The NJ Police Chief Magazine Volume 23, Number 6 | Page 33
The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | June 2017
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were saying, how wonderful the Americans were, the push from Normandy, the liberation of France (Paris) to where
we are today, pushing towards Germany through Holland. The Americans were getting all the credit despite the
British being in the war since 1939.
Perhaps Montgomery saw this as an opportunity, albeit he had a reputation for being a somewhat cautious
character, and a pain in the ass to the American leadership, he came up with a plan, that he says Eisenhower must
listen to. Monty asked for priority over all the competing resources in the region, and if he could have that he could
guarantee Eisenhower that, first, the war would be over by Christmas, secondly that the plan will eliminate all of
the V2 rocket sites, (Eisenhower was definitely interested at this point) and thirdly it would avoid an all out assault
against the wall, negating casualties, and whilst it would not help Eisenhower with the internal conflicts between the
rest of his generals, it would most certainly appease the British regarding their involvement in the final push for
victory and the eventual liberation of Europe, and it would also help with his media profile too.
Monty's plans included dropping the airborne units over 2 waves, over 2 days, during daylight
some 9 miles from Arnhem with a view to secure key bridges!! The reason being is that they
first of all did not have enough planes to drop the troops on one fly past, and secondly believed
that resistance would be light, that the Germans only had elderly soldiers and boys guarding the
area, and that the total troops in the area were no more than 6,000 (when in fact they were in
excess of 25,000), and that there were no battle hardened panzer groups in the area
(Intelligence showed that there were, but because of egos, this information did not get back to
the Generals who need to know). As anyone knows, the element of surprise and speed, two
prerequisites for a successful battle, were not present. On the ground, General Horrock's xxxth
Corps were expected within 2/3 days to make their way to Arnhem.
The German Commander in the area, Walter Model, at his headquarters at the time, believing the attacks were
made in daylight were simply an attempt to kidnap him, fled the area. One of his team finds maps in a glider that
had crash-landed nearby that contained all of the battle plans, but Model ignores them believing them to be fake
news! a diversion! But within hours realised they were genuine, and he was now in possession of the Allies full plans
for the attack on the bridges. He realised too, that the forces involved were insufficient to carry out the plan. After 9
days of fighting, the British led by Lt General Frederick Browning (acting on behalf of Lt General Lewis Brereton)
withdraw Major general John Frost and the first Airborne, who lost more than 75% of their capability, and were
never called into action again.
Without taking the battle to its unsuccessful conclusion, and
going into too much detail, from a leadership perspective Monty's
plan appears to have been rushed (it took only 7 days to
formulate it), ill-thought-out, poorly executed, with some
complacency, by inexperienced troops, concocted on a landscape
of cracked relationships with other Generals, against a backdrop
of competing egos, political and media pressure, poor
communication, false optimism, and inferior intelligence and
technology. Plenty of Leadership lessons to think about here.
Whilst the generals were quick to blame each other, it is interesting to note that the allies eventually went on to win
the war, and a winning side rarely criticises the team at the end of play.
But because of the failure of this operation, it was necessary to continue the war and had it been successful, there
would have been no need for the Battle of the Bulge.
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