General Bernard Montgomery's Larg Operation Market Garden

With German forces on the run following the Allied success at Normandy and the breakout and pursuit across France, Allied forces were staged to enter Germany in late summer 1944. Both Field Marshal Montgomery and General Bradley clamored to be given the priority of effort. General Eisenhower chose Montgomery’s Operation MARKET GARDEN as the plan for action. It called for airborne forces to open the route for a ground force to move more than sixty miles up a single road, ending up north of the Rhine River near Arnhem, Netherlands. By accomplishing this task, the German Ruhr industrial heartland would be within easy grasp. But the operation failed. The ground force

     The object of the German offensive was to push through the Belgian Ardennes, cross the Mousse, retake Antwerp and its harbor facilities, thrust to the north and reach the sea which they almost succeed in doing. This would cut off the Allied troops in Holland and Belgium, making it impossible for them to withdraw. The success of the operation depended on three important

The invasion of D-Day is the largest joint sea born invasion in the history of the world. Although very well planned, the amphibious landings were a gamble made by the Allied forces to gain foothold in Europe. Every American has heard about the Allied invasion of German-occupied Western Europe on D-Day. However, how many Americans stop and think about how much planning, preparation and luck that went into making it the success that it is remembered for? I will attempt to depict what it took to conquer the Normandy beaches using historical and military facts that make it such an iconic event in the world’s history still today.

“The battle [is also] known by different names. The Germans [called it] ‘Operation Watch on the Rhine’, while the French [called] it ‘Battle of the Ardennes’. [American and Britain] called it the Ardennes Counteroffensive.” The main goal for the Germans for this offensive was to split the British and American forces in half and capture the port city of Antwerp. This would “cause an encirclement of four allied armies and [force] a peace negotiation” (Cirillo). The Germans almost had complete surprise when the offensive was launched on “December 16th, 1944, at 05:30” and the offensive start with “an artillery barrage of over 1,600 artillery pieces.” The assault took place across an “80 mile front [that] the 6th Panzer Army had to cover” (Quarrie 1). “The attack was led by one of the best equipped German divisions on the western front, the 1st SS Panzer Division.” This was the lead unit for the 6th Panzer Army and was the lead division for the assault. The 26th Infantry was covering the part of the front where the push started. They were caught completely by surprise. “Equipped with only 32 M4 tanks, 57 anti-tank guns and thousands of battle-weary men” (MacDonald 1). The initial assault went well for the Germans and they break through the thinly defended American lines. Just “20 hours in [from the start of the assault] German forces are just 55 miles out from their objective”. By this time the casualty rate is below from what the

The Germans had deployed the 352nd infantry division in a defensive doctrine on Omaha beach , Normandy. In hopes of

The battle was Hitler’s last major offensive during World War II. Germany knowing that they were defeated, their goal was to regroup for one last stand at the German border, while the Allied Army wanted to drive German forces back to Germany and ultimately win the war against Hitler. Allied Forces believed that they had the German Army defeated but they would face many obstacles to end this long conflict.

Everyone has heard of the Battle of the Bulge, but what many people do not know is the turning point during World War II took place at Elsenborn Ridge. During the summer of 1944 Adolf Hitler devised a plan to get the western forces and their Allies to “accept a separate peace” (Cavanagh, 2004), so that he would be able to turn his focus to the Russian forces they were advancing from the east (Cavanagh, 2004). Hitler’s idea was if he could cut the major supply line to the area the United States and Allies would have no choice but to succumb to his terms (Cavanagh, 2004). At the time of the German planning they knew of only the 99th Infantry Division that occupied the Ardennes region that cover a stretch of approximately 21 miles, but what they did

The specific contributions combat engineers made during this operation primarily came from within the 82nd Airborne Division. Under the leadership of Brigadier General (BG) James Gavin, his paratroopers were tasked with dropping in northeast Netherlands to secure bridges at the towns of Grave and Nijmegan. The 82nd Airborne Division’s primary target was securing the bridges at Nijmegan to facilitate the Allied Forces XXX Corps, who would be arriving through Nijmegan to a town called Arnhem. Arnhem was a town that laid on the German / Dutch border. Allied Intelligence determined that two SS Panzer Divisions of German forces occupied that town.

The Normandy Invasion may have been the single most important battle on the Western Front of World War II. Much planning went into the siege of these beaches that ensured a tough, but inevitable victory, as well as other factors, such as the exploitation of the Germans’ ignorance of the attack.

Francis Dougherty here reporting live from the World War One battlefield on the French countryside on this scorching hot summer afternoon. I have been told that the British are planning an ambush on the Germans any minute now so I am here to get an inside look at all the action. This warm weather is providing a very hot and dry sensation today. Looking around right now you can see long trenches stretching across the horizon like a slithering snake. If you look closely you can also see clusters of barbed wire dotted across what the soldiers call, “no man’s land.” Well will you look at that, off in the distance you can see the British Cavalry making their way towards us. Any second they are going to takeoff into a full sprint, coming in fast

The British 6th airborne division was tasked with the important duty of protecting the eastern flank of the beach invasion by capturing bridges on the Orne river and the Caen Canal and destroying five bridges East of the Orne. The British dropped much more accurately than their American counterparts as they had been training for two years for objectives that were almost identical to the one they were assigned to. It was the increased accuracy of their airborne drops that let them suffer less casualties than their American counterparts. While they were more accurate with their droppings, it still took some time for the paratroopers to regroup safely with one another. The British deployed both their

Known as Operation Watch on the Rhein, “Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein” in German, Germany launched one of the last and deadliest counteroffensive operations against Allied forces along the Western Front of the European Theater during World War II. The primary goal was to split the American and British defenses in two and capture Antwerp to regain control and use of the harbor, encircle the American and British armies in the area, sever the alliance between the U.S. and Britain, and to force negotiations for a peace treaty with the U.S.

This mission command analysis evaluates the battle of Team Desobry at the town of Noville, Belgium. These events took place 18-19 December 1944, and later impacted the battle fought at Bastogne during World War II. It is the goal of this review to discuss and analyze three mission command principles displayed during this battle: Create shared understanding, exercise disciplined initiative, and the acceptance of prudent risk. One of the main characters that took part in this story was the 20th Armored Infantry Battalion, 10th Armored Division. The commanding officer of this element was Major William R. Desobry. During the events of World War II, the German forces were trying to gain control of the Ardennes to cut off the allies’ supply lines in order to isolate British forces from the American troops. A pivotal task for German forces to attain this goal was to gain access and take control of the Belgian town of Bastogne. However, an important strategic stepping stone to get there was Noville, which is just seven kilometers northeast of Bastogne. Two main reasons made Noville such a critical location for the Germans: First, it had a junction of roads that were important for displacement of German forces to the West. Second, it provided an alternative road to access Bastogne from the north.1

Alternate Outcome Allies could have another outcome for Operation Market-Garden. If the Allies have not discredited intelligence estimates and had realistic assumptions of the enemy capabilities, they would have won the battle and minimized loss of equipment and troops. After examining the execution of battle, and employment of available assets, it was evident that Allied leaders and planners lacked on proper planning and employing of intelligence assets. Allied leaders were in a hurry, over-optimistic and misjudged the German capabilities.

Where was the battle of Arnhem fought? It was fought in and around the Dutch towns of Arnhem. Oosterbeek, wolheze, Driel and the surrounding country side, from September 17-26 in the year 1944. After a successful victorious end of the Normandy campaign, Marshal Bernard Montgomery put together a daring operation to open up a way to the Ruhr Valley by seizing a bridgehead north of the Rhine, at Arnhem. On September 17, Operation Market, the largest airborne and glider operation in history (five thousand aircraft) was carried out by three Allied airborne divisions. Operation Garden was the ground side in which the Thirtieth (British) Corps was to link up with the British First Airborne