Eisenhower's "broad front" strategy. If he let Montgomery in charge of the land forces, the iron curtain would have gone up in eastern Poland.

Hitler made his biggest mistake by invading Russia. He could have used those men for the beach defenses at Normandy or another significant battle. It goes to show that the tide of a war can change hands very easily.

I agree with Mathew.

Attacking the Soviet Union was Hitler's biggest mistake. Accordinging to Glantz, Hitler attacked Russia because she was at her weakest state and had Hitler waited any longer the chances of success in the east would have deminished. Ironically attacking Russia at her weakest stake, was what cost Germany the war.

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The war against Russia will be such that it cannot be conducted in a knightly fashion. This struggle is one of ideologies and racial differences and will have to be conducted with unprecedented, unmerciful and unrelenting harshness. -Adolf Hitler

I realise that this thread goes back a bit but for one the Leningrad Front was one of the hardest Fronts to fight on , the attritional combat was going on all the time as well as some large scale assualts by both sides , they just didn't have the spectacular advances or defeats ( until 1944 ) that occurred further south.

Nice to see that the Monty bashers have been out as well !!!

How about the vainglorious Mark Clark , whose descision to head for Rome for his own personal glory failed to trap the German Army in Italy South of Rome and allowed them to withdraw North to the prepared defensive lines and causing tens of thousands of British and American soldiers to lose their lives, far more than at Arnhem.

He must qualify as one of the worst Allied Generals of WW2 ??

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I think Market Garden, although ultimately it failed miserably, was a wise choice.
Why attack head on when you can outflank?

And the western Allies could not have reached berlin at all. Yalta was the main reason for that.

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Stauffenberg for not getting the "job" done. After the failed attempt on Hitler's life, no one
ever again would go against Hitler's plans.

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Market Garden was simply a half - failed operation, Hitler's invasion of Russia was a disaster on a grand scale. Hitler made so many errors it's astonishing that some people still consider him in any way militarily competent.

I agree Joe, Although Markey Garden was a failure all but Arnhem Bridge were captured, making any possible advance by the Germans harder. Every liberated city is another one closer to the end of the war.

Now what if the Allied plan had succeeded, and Arnhem had fallen to the allies? could they have broken through into Germany and could the war really have ended by Christmas in 1944 instead of 1945? Could Germany had fallen to the Western allies thus possibly eliminating the Iron Curtain from Berlin and making it further east in poland?

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Hitler for sacrificing all his best ( and last) troops in Ardennes attack Dec 1944 and Operation Spring Awakening in Hungary march 1945. Total waste.

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There are so many to list.

Hitlers descision not to crush the British at Dunkirk.
France's General's when using tanks
Georings Descisions during the Battle Of Britian
The complete invasion of North Africa by the Italians
The invasion of Russia
Stalingrad, what a waste
Seaborne raid of Dieppe.
Hitlers descision to not let Rommel take his panzers onto the Normandy Beaches
Hitlers failure to accept the invasion as the real thing
Hitlers overall command of the entire army
The Scuttling of the Graff Spee by Propaganda
The attempeted breakout of the Bismarck into the Atlantic (she would never have done anything to really help)
The French not allying themselves to surrended there fleet to the British after the fall of France.
To a point, Operation Market Garden.


This could go on and on, every side made mistakes, of course whit hitler in charge, more then should have occured.

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I agree mostly, but what use is are Panzers vs Battlehips Tomcat? If Rommel sent his tanks onto the beaches, they would have been totaly smashed by naval gunfire.

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Market Garden was a risk worth taking, for reasons which we all know it didn't work out but was it the worst move of the war , i don't think so !!

It is the Battle which brings the Monty bashers out in force that and Normandy of course , too cautious in Normandy but too rash and overambitious at Market Garden , which one is it ??? You can't have it both ways !!!!!!!!!!

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Let no one forget . Let nothing be forgotten.

I strongly agree. Berlin needed as many defenders as possible during the battle of Berlin. According to Wikipedia German's strength was 500,000 men so 575,000 men at Berlin would have made a considerable difference.

Actually you do.
Market Garden was merely one of a number of set-backs* the Allies suffered in this period due to a resurgence in the Germany army

*Metz and the Hurtgen Forest, both with higher casualties for the Allies than Market Garden

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Well said Redcoat !

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Let no one forget . Let nothing be forgotten.

Good point Joe, But once they were on the shore there was no stopping them, so they had to stop them at the beachs, and taking on tanks while assualting a beach would have been one hell of a battle for the allies

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But would Rommel have enough tanks to blanket all the beaches with them?
It would only be about the same amount of difficulty in taking out bunkers and pillboxes. Remember, tanks get easily bogged down on sand, so they would have to stay put just off the beach, maybe behind the sea wall, where they are quite vulnerable to Naval fire. And remember, once the allies get four or five men on shore, they take out a pillbox and let another five advance ect ect. Even if he did move his tankeys onto the beaches, Rommel (and the Third Riech) where doomed.

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Well that would be a process of elimination, they were guessing between the Pais de Calais and Normandy, since they allowed the most freedom once they land, as well as being close to england for supplies and they needed the large harbour's capable of sustaining the amount of supples needed for the invasion.

I didn't mean move them on the sand, but more in a reserve position behind the beach, but not as far as they were, this way they could support the infantry defending at least the trenchs behind the frontal bunkers.

But I do suppose that you are right, the naval fire would be a big problem, and if that wasn't bad enough, then the air force would have been the problem. BUt I just think that had they been in a better or closer role they could have done more damage.

It probably is a good thing that they were where they were. If they hadn't the invasion could have failed.

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They shall grow not old as we that are left grow old Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We shall remember them. Lest We Forget