Comments by "Dave M A C" (@davemac1197) on "The First Day of Operation Market Garden | BattleStorm 2/8" video.

There were no suitable closer alternatives for the landing and drop zones (or they would have been used), Gavin instructed the 508th to send 1st Battalion straight for the bridge, but the CO failed to follow the briefing instruction and Gavin had to go to the 508th CP to get him moving (see Nordyke, Put Us Down In Hell, 2012 chapters 9 and 10, and chapters on Normandy for previous problems in the 508th), and XXX Corps had to stop at night because you can't advance tanks in the dark (otherwise they wouldn't have stopped). Armchair tactics again.
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@waynes.3380 - the operation involved 24 bridges for multiple redundancy and many of them were captured on the first day, including the Arnhem highway bridge. The RAF did not object to any landing zones for Operation Market because they were due to fly to them for Operation Comet. The scene with the RAF officer is a fictional scene put into the film, but Wiliams of US IX TCC objected to the glider coup de main attacks on the Arnhem, Nijmegen, and Grave bridges in the Comet plan and Brereton of 1st AAA removed them for Market. They also removed the two airlifts on the first day for reasons that would not have impressed the RAF. There were no better landing options at Arnhem. Drop Zone 'K' south of the bridge could not be used until the third lift, by which time it was assumed the heavy Flak positions on either side of the zone were neutralised and the high tension lines crossing the zone from the Arnhem power station were cut. The Polish drop at Driel was on a re-arranged zone precisely because these conditions were not met and the area was controlled by the Germans and not the British 1st Parachute Brigade.
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