Posted on 07/09/2014 5:08:42 AM PDT by Homer_J_Simpson
Carlo D’Este’s “Decision in Normandy” has an excellent discussion of Montgomery’s strategy in Normandy. From all the sources he reviewed, it appeared that before June 6, Monty planned on a steady advance through various phase lines until the Seine was reached on D +90. And other than clearing Brittany, he thought the Americans would advance more or less even with the British.
However, as of today’s date the Allies are clearly behind that schedule, and are bogged down. Hanson Baldwin’s excellent piece today discusses the reasons for it.
D’Este writes that faced with this situation, Montgomery’s real brilliance as a commander showed through. He realized what the situation was, and adapted. For about the past two weeks, he has used the British Army to deliberately draw in as much German strength as he can, and pin it down. That allows the Americans to break out in the west against weaker German forces. And looking at the maps for the past week that seems evident. And will continue for the next week or two...
So when Operation Cobra comes, it’s success will have been as much the result of Monty’s strategy as American operational planning. What D’Este then cites is Monty’s greatest shortcoming as a great military commander, and that was his towering and easily bruised ego that blinded his retrospective outlook. In his memoirs, Monty wrote that this was his strategy all along when he began planning the invasion back in January. He made it sound like everything worked out just like he planned it. The historical evidence does not support this. And it’s sad, really. D’Este says Monty would have been viewed better by history if he’d just told the truth; that he saw a changed situation and adapted. And adapted brilliantly.
That’s what great commanders do. He should have been proud of it.
And I have enjoyed the situation maps you have been posting. Like the Nimitz diary entries they lend a stimulating air of immediacy to the thread.
And will continue to enjoy through about the end of August.
I hope you don't stop reading then. I have gathered the news through September and, at the risk of being a spoiler, I can reveal that a major operation begins in the latter part of that month. I think Montgomery has a major role in that one, too. If it works out right it could end the war in Europe this year.
Reading the daily news has actually made me a bit more sympathetic to Monty and the British/Canadian problem. Obviously, Hitler and his high command viewed Caen as the key to their position and they poured virtually all their armor into the British sector to defend it. The problem is they are fighting a war of attrition when they cannot replace the troops or equipment they are losing. And they are playing against Monty, the master of the set piece engagement. It's hard to criticize his caution here. The British have suffered terribly over five years of war and we in the West don't spend lives as freely as the Russians do.
The American position, although not having to face so much tough German armor, has been difficult because we had to divide our forces to push in the opposite directions of Cherbourg and Carentan. Now that Cherbourg has been taken First Army can reunite and reorganize in the push south and west, which will set the stage for Cobra.
Ike foresaw all this months ago when he decided the perfect commander and unit for the breakout would be Patton and Third Army.
Henkster, I'm not as familiar with these maps as you, but are the Germans really showing one Army Group and three field Armies in S.E. England? Boy, their intelligence was really not up to scratch.
Colorado, the map is actually fairly accurate in more ways than it is not. First US Army Group does not exist, and neither do British 5th and 6th Armies. Those “higher level” commands are fictitious creations of Operation Fortitude. But on the American side, they have accurately identified 3rd and 9th Armies, and XII and XV Corps. They have also identified American 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th Armored Divisions, which will figure prominently in Operation Cobra and subsequent exploitation. All of those units will eventually be transferred to France
On the British side, they have correctly identified 1st Canadian Army under the command of Crerar. I can’t speak to the accuracy of identification of the subordinate British units in southeast Britain. I suspect many of the divisions are fictitious.
What got the Germans is that what they do know, and is true, led them to believe what the Allies wanted them to believe. The confirmed existence of units that are really there sold them on the existence of parent formations that weren’t. The Germans were led to believe those units that really exist are slated for something other than commitment to Normandy. Those formations will eventually be subject to a higher authority but not in the form the Germans believe. There will be a second army group, but not FUSAG. It will be Bradley’s 12th, which the Germans don’t see coming, created around 1st, 3rd and later 9th armies, which they have identified.
I really liked linking this map to Homer’s post of the German Transocean News Agency release from about a week ago, where the Germans pretty much publicly stated they were still quaffing the Operation Fortitude Kool-Ade.
So while the map is more accurate than not, that bit of how it’s not accurate can make a decisive difference in operations.
Absolutely fascinating stuff.
It's ironic that Ike is faithfully following Clauswitz's advice to concentrate the attack at one point and it's the Germans who think he won't.
I suspect Hitler hasn't gotten his mind wrapped around the fact that if at the time when Wotan was strong on Germany's side invading England across 19 miles of water from Calais was not feasible, certainly the Anglo-American main force could not cross 100 miles of water from Portsmouth to Normandy.
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