Operation Market Garden a success...

Our boys home by Christmas????

 

Don´t think so, as Hitler already late August/early September had thought of an attack around the area of Ardennes.So even if the
" Market Garden " would have been a success, I think there would have been a major attack by Germans to face later on. As well the supply lines were stretched so they would have had to take a break for a 2-3 months´time. The Germans did not let go of the northern harbour cities of France for some time as Hitler instructed them to be held ( Dunkerque at least, probably Dieppe etc ).

 

Kai is right about the ports and the supply lines. Because of the Germans holding and destroying Atlantic's major ports, the supplies had to be brought to the front by lorries, in the motorways... We all know that the Allied Forces already had difficulties in supllies. So, another front in Holland, very far from the nearest port would have made the situation worse for the Allies. But I also think that more German forces would have been diverted to protect the Rhine flank.

 

G'day

The British were dumb enough to stop wright after they had taken the Antwerp port but not taken the entrence to the port. If the British had advanced 20 kilometres into Holland they would have cut of the forces escaperoute from these islands and have stopped these troups getting involved in Market Garden. So they had a port but not the entrence so couldn't use the port until they owned these islands.

Popski

 

Popski's right with this.
Antwerp was a huge error - Horrocks admitted as much in his memoirs. The focus was too much on getting across the Rhine quickly.

 

If market-garden was a huge success, then would the war have ended shorter? We would still have to wait for the Russians to make it to Berlin...unless we took it first.

 

Take Berlin?! Ha! Yes, I want to see Ike and Monty having to deal with 100.000 KIA...

 

Berlin probably wasn't possible: not only did the failure to cut the Beveland peninsular allow the escape of Van Zangens 15th Army, it also allowed the Germans to control the approaches to Antwerp, which was taken intact. Thus the allied supply station which should have got better overnight stayed the same.

Still I don't suppose that the Canadians or the British would have been accused of timewasting and shilly-shallying by a certain General will Peral Handles and Chrome Dome for doing this instead of driving for Berlin would they...oh then again maybe not?

Jumbo