Quote:
Yet this was an overwhelming Victory. the complete destruction of 180,000 men and their armour and artillery as a fighting structure.
Yet the carpers and snipers sat in their comfortable armchairs back in the UK, never gave Monty any credit for what was in fact, one of the greatest victories of WW2, Not only did he destroy the German army in Normandy with his tacitcs. But he did it ten days ahead of schedule.
His Victory was Complete, just as it had been in North Africa.
Sapper
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Firmly agree with that.
(though some debate on the specific figures for German losses would be worthwhile.)
It's often said that
even more damage could have been done, I'm unclear as to whether this is really true, a major 'what if' of that campaign.
So supposing we were to accept that there was a slight fumble at the end; who do we think was responsible for not
quite closing the pocket as fast and firmly as Monty envisioned in the initial planning for France. I read of blame placed on the French, the Americans, the Canadians & the British depending which book it is, and when it becomes a blame game I begin to suspect that it just couldn't have had any other outcome than the admittedly excellent one it did. I also get the feeling that the number of Germans that did manage to get out often did so by sheer fighting tenacity despite their appalling situation.
(can I just recommend the excellent and new
'Ruckmarsch' by after the battle for intense and high quality photographic coverage of the German retreat in France.)