[occamrzr06]

But the big secret was that the British had no reinforcements, they were tapped out............

The Brits still had an Army Group and were a very formidable force. They consisted of the 2nd Army (Brit), First Canadian Army (Canada), plus units from Poland, Dutch, Belgium and Czech.

While the Brits were having manpower shortages, this was in reinforcements and contingency operations, such as Greece. They also had limited ability to conduct large grandiose maneuvers like Market Garden, but the could and did put up a good fight.

Eisenhower's decision to place the U.S. First and Ninth Army under operational control of Monty was partly due to the distances involved from the two different sides of the Bulge. One of the side benefits of this arrangement thought Ike and Beetle Smith, was the fact that Monty would be more like to commit his reserves, if he was responsible for that part of the battle. Another consideration was Antwerp, which was in the 24th Army Groups zone. This was the port where most of the supplies would funnel into the battle zone.

[PeterPrinciple]

While the Brits were having manpower shortages, this was in reinforcements and contingency operations, such as Greece. They also had limited ability to conduct large grandiose maneuvers like Market Garden, but the could and did put up a good fight.

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I was not intending to discredit the Brits, they were at it a lot longer than the US. But they did keep it a secret and it did affect a lot of operations.

[EternalVigilance]

In all my reading I mainly saw the heroic sacrifice and recovery of the American forces. A German vs. American duel to the death.

Don’t remember much direct British involvement, other than Montgomery moving in units to secure the Meuse bridges to the rear, at least until very late in the day.

Or maybe I just haven’t read widely enough on the subject. It was a huge, complex set of events.

I wonder how much actual combat British forces participated in while the outcome in the Ardennes hung in the balance.

[EternalVigilance]

Finding some answers to my own question.

http://www.battleofthebulgememories.be/en/stories/british-army/203-the-british-in-the-battle-of-the-ardennes.html

[PapaNew]

It seems that Hitler’s intuition had not complete left him in that he was counting on the offensive to divide the Allies and the clashing Anglo-British egos which apparently was no secret.

Soon after the attack, Monty was up on his high horse again, Bradley almost quit, British loyalties questioned. Ike had his hands full with politics and Patton felt his greatest challenge wasn’t the Nazis but his own commanders.