Market Garden

[alxone]

Operation Market Garden (17–25 September 1944) was an unsuccessful Allied military operation, fought in the Netherlands and Germany in the Second World War. It was the largest airborne operation up to that time


http://i.imgur.com/9CA5Obo.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/sS30Ls1.jpg



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aa7ftYVLqC8

[mikedubs]

You always remember VE/VJ Day, Dec 7th, etc...but not the failures. Nice looking out!

Monty's Folly was a splendid way to waste British and American airborne and glider troops.
Infantry with light weapons don't do so well against armor; "Sir" Montgomery ignored the SS armor in the recon photos.

[mtnrider]

I think I'll go home and watch "A Bridge Too Far" tonight!

[275RLTW]

and they missed the DZ by 25 miles. We always did a jump, 25 mile march, then hit an objective on this day to remember how bad that sucked...

[alxone]

You always remember VE/VJ Day, Dec 7th, etc...but not the failures. Nice looking out!


take the good with the bad
remember all never forget

[TheBelly]

and they missed the DZ by 25 miles. We always did a jump, 25 mile march, then hit an objective on this day to remember how bad that sucked...

I remember helping to plan an air assault mission into a particularly nasty part of Iraq. That was seven years ago. We did that in memory of Market Garden.

[Tor Larson]

Sorry Brits but....

Monty always sucked as a leader. Unoriginal, over-rated, egotistical, and a camera whore. NEVER fought unless he had overwhelming support in his favor. He needed 8 to 1 in Egypt to beat Rommel. Rommel had less than 100 tanks, mainly Italian shit, and Monty still barely won in 42. Real hard to beat the Desert Fox when Rommel had no oil, no air cover, and 30 Mk3 tanks...and Rommel wasn't even at the battle!
Normandy- again, overwhelming odds in favor of him. When the odds were even he sucked. Not a tank commander like Guderian, Patton, Manstein, Patton, or Rommel. Ike wasn't too keen on him either. Monty stabbed him in the back while Ike was President-

Dude liked little boys too...just like the other big Brit General Kitchener.

Years ago while visiting England I saw a drink in a pub called a Monty Martini. It was something like 12:1 or 15:1 ratio of gin to vermouth. It was a drink in honor of Montgomery's failure to attack unless well supplied.

[davsel]

The Battle of Arnhem (Operation Market Garden)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/worldwars/wwtwo/battle_arnhem_01.shtml

[KestrelBike]

Years ago while visiting England I saw a drink in a pub called a Monty Martini. It was something like 12:1 or 15:1 ratio of gin to vermouth. It was a drink in honor of Montgomery's failure to attack unless well supplied.

Hahaha that's awesome!

Slightly non-interesting tidbit about A Bridge Too Far: the wonderful music score was composed by the late great John Addison. He did a number of film scores, including the theme to Murder She Wrote.

John was also a tank commander and actually fought in Operation Market Garden. So when you hear that awesome music playing as the American troop transports take off on their mission, the man who composed that music was actually there.

[DD977GM2]

I worked with some guys from Nijmegen, Netherlands and they sure as hell were appreciative of what the US & Allied Forces did for them to liberate them even though Market Garden was not the success that we had hoped for. The older generation who expereinced the German Occupation have passed on the respect and reverence to the younger generation. They Honor and Decorate on American Hoilidays, the American Cemetaries for Veteren's Day and Memorial Day, with flags and the like to honor the fallen who came to their aid. Even the younger generations have this respect and honor instilled into them.

The Dutch are truly class acts IMHO and definatly appreciate what the US & Allied forces did for them.

[spqrzilla]

Montgomery was a flaming ass, egotistical to extremes not to be believed and crazy as a s***house rat. But he was probably the best British General of WWII or at least one of the best three.

Montgomery was pretty good at setting up "set piece battles", ie., at creating a battle where his forces could win. He was hampered by having fairly unimaginative and sometimes plainly incompetent British officers to work with, mediocre British equipment and training. His troops invariably were very big fans of his and he knew how to relate to troops. His weaknesses were that he wasn't great at improvisation and maneuver warfare - although sometimes its hard to separate out the fact that his armored formations were poorly led - and he would maintain that all had gone to "plan" no matter how ridiculous.

Montgomery was also fairly impossible to work with as a peer or superior. Market-Garden is rightfully counted as his failure because of his insistence upon beginning the operation despite bad airborne planning, poor support from air transport services and contrary intelligence. Another reason that the operation failed - or at least was undertaken with bad planning - was that the commander of the Airborne Corps US Gen. Lewis Brererton was incompetent and the commander of British airborne forces under him, Lt. Gen. Frederick "Boy" Browning, was not quite as incompetent but undermined by political fighting with Brererton.

[Ridge]

John was also a tank commander and actually fought in Operation Market Garden

But the allies had no armor in Market Garden? Which side was he fighting for?

[spqrzilla]

Ridge, the British XXX Corps advancing northward had several British armor formations.

[Ridge]

Ah, thanks for clearing that up!

[marty]

I happened to pass through Arnhem in 2004 during the 60 year anniversary of Market Garden while I was in Europe on a business trip. I was amazed at the number of people attending, esp. the Americans, and the extremely large number of beautifully kept /restored WWII US military vehicles. The columns of military vehicles made it seem like it was 1944. I've continued to wonder just where all those US WWII military vehicles came from, being in Europe, and who owned them.

[flogger]

I happened to pass through Arnhem in 2004 during the 60 year anniversary of Market Garden while I was in Europe on a business trip. I was amazed at the number of people attending, esp. the Americans, and the extremely large number of beautifully kept /restored WWII US military vehicles. The columns of military vehicles made it seem like it was 1944. I've continued to wonder just where all those US WWII military vehicles came from, being in Europe, and who owned them.
I think we left quite a few vehicles there when we left. I did a WW2 tour through Europe around the same time (2006), surprising how flat the terrain is in Holland. Went to all the D-Day beaches, Bastone Eaglesnest, the Maginot line and even the courtroom where the Nuremberg trials were held! Go for it if you EVER get a chance to do it.