Operation Market-Garden: Ultra Intelligence Ignored by Jeffson Major Joel

Author:Jeffson, Major Joel
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pickle Partners Publishing
Published: 2015-03-20T04:00:00+00:00

“Charlie in Charlie [Commander in Chief] West on twenty-sixth quoted following Hitler order of twenty-fifth colon Firstly, all staffs, authorities and units released as result of the course of the fighting in the west and which are not required for re-employment further back are immediately to be disbanded. Secondly, elements of the Army thus released, in so far as suitable, to be at direct disposal Charlie in Charlie West to reinforce the battle front…. Thirdly, released elements of the Navy and GAF [German Air Force] to be at disposal Charlie in Charlie West and sent by shortest route for employment with fighting forces of the field army (including parachute divisions)…. Fourthly, authorities of OKW in this area to be disbanded, personnel and equipment released to be in first instance at disposal Charlie in Charlie West.”[82]

While this message highlighted the lack of manpower confronting the Germans, it also showed that the High Command was still in charge and coordinating activities on the front to attempt to counter the Allied advance.

The results of the Allied successes in the field and the intelligence provided by Ultra began to resonate in the intelligence summaries of the various commands. SHAEF produced weekly intelligence reports that recapped the week’s activities on mainly the western front, but also included key events in the other theaters of war. While Ultra is never addressed specifically in these summaries, due to the security restrictions, it certainly had an impact on the final product. Subordinate commands, prisoner reports, captured documents, resistance groups, and other sources provided the bulk of the intelligence that went into the SHAEF summaries.

Following the defeat of the German Seventh Army in the Falaise pocket, the SHAEF weekly intelligence summaries began to portray a very optimistic picture of the situation confronting the Allies. This is not surprising considering that the Allies had partially destroyed a German army and had the rest in full retreat back to its borders.

The first intelligence summary following the battle in the Falaise pocket was published on 19 August. Unguarded optimism is the best way to describe this weekly summary. Lack of reinforcements, orders given to retreat to positions that had already been occupied by the Allies, and a general sense of confusion within the Wehrmacht were the key topics in this report. An example of the overly optimistic nature of this report is found in the section describing the enemy’s capabilities where it says, “It is difficult to see how the Germans can stand it much longer. Two things are certain. The enemy has lost the war and the defeat of Seven Army and Panzer Gruppe West will hasten the end.”[83]

The next summary, published on 26 August, is the high-water mark for Allied optimism and contains the now-famous quote describing the August battles.

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