"Bill Phillips" wrote in message
...



If they had all been dropped on the first lift then they would have
quickly
seized the bridges, and established a strong defensive position around
them.
Add a supply drop on D+1 and some CAS to weaken the Germans and they could
have easily held during the bad weather, and weeks after.



Given that only a single battallion was dropped close enough
on the first drop this seems unlikely. Quite simply there
were no suitable drop zones close to the bridge large
enough to put the whole force into in one go.

When you consider that paratroops are by definition lightly
armed and that the Germans had a Panzer division in the
area it becomes an impossibility.

The fundamental flaw with the operation was that XXX Corps
had to advance along a single road along the top of a dyke
with flooded fields on either side. A single 88 could hold an
armoured column up until the infantry pushed along the field
margins up to their chest in mud and cold water while under
fire.

This made a rapid advance kinda difficult. As for CAS this hit
the same problem that grounded the Poles, FOG, which
isnt exactly rare in NW Europe in the fall.

Keith