Re: 17th Airborne and Market Garden

"Louis Capdeboscq" <louisec00@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:dffnhm$rrs$1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Robert Willett wrote:
> > "Louis Capdeboscq" wrote in message
>
> >>Please provide an example of when all the Allied airborne forces being
> >>either committed or inoperational.
> >>
> >>Failing that, the fact that there were idle airborne forces at a time
> >>when the Allies needed more units at the frontline and had a shortage of
> >>regular infantry shows that they built too many airborne units.
> >
> >
> > Sorry Louis again you are a day late and a dollar short. The real
failing
> > was the "90 division limit" chosen by the U. S. planners and the sheer
lack
> > of manpower available to UK authorities.
>
> Personally I think that the US was better served by having 90 divisions
> that it could deploy and lavishly support halfway across the world than
> by having a huge force mostly unable to deploy out of CONUS. But that is
> neither here nor there. Within the limits set by the "90 division
> limit", whether you agree with these limits or not, the US built 6
> airborne divisions which was at least 2 too many (i.e. 33% of the whole,
> 50% if you include 11th AB which I wouldn't). Perhaps that 6 airborne
> divisions would have been the correct number out of a 200 division army,
> but given the historical size of the US Army and of the US airlift
> capabilities, it was clearly too much.

Yes Louis you have said time and again that you are smarter with knowledge
after the fact than the planners who had to look forward in 42-44.

> The same holds true for the British. So they lacked manpower, and had to
> disband divisions to keep their fighting strength constant. How useful
> was it then to have 2 and 2/3 (counting the Polish AB brigade) airborne
> divisions, half of which were at any single time sitting in the UK
> waiting for something to do when the rest of 21st Army Group was wasting
> away ?
>
> > And of course you overlook the
> > fact that when more infantry was needed the Airborne could fill the role
but
> > if there had been fewer airborne units and more were needed straight leg
> > infantry could not have filled that need.
>
> Of course you overlook the fact that airborne didn't substitute exactly
> for infantry.


Please define exactly? What they did at Bastogne, in Hoolland for 85 days,
on the shoulders of the Bulge was differnt how from substituting for the
infantry elements of straight leg infantry divisions. But no part of the
infantry elemant of a straight leg division could have substituted for the
airborne in an airborne operation.

> Out of sheer curiosity, is there a reason to capitalize airborne and not
> infantry ?

My choice.

--

.

Relevant Pages

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  • Re: 17th Airborne and Market Garden
    ... >>Please provide an example of when all the Allied airborne forces being ... >>Failing that, the fact that there were idle airborne forces at a time ... >>regular infantry shows that they built too many airborne units. ...
    (soc.history.war.world-war-ii)