OK Yanks - A History Lesson

Rating: Null/10 (27 October 2002)

After reading some of the other user comments i'd just like to say a few words to the Americans who were Brit bashing.
Firstly, if you're going to impart your wisdom upon us - LEARN SOMETHING ABOUT THE WAR BEFORE YOU DO. Surprise, Surprise, the war actually began in 1939 (Micheal Caine who stars in this film, famously withdrew his children from American school after they had been taught that the Second World War began in 1941!) By the time of the Market Garden Operation, Montgomery was a Field Marshall, not a General - he had been promoted. The year 1942 was the turning point of World War 2, It was the year the German army suffered it's first major land defeats and reverses - at Stalingrad and at El Alemien. The war had been won - mostly thanks to the Russians who suffered the most atrocious losses imaginable on the forgotten Eastern Front. The turning point of the war had come before the American forces had barely crossed the Atlantic. Montgomery was the hero of El Alemien and a master of the classic pitched battle. Patton, while an expert in mobile warfare proved to be totally inept when it came to assaulting fortified positions such as those around Metz - where he just sent wave after wave of tanks to be shot to pieces by German artillery, because that was the only tactic he knew.

The trouble was that when Montgomery devised 'Market Garden' he was attempting a Patton like manouver, it is true that both men despised each other and each wanted to be the first to Berlin - in fact had Eisenhower listened to Montgomery and pushed on to Berlin at the end of the war, the entire face of post-war Europe would have been different. 'Market Garden' would probably have worked, had it not been for the unlikely misfortune that an SS Panzer division just happened to be stationed in Arnhem for repairs for a few days.
It is disappointing that the director, Attenbourgh - an Englishman himself, at times resorted to the tired and false Hollywood cliche of the British as being inept and over-cautious, 8000 of our boys died at Arnhem.

Perhaps now you are beginning to realize that your sheer ignorance is why you are so disliked in the world?