...and so, Montgomery’s grand plan of Operation Market Garden begins to emerge.
Experiencing the war day by day has given me more perspective on what led up to Market Garden. It is true the opposition against the Brits and Canadians was tougher, with more armor than the Americans faced. Still, Monty's lack of progress by late August is rather embarrassing, isn't it? Patton is now across the Seine south of Paris and Monty is still far from a river that was much closer to him that Third Army's initial positions. American casualties are far higher than British. Monty fobbed off on the Canadians doing the hard job of closing the Falaise Gap. Monty will soon lose his title of overall ground commander in Northern France.
Market Garden will be his chance to do Something Big, something Pattonesque, won't it? His chance to show he isn't just a set piece battle general, but understands how to fight a war of maneuver. Well, we'll see how that works out.
Stalin is being utterly contemptable in his statements about Warsaw. I don't believe for a second he couldn't have gone into Warsaw had he wanted. The tip off is Stalin's initial refusal to allow aircraft attempting to supply Warsaw landing rights at the Frantic airfields in Ukraine. IIRC, Stalin only reluctantly allowed one mission by the USAAF. It worked, the Polish Home Army was destroyed and the way cleared for his communist quislings.