Mahross, compliments are deserved on a quality piece of writing!
TOE... damn... I was going through all the abbreviations I could think of... how'd I miss that?!
On the overall effectiveness of the bombing.. I wonder- do any of the sources mention anything to the effect of
what exactly the bombing hit? I'm wondering how many German tanks and AFVs were taken out. I certianly sounds like the bombing before goodwood was "effective"... but what does "effective" mean to these authors?
Did the bombing knock out large amounts of troops AND tanks, along with the noted "disruption of communication lines"? Or did the bombing only kill a few troops and cause some minor disruptions, while leaving most of the German formations intact?
From the sounds of it, the major problem for Goodwood was British disorganisation, or inadequate planning? I see examples like the one mentioned by Kai, where the only [?] forward air controller was put in one of the first tanks. Wasn't there any provision for having a back-up air controller?
And could the route of attack have been planned better to accomodate armor?
Very interesting stuff, no doubt!
(thanks for the congrats, gents...
... although I would much rather point to the 1000+ posts from
other forum members that have provided so much info!)
[ 29. May 2003, 09:48 AM: Message edited by: CrazyD ]