His NATO guide was in the Dutch Underground during this period. He drove my father up and down XXX Corps route (much of which hasn't changed since 1944), neither of them could understand just how XXX Corps was supposed to get up this easily defended road in 2-3 days. You had to know the Germans would throw every reinforcement available in to stop them...

But they did, Guards Armoured were ahead of schedule when they reached Nijmegen, and could have been their much earlier.

IIRC the original plan had 101st Airborne battalions landing south of Eindhoven, and next to the Son bridge, but this was changed by Maxwell Taylor for a more centralised drop. As a result of this the Son bridge was blown, contact not made with Guards Armoured until noon on the 18th, and they were not informed of the need to replace the bridge until 1600. The bridge was in place overnight and Guard Armoured linked up with 82nd Airborne at Grave by 0830 on the 19th. If the original drop plan had been followed Guards Armoured advance might have accelerated by 24 hours.

The delay in 82nd Airborne seizing the Nijmegen bridges was another major cause of delay.
 
So back to Op Market Garden - perhaps the Paratroopers could be deployed in such a fashion as too 'Encircle' 15th Army and seek its destruction rather than bounce the Rhine

It would be more useful to amend Army boundary lines.

See the map below:

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https://www.loc.gov/resource/g5701s.ict21093/?r=0.046,0.016,0.682,0.43,0

Either move the Inter Army Group boundary so that Brussels is included in 12th Army Group zone (IIRC putting Brussels into the UK zone was agreed between Bradley and Montgomery at the end of August), making it more natural for Guards Armoured to head north of Antwerp; or shift the boundary to pinch out the Canadian Army, and send 7th Armoured from Ghent to Breskens.
 
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