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4 It Wasn’t Arnhem versus Antwerp
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99 4 It Wasn’t Arnhem versus Antwerp “The more I considered what we were setting out to do, the more certain I was that it was wrong.” “I was determined to play my full part in the business; the British forces would show and did show, that when it came to the mobile battle they were just as good as the next man. But I had great misgivings.” Montgomery, Memoirs Montgomery’s Criticisms Of all of Ike’s lieutenants, Montgomery was his most severe critic. Monty’s style was to maintain a “firm grip” over a battle. “It was always very clear to me that Ike and I were poles apart when it came to the conduct of the war. . . . I planned always to make the enemy commit his reserves on a wide front in order to plug holes in his defenses; having forced him to do this, I then committed my own reserves on a narrow front in a hard blow.” In Montgomery’s view “Eisenhower’s creed appeared to me to be that there must be aggressive action on the part of everyone at all times. Everybody must attack all the time.”1 In a letter to Field Marshal Brooke on 14 August, about the time the events being described occur, Montgomery was more candid; “His [Eisenhower ’s] ignorance as to how to run a war are [sic] absolute and complete.”2 Arthur Bryant, the editor of Brooke’s diary, and a fan of Monty, stated, “I believe that in August, 1944 a Supreme Allied Commander . . . could have ended the war by decisively backing either Montgomery or Bradley. But there was . . . no strong hand at the helm, no man in command. There was only . . . a chairman—a shrewd, intelligent tactful careful Chairman.”3 100 · The Battle for Western Europe, Fall 1944 21st Army Group Joins the Pursuit After the breakout at Saint-Lô, the Americans had run amuck across France. Now it was the British turn. Second Army crossed the Seine on 25–27 August. 30 Corps led with 8 Corps advancing in echelon on the left flank. Patton is often quoted as ordering his exploiting forces to ignore their flanks. Montgomery’s order to his exploiting forces: 17. The [Second British] Army will move with its armored strength deployed well forward; its passage northwards must be swift and relentless . . . quite irrespective of the progress of armies on its flanks. 24. The enemy has not the troops to hold any strong position. The proper tactics are for strong armored and mobile columns to by-pass enemy centers of resistance and move boldly ahead. 24. I rely on commanders of every rank and grade to “drive” ahead with the utmost energy; any tendency to be “sticky” or cautious must be stamped on ruthlessly.4 General Dempsey, Second Army commander, demonstrated that he could run an army hard in a pursuit. One of Monty’s loyal men who eschewed publicity in any form, he was known as a resolute, self-confident commander who was much liked by his subordinates. An ardent student of war with an uncanny ability to visualize complex features of a battlefield from intense inspection of a topographic map, he retained a good grasp of a fluid battle.5 Lieutenant General Sir Brian Horrocks’s (commander, 30 Corps) dash into the Low Countries rivaled Patton’s sweep from Paris to the Moselle. Horrocks, a legendary commander still recovering from severe wounds, had been brought in to give the British advance more zip. A pair of 30 Corps armored divisions spearheaded his advance. With Household Cavalry scout cars leading the way, the highly regarded (although not by Montgomery) Guards Armored Division rumbled into Brussels amid great cheers. In the style of the best blitzkrieg, the Guards simply bypassed roadblocks and pockets of heavy resistance. In six days, Second Army had advanced over 400 kilometers. Occasionally an antitank gun sited to cover a defile would slow the British tankers up. But not for long. Mobs came out to heap flowers on British tanks as they sped by. At many villages church bells announced the arrival of smiling Tommies who were already pumped up by the chase. Perhaps intent on showing his best Allied face, Patton told reporters , “Field Marshal Montgomery has just completely buggered the whole [18.205.114.205] Project MUSE (2024-03-19 13:34 GMT) It Wasn’t Arnhem versus Antwerp · 101 [German] show. I think that is a magnificent show and as a result...