[colorado tanker]

Unfortunately, once we had the Scheldte estuary and the west bank of the Rhine (Maas), Western Holland had no strategic value. Everything went into crossing the Rhine. Once Monty finally got over the Rhine he could spare the Canadians to attack west.

I hate that outcome, too. What was that line from Band of Brothers? What's not to like about this country, everyone speaks English and they love us!

Another problem that hasn't come out in these threads is that the Dutch resistance was completely penetrated. Almost every agent the British dropped into Holland was immediately apprehended.

[InMemoriam]

Wow, thanks for pointing me to the successful Abwehr penetration of the Dutch Resistance. The Germans referred to it as the England Game (Englandspiel).

[henkster]

Because of the water obstacles, which the Germans augmented with deliberate flooding, Holland was easily defended with a minimum of troops.It was also a strategic dead-end. An attack into Holland would have required a commitment of resources out of proportion to any military benefit, and would not have served the purpose of directing military operations at the heart of Germany and the destruction of her armed forces.

Those were Ike’s orders and he was remarkably consistent in pursuing them.