From: wehumble@IASTATE.EDU (Ed Humble)
Subject: Re: Greatest Military Blunders of All Time
Reply-To: wehumble@IASTATE.EDU (Ed Humble)
Organization: Iowa State University
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 13 Oct 1992 00:05:01 GMT

In article <1992Oct12.200134.23210@cbnewsm.cb.att.com>, jeffj@cbnewsm.cb.att.com
(jeffrey.n.jones) writes:
> In article <1992Oct12.150350@axion.bt.co.uk> ravis@axion.bt.co.uk (Richard
Avis) writes:
> >
> >In article <6018@vexpert.dbai.tuwien.ac.at>, mst@vexpert.dbai.tuwien.ac.at
(Markus Stumptner) writes:
> >|> From article <KETIL.92Oct11024703@bark.ii.uib.no>, by ketil@bark.ii.uib.no
(Ketil M. Malde):
> >
> >6) Last, but best - Operation Market Garden, the attempt to grab the bridge
at Arnhem. 
> >Left roughly 8000 British Airborne troops dead, wounded or captured. A REAL
disaster!
> 
> If they had had any luck at all Monty would have been considered 
> a hero! This was a excellent example of what could go wrong, will!
>
	Fat Chance. It was an example stupidity.  Monty let nearly the entire  German
Fifteenth (I think this is the proper number) Army escape from the Scheldt
Estuary region near Antwerp.  That army reformed in front of Market-Garden. 
Even short of heavy equipment the Germans were way tough, as any decent general
who'd been fighting them for years should have known.  Instead of cutting off
that German Army by advancing another 50 miles, he was off badgering Eisenhower
to let him take over the show.  As much as anything, Market-Garden was a
publicity stunt for Monty.  

	Take a look at the terrain he planned to fight through.  His timetable didn't
allow for *any* delays, even though the road from Nijmegan to Arnhem was a
deathtrap.  It was a raised highway running through low, muddy fields, virtually
impassable for armored vehicles (Check out Cornelius Ryan's 'A Bridge Too Far'. 
The Dutch military used that as a test in their military academy, and the answer
was NOT to attack up a single road that your tanks can't leave without sinking
to their gun barrels)  Monty didn't bother to ask the Dutch military's advice,
and completely ignored the Dutch resistance (they tried to tell him about those
pesky SS panzers around Arnhem, but Monty knew better).  

	Market-Garden was an audacious plan that should never have happened. 
Eisenhower let himself get snowed by a bold, decisive plan that could end the
war by Christmas (MONTY'S words), but a plan that turned out to be based on
wishful thinking -  the Germans are on the run, there are very few troops in
front of us, the airborne can capture all the bridges INTACT, our tanks can
drive to Arnhem in TWO days, etc, etc.  

	This one definitely belongs in the blunder category.

	 
> Jeff
> 
> -- 
>  Jeff Jones  AB6MB         |      If we do not succeed,
>  jeffj@seeker.mystic.com   |      then we run the risk of failure.
>  Infolinc BBS 415-778-5929 |      Vice Pres. Dan Quayle


========================================================================
Ed Humble                |   Iowa State University   -  Moo!          
wehumble@iastate.edu     |   Dept. of Aerospace Engineering
                         |    Grad (Professional) Student
========================================================================
  "`Ecrasez l'infame.'  I looked it up.  What infamous thing do you wish to
eradicate?"

  "What infamous thing have you got?"
========================================================================

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