Comments by "David Himmelsbach" (@davidhimmelsbach557) on "The REAL Operation Market Garden | BATTLESTORM Documentary | All Episodes" video.

  1. Gavin messed up so BAD that he was given his second star immediately after MG was over. Gavin's REAL orders were to protect Browning -- an army commander -- and to protect Browning's reputation, too. He followed these orders -- American orders above and outside MG. You can't trust ANY of the generals, as they are all world class liars. That's how they became generals in the first place. This is still seen. When British or American generals speak to the public -- everything is spin. In the case of MG, the subordinate commanders are falling on their swords to protect their superiors -- right up the line. Monty is protecting Churchill, Allen Brooke, and the Joint Chiefs... Boy those guys never make a mistake, and so forth. If Gavin had lost Browning to the Germans -- his career would've been over. Period. Browning OWNS the failure of MG by even landing with his army. He needed to stay above the fray -- the only way he could allocate reinforcements and make THE key decisions. As it was, all of the key decisions were being made by his subordinates. For example, it should NEVER have been up to Urquhart to decide where the Poles drop. That should've been Browning's call. It does not appear that anyone even contacted him. Browning appears to be out of the loop even after XXX Corps hooks up with the 82nd. The delay in providing TAC Air is bizarre. Browning was the man that should've accelerated its arrival. The futzing around by XXX Corps after they crossed the Nijmegen bridge is baffling. And, STILL, where are the jeeps? Why scout with Shermans when jeeps can shoot all over the island? It's not as if the Germans can enter the island except by bridge and ferry.
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  2. The primary objection to landing on the island between the bridges was that it was not suitable for GLIDERS. So... Why didn't Browning see the obvious play? Drop the Poles on day one. Browning should stay in Britain. and the 82nd could drop on BOTH sides of Nijmegen and the 101st should just skip the Son crossing. It's so close to the front you KNOW that it's not only wired, but its guard detail is wired themselves. In the pre-battle days, there was absolutely no reason not to push the XXX Corps as in regular way operations. Indeed, why not press across the front so that the Germans can't race to block the key highway? And, why not bring up jeeps by the thousand? They were perfect for the muddy farmland that was everywhere in front of XXX Corps.
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