Terminus
Posts: 41459
Joined: 4/23/2005 From: Denmark Status: offline
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The problem with Caen was (and is) that it sits at the confluence of pretty much the entire road network in that part of Normandy. It HAD to be taken. Montgomery ended up becoming fixated on it, sure, but even when he tried to flank the place (Operation Epsom comes to mind), the Germans kicked his forces back. German forces which the overwhelming Allied airpower FAILED to keep away from Normandy, and FAILED to dislodge on its own. The airplanes weren't the huge factor that some people have made them out to be. Montgomery's plan to take Caen by the end of D-Day was, of course, ridiculously optimistic, even if British 3rd Division hadn't run head-first into the 21st Panzer Division on 6 June, and in hindsigt, Market-Garden was probably doomed to failure from the outset, but it probably looked like a pretty good longshot back then.
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We are all dreams of the Giant Space Butterfly.
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