WWII Allied Forces Looked to Win the War with Operation Market Garden
opinion Essay
1784 words
Introduction 17 September 1944, Allied forces looking for a means to win the war by the end of the year, launched the biggest air and ground offensive in the history of warfare.1 Allied commanders had to find a way to break through the Siegfried Line. The Siegfried Line was the western defensive line into Germany extending north from the border of Switzerland to the Ruhr area of Germany. Instead of trying to break through the line, they decided to move north through Holland. 21st Army Group included 1st Allied Airborne Army and 2nd British Army. 1st Allied Airborne Army consisting of 82nd Airborne Division, 101st Airborne Division, British 1st Airborne Division, and 1st Polish Independent Parachute Brigade would be responsible for Operation Market. Operation Market would be the airborne mission tasked with capturing and securing bridges in several locations along the main road to Arnhem. 2nd British Army consisting of VIII, XII, and XXX Corps would be responsible for Operation Garden. Operation Garden would be the ground mission tasked with fighting north along the road to Arnhem, which would come to be known as Hell’s Highway. Combined these two operations were known as Operation Market Garden. History Following the success of the Allied campaign in France, the battered and disorganized German forces withdrew through Holland. Allied commanders were desperate to take advantage of this disorganization before the Germans could regroup. Operation Comet was the initial plan set to launch on 2 September 1944. It was intended to capture and secure several bridges along the River Rhine to aid the Allied advance into Germany. However, due to bad weather and increasing concern of German resistance the operation wa... ... middle of paper ... ...n that could have possibly changed the outcome of the operation. However, as it turned out, the Dutch resistance had in fact been infiltrated and it is believed that Operation Market Garden had been reveled to the Germans. In the end, Montgomery claimed that Market Garden was "90% successful" and said: It was a bad mistake on my part – I underestimated the difficulties of opening up the approaches to Antwerp ... I reckoned the Canadian Army could do it while we were going for the Ruhr. I was wrong ... In my — prejudiced — view, if the operation had been properly backed from its inception, and given the aircraft, ground forces, and administrative resources necessary for the job, it would have succeeded in spite of my mistakes, or the adverse weather, or the presence of the 2nd SS Panzer Corps in the Arnhem area. I remain Market Garden's unrepentant advocate.6
In this essay, the author
- Compares operation market garden's short planning timeline to the months spent planning the airborne invasion of normandy.
- Opines that if the operation had been properly backed from its inception and given the aircraft, ground forces, and administrative resources necessary for the job, it would have succeeded in spite of their mistakes.
- Describes how allied forces launched the biggest air and ground offensive in the history of warfare. they had to find a way to break through the siegfried line.
- Explains that allied commanders were desperate to take advantage of this disorganization before the germans could regroup. operation comet was the initial plan set to launch on 2 september 1944.
- Explains that operation market targeted key bridges and terrain in the vicinity of four cities. the 101st was responsible for securing fifteen miles of the corridor, while the 82d airborne division was to capture the maas at grave and the waal at nijmegen.
- Describes how the british and american bombers and fighter escorts began bombing key targets in preparation for a 1300 h-hour. the 101st fought an intense battle north of eindhoven.
- Explains that many mistakes in planning, intelligence implementation, execution, and overall strategy and tactics were identified after operation market garden.
Related
- analytical
- explanatory
- narrative
- comparative
- Pathfinders on D-Dayanalytical essayGermany knew that an allied invasion of France was imminent. For months, allied spies and intelligence sought to leverage the knowledge gained through the invasion of Sicily and against weaknesses in the German defense of France. General Eisenhower knew that an attack on the coast would not be sufficient to invade because Germany had reserve troops and escape routes. The 101st Airborne division’s task was to seize four causeway exits because it was expected that VII Corps would have difficulty moving inland. The 101st and the 82nd were to jump in 5 hours before the landings on Omaha and Utah beach. The Pathfinders mission was crafted thr...
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the 101st needed to land in 4 drop zones to seal off the 4 causeway exits and allow vii to successfully move inland.
- Analyzes how general taylor realized that he had to plan for more soldiers in airborne operations than were actually called for because dispersion would render many of them ineffective.
- Opines that the pathfinders were successful considering they had 30 minutes to get beacons up and running. setting up a gmrs drop zone with enemy in the area was extremely difficult.
- Explains that it took 3 days to assemble all parachutists, but 80% of them landed in a rectangle 27 by 15 miles. other factors like flak and fog lead aircraft astray.
- Opines that the large dispersion of the 101st was a good thing. the momentum generated by the surprise attack was enough for commanders to lead mixed groups to take objectives that were often defended by german soldiers.
- Analyzes how the 101st airborne division's mission was crafted through lessons learned in the invasion of italy on 13 september 1943.
- Explains that the 101st airborne division's success was due to the meticulous reconnaissance and rehearsals prior to d-day assault.
- Explains fogarty, robert j ii. army pathfinders: first in...last out.
1467 wordsRead More - Operation Market Garden Battle Analysisexplanatory essayThe Allied operation consisted of two separate parts. Operation Market had the airborne units consisting of 1st British Airborne Division, 1st Polish Parachute Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, and 101st Airborne Division. Operation Garden was responsible for the ground forces 21st Army Group, XXX Corps, XII Corps, and
In this essay, the author
- Opines that operation market garden should have been a success if the allies would have supplied ground with the proper support and xx
- Explains that the allied operation consisted of two separate parts. operation market had the airborne units consisting of 1st british airborne division.
- Explains that the german forces consisted of armed forces command (afc) netherlands, army group b, 1st parachute army, and luftwaffe west.
- Explains that the 101st captured all of their objectives and only lost the bridge at zon because the germans blew it. the 82nd captured the objectives to include bridges at maas
- Describes how the 1st british airborne jumped into the middle of two panzer divisions. the germans were able to maneuver the 9th panzer division to cover the arnhem and nijmegen bridges
- Explains how the germans split the british forces between opposite sides of the bridge at arnhem. bad weather delayed allies ability to deliver combat power to the area.
- Explains the intelligence assumptions that led to the defeat of allied forces. the allies assumed that there were no more than 4,000 enemy troops in the arnhem area.
- Explains that operation market garden should have commenced with elements of the 101st airborne evenly distributed among drop zones surrounding the objectives.
- Explains that the germans would not destroy the bridge at arnhem due to fact it was critical terrain for the occupation of holland.
1186 wordsRead More - Operation Overlordexplanatory essayIn spite of the myriad of problems encountered by the various landing forces, especially those at Omaha Beach, the Allied forces had established positions inland by the end of June 6th. The Germans, still suspecting that the Normandy landings were a diversion from expected landings in the Pas-de-Calais, failed to launch any significant counterattacks. With beachheads established, air superiority over northern France, and relatively little organized resistance from the Germans, the Allied forces began setting up the necessary supply lines that would be needed for their push into France and on to Germany.
In this essay, the author
- Explains operation overlord was the code name used for the allied attack on german-occupied northern france in the summer of 1944.
- Explains the extensive buildup of troops and supplies needed to support overlord began in april 1942. operation bolero saw the movement of over 1.5 million military personnel to england, as well as the materials required to house, clothe and feed them.
- Explains operation bodyguard, which consisted of ten smaller operations, and was specifically designed to provide deception for overlord. double agents, fake radio traffic, inflatable vehicles and craft were used to convince the germans that the buildup of forces was intended to strike at norway and/or the pas-de-calais region of france.
- Explains the seaborne aspects of operation overlord were known as the operation neptune, which involved the embarkation of the troops, their transport across the english channel, and their landings at normandy.
- Explains that the allies had achieved air superiority over france, and had reduced the luftwaffe to an almost token force. the allied control of the air would limit the germans ability to maneuver their forces once the overlord landings began.
- Explains that the overlord planners were restricted to the days of june 5th through june 7th to allow for possible delays. bad weather forced a one-day delay.
- Explains that the 82nd, 101st, and 6th airborne divisions commenced their jumps for several reasons, including overreaction by the c-47 transport planes to anti-aircraft fire.
- Describes how naval vessels bombarded the normandy coast in order to soften up the german defenders, but both aerial and naval attacks were relatively ineffective.
- Explains that the first of the assault craft were scheduled to land at their respective beaches at 6:30 a.m. on june 6th. the naval bombardment would switch from coastal targets to those inland.
- Explains that the 4th infantry division landed at utah beach in the wrong positions due to a current that pushed their landing craft to the southeast.
- Explains that the 1st and 29th infantry division soldiers faced heavy german resistance at omaha beach. many landing craft failed to make it ashore, and the naval and aerial bombardments were particularly ineffective.
- Explains that high tide occurred later at gold, juno and sword beaches, so british and canadian forces were set to land at 7:25 a.m.
- Explains that although the initial wave of lcts at gold beach suffered damage from obstacles and mines, german infantry defenses had been significantly reduced by pre-landing naval bombardments and the british 50th infantry division was able to accomplish almost all of its objectives.
- Explains that the canadian 3rd infantry division's landing craft at juno beach had to navigate through partially submerged beach obstacles due to a delay in the landing.
- Narrates how the british troops at sword beach encountered relatively little initial resistance from the germans, but were later tasked with repelling a counterattack. although the 3rd infantry division managed to link up with the 6th airborne forces, most of their initial objectives were not met.
- Explains that the allied forces had established positions inland by the end of june 6th. the germans failed to launch any significant counterattacks after the normandy landings.
1270 wordsRead More - Creative Writing: The Battle Of The Bulgenarrative essayIt was December 16, 1944 and the powerful germans were starting to push through the front line. We were forced to retreat and give up our last key position. “Those ruthless, beastly germans, they keep overpowering our forces,” I said. “And Hitler split up the Allied armies by means of a surprise blitzkrieg thrust through Ardennes to Antwerp.” (Battle of the Bulge, History).
In this essay, the author
- Recounts how hitler split up the allied armies by means of a surprise blitzkrieg thrust through ardennes to antwerp.
- Narrates how dave said, "we can’t let them take over belgium, we can't," as general patton walked onto the battlefield.
- Explains that the closest nest is 3 miles away, and it's massive. if they see us, we will suffer more casualties than we can afford.
203 wordsRead More - WWII Battle of the Bulgeexplanatory essayWWII Battle of the Bulge On December 16, 1944 in Germany the Nazi’s mounted a surprise attack against the Allies it was the last offensive of the Nazi’s. Who was involved in the Battle of the Bulge? The war was Allied against the Axis powers Allied powers were made up of Great Britain, The Soviet Union, and The United States of America. The Axis powers consisted of Germany, Italy, and Japan.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that the nazis mounted a surprise attack against the allies in germany on december 16, 1944. the allied powers consisted of great britain, the soviet union, and the united states of america.
- Explains how the germans were forced to fight on two sides when the allied forces invaded normandy on d-day. adolf hitler pulled his reserves up for the battle and made a surprise attack against the americans and british.
- Explains that the battle of the bulge is probably the battle that made general patten famous. the germans attacked bastogne because they were trying to take back the port of antwerp.
- Explains that the american and british lines stretched from the fierce attack of the germans and on december 23 the skies cleared allowing american air planes to drop supplies to the ground forces.
- Explains that the king tiger tank was one of the most feared weapons on the battle field.
- Explains that the king tiger tank was the deadliest tank of wwii, but it came into the war to late and there wasn't enough of them made to make them a war changing implement.
- Explains that while the allies were over whelming the germans with tanks, they also were dominating the air war.
- Explains that the b-17 flying fortress or the british lancaster was one of the fastest airplanes in wwii and had the longest range of any fighter.
- Explains that the messerschmitt me 262 was the first jet airplane in the world. it used turbines to churn it through the air at 540 miles per hour.
- Explains that hitler wanted the me 262 to be a fighter and bomber with super heavy armament, while the allies made specific planes instead of trying to make one highly advanced plane to do it all.
- Explains that adolf hitler was a big reason for not producing simpler weapons with bigger numbers. the american and british forces used their reliable and lighter tanks to fight the german surprise attack off.
- Analyzes how hitler believed that if he brought up all his reserves and threw every bit of men and supplies — the war was soon to be over—he could still win.
- Explains that the battle of the bulge was the last major offensive the german army had and was really the deciding battle in the war.
- Explains that adolf hitler decided to go to his underground bunker with his mistress eva braun, knowing that the end of the war was inevitable.
- Narrates how the german soldiers soaked the two bodies in petroleum and burned the remains of the bodies shortly after the war in europe was over.
- Cites sonia benson, daniel e. brannen, jr., and rebecca valentine's uxl encyclopedia of u.s. history.
1317 wordsRead More - Strategy and Obstacles in the Battle of Arracourtcomparative essay“Arracourt was the greatest tank battle of the war on the Allied Front.” This is how US Major General John S. Wood described the Battle of Arracourt, which took place in the last weeks of September 1944 in Northern France. The Allied Forces had landed in Normandy in June 1944, and by the summer had broken out of their beachhead. This started the great pursuit of the German forces across northern France towards the German border. By early fall of 1944, General George S. Patton’s Third Army had raced across France faster than anyone had envisioned and was in place to cross the Moselle River in the Lorraine area. Here his forces would face supply issues due to their speed of advance, increasing resistance from prepared German forces, and increasingly difficult weather. Patton’s first obstacle was the Moselle River and the fortress city of Metz. After crossing the Moselle with most of the Third Army by mid September, the US Third Army’s armored units were engaged in the largest tank battles of the Western Front at Arracourt. The next phase of the campaign was to reorganize and train. In early November, the Third Army attacked again and was able to capture Metz by late November, and reached the Sarre River and the West Wall. During the long Lorraine Campaign in late 1944, the US Third Army armored units were able to overcome stiff enemy resistance, superior quality vehicles, hard terrain, and difficult weather with the use of superior tactics, doctrine and leadership.
In this essay, the author
- Describes the battle of arracourt as the greatest tank battle of the war on the allied front.
- Explains how the allied strategy of the invasion of germany was decided. montgomery's 21st army group captured the low countries, while bradley preferred a broad front advance.
- Compares patton's third army with the german army group g, which consisted of the 1st and 19th armies and 5th panzer army.
- Compares the m5a1 stuart and m4a3 sherman tanks in the us third army.
1358 wordsRead More - Black Jaguars Case Studyexplanatory essayOn November 16 Capable Organization, with Streams ahead of the pack tank, would lead another ambush. This time the objective was German positions
In this essay, the author
- Explains that streams was destined to willie and lillian waterways in 1921 in tecumseh, oklahoma, where he and his eleven kin dealt with the family cultivate.
- Describes how capable organization, with streams ahead of the pack tank, would lead another ambush, this time targeting german positions in guebling.
- Narrates how chief williams suggested streams for the decoration of respect, but the military was not granting these awards to african americans.
365 wordsRead More - The Dieppe Fiasco: Explanation of why the Dieppe Failedanalytical essayAt daybreak, August 19th, 1942, the Allies began their raid on the French coastal city of Dieppe occupied by Germany. The raid has extreme Canadian significance, as it pertains to 5000 Canadians involved in the campaign, 3,350 of which became casualties and 916 died on the bloodstained beach at Dieppe. The Dieppe raid is widely considered a failure on every level and has left a dreadful mark in Canadian military history because of how poorly it panned out. Operation Jubilee remains one of the most hotly debated Allied aspects of the war. Tactically, it was a complete failure as little to no objectives were attained. This essay will explain that Dieppe failed because of the tactical errors on the part of the Allies, in conjunction with the fact the entire operation was very poorly planned out. It will do so by discussing 4 major points: poor allied planning, how Dieppe was a difficult place to attack, that the assault was launched for political rather than military reasons and finally, how it failed to upgrade morale.
In this essay, the author
- Argues that the dieppe raid was a failure, citing the strategic and tactical errors made by the allies.
- Describes kerry, armine john, and w. a. mcdill. the history of the corps of royal canadian.
- Analyzes stacey, c. p., six years of war: the army in canada, britain and the pacific.
- Explains that dieppe failed because of the nave allies' tactical errors and the fact the entire operation was poorly planned out.
870 wordsRead More - Invasion of Normandyanalytical essayInvasion of Normandy, also known as D-Day or Operation Overlord, was a cross channel attack planned by the allies that took place over the English channel. Not only was D-Day the largest amphibious assault the world had seen, it was a critical point in World War II. (Locke, Alain, ed. Pg 203)
In this essay, the author
- Explains how german intelligence never knew if it was the big invasion or just another little deception by the allies to throw them off.
- Analyzes how the germans' focus changed from the balkans and norway to the pas de calais. enormous allied air superiority over northern france made it extremely difficult for rommel, who was in german command on the scene, to move his limited reserves.
- Explains that d-day was the largest amphibious assault the world had seen and was a critical point in world war ii.
- Explains that hitler was aware that the allies would eventually mount a cross-channel invasion, but he accepted that it could no longer be ignored.
- Explains how the germans saw the air attack on normandy as nothing more than a raid or at best, it had to be defeated. the american 1st division at omaha beach fought with light opposition.
2136 wordsRead More - D-Day: The Turning Point Of WWIIexplanatory essayJohn R. Zanikos Mr. McKibban/Mr. Canfield English III 05 May 2014 D-Day, The Turning Point of WWII The Allied invasion at Normandy was one of the most powerful invasions in history. After WWII began, Germany invaded and occupied northwestern France beginning in May 1940.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that the great crusade will bring about the destruction of the german war machine, the elimination of nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of europe, and security for us in a free world.
- Explains that the allied forces accomplished what hitler thought couldn't be done. d-day was the beginning of the end for hitler and germany.
- Explains that the invasion was not without casualties. the united states and germany had the highest number of people killed, wounded, missing or captured.
- Opines that if not for the invasion at normandy, germany could have occupied most of europe. wwii solidified the united states as one of the world’s super powers for years to come.
- Explains that the allied invasion of normandy was one of the most powerful invasions in history.
- Explains that the british and canadians landed on gold, juno, and sword beaches, while the americans were on utah and omaha.
1302 wordsRead More