@handyandy saidIndeed. My parody-partisan "strict 2-out-of-5 and 3-out-of-5 split" thing regarding leadership was actually intended as a bit of self-deprecating irony.
It was understood as an Allied operation to rescue Western Europe.
@wolfe63 saidDespite its built-in flaws and failure to heed intelligence reports, it might well have succeeded if it were not for Gavin's ultracautious inaction at Nijmegen. For 50 years his reputation was probably saved by the need for historians to sell books in the U.S.
Operation Market Garden was Monty trying to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
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@wolfgang59 saidI believe that it was an American plan.
My understanding was that he (Monty) selected it from a variety of options from US.
I could (probably) be wrong, but I'm sure I've read that from one source. (ie a real book!)
But it was executed poorly because of clashing egos and premature quests for glory.
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@wolfgang59 saidAs with all wars, those thrust into the "action" are nothing more than fodder/statistics, calculated by "statisticians/leaders".
@WOLFE63
I think Monty's (and British) strategy was to minimise British casualties (at the cost
of US caualties) in order to have some semblance of military presence post-war.
It was about politics by then!