Comments by "Bullet-Tooth Tony" (@Bullet-Tooth-Tony-) on "Why did Eisenhower stop Devers from crossing the Rhine?" video.
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@lyndoncmp5751 Even Horrocks himself thought it was a mistake to not advance further.
"On the 4th of September, we were ordered to halt our advance as we were out-running our supplies particularly petrol, which was still being brought up from the beachhead a turn-round of some six hundred miles for the lorries. This was a tragedy, as the only troops between us and the Rhine, stretched out in a thin line, was one German division, the 719th, composed mainly of elderly gentlemen who hitherto had been guarding the north coast of Holland and had never heard a shot fired in anger, plus one battalion of Dutch SS, and a few Luftwaffer detachments. Had we been allowed to advance we could have brushed this meagre force aside, bounced the crossing over the Rhine, and probably gone right through to the Zyder Zee. A further advance like this would, of course, have entailed a certain risk, but we already had one hundred kilometres of petrol within reach, and another one hundred twenty-four hours away; moreover, we had captured Brussels Airport, so -surely additional supplies could have been flown in if we had got into trouble. I have always felt that this was a risk worth taking"
"the 11th Armoured Division could have advanced 18 Miles further North to the base of the South Beveland Peninsular, thereby preventing German movement to and from the Peninsular. As it was, no such order was given and consequently Von Zangen was able to extract the remnants of his Fifteenth Army from the pocket around Brekens by ferrying them across the Schelde, mostly by night and then moving along the South Beveland Peninsular and from there into Holland."
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@classicalextremism ", Eisenhower and the civilian leadership are looking to end the war conclusively."
But the Broad front was NOT the strategy go about ending things quickly. The Allies reached the Rhine/Siegfried line and were stuck there for 6 months , in a series of bloody static battles. The Broad front strategy was to encircle the Ruhr in the fall of 1944.
Instead, the Allied armies were stopped at the Rhine and fought a series of very costly battles (Aachen, Metz, Hurtgen forest) for small gains. By March they were still stuck behind the Rhine, and stayed there until the Soviets broke down the front door in the Vistula-Oder offensive., at which point German resistance degraded rapidly.
The Broad Front strategy would only work if the Germans were in disarray, otherwise all 3 attacks would fail.
Monty believed (correctly) that the Germans were rebuilding their defences, therefore a single powerful thrust to seize a Rhine crossing was the best option.
Ike ignored warnings that the Allies were overstretching their supply lines because he wanted to "Keep Patton moving", which proved futile.
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@lyndoncmp5751 It is now known that an opportunity might have been missed by not clearing out the Walcheren Islands in the Estuary.
Quote "The city and port fell to the 11th Armoured Division in early September, but Montgomery halted XXX Corps for resupply short of the wide Albert Canal to the north of the city, which consequently remained in enemy hands. Horrocks regretted this after the war believing that his corps might have advanced another 100 miles (160 km) with the fuel available. Although some doubt this could have been achieved without delays, it is now known that XXX Corps was opposed by only one German division, although Allied forces were unaware of this at the time. The pause allowed the Germans to regroup around the Scheldt River, and by the time the Allies resumed their advance, the First Paratroop Army (General Kurt Student) had arrived and set up strong defensive positions along the opposite side of the canal"
Quote "the 11th Armoured Division could have advanced 18 Miles further North to the base of the South Beveland Peninsular, thereby preventing German movement to and from the Peninsular. As it was, no such order was given and consequently Von Zangen was able to extract the remnants of his Fifteenth Army from the pocket around Brekens by ferrying them across the Schelde, mostly by night and then moving along the South Beveland Peninsular and from there into Holland."
Even Horrocks himself thought it was a mistake.
"On the 4th of September, we were ordered to halt our advance as we were out-running our supplies particularly petrol, which was still being brought up from the beachhead a turn-round of some six hundred miles for the lorries. This was a tragedy, as the only troops between us and the Rhine, stretched out in a thin line, was one German division, the 719th, composed mainly of elderly gentlemen who hitherto had been guarding the north coast of Holland and had never heard a shot fired in anger, plus one battalion of Dutch SS, and a few Luftwaffer detachments. Had we been allowed to advance we could have brushed this meagre force aside, bounced the crossing over the Rhine, and probably gone right through to the Zyder Zee. A further advance like this would, of course, have entailed a certain risk, but we already had one hundred kilometres of petrol within reach, and another one hundred twenty-four hours away; moreover, we had captured Brussels Airport, so -surely additional supplies could have been flown in if we had got into trouble. I have always felt that this was a risk worth taking"
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