Military History Evening

Thursday, 3 September 2026

Guest Speaker: Lieutenant Colonel Andrew Glover

This was an operation launched by the Allies to penetrate the German-held Netherlands to a depth of up to 100km utilising a combination an armoured thrust and a ‘carpet’ of British, American and Polish airborne soldiers. It was a strategic attempt to ‘end the war by Christmas’; but with overly optimistic operational planning concepts that forced risk accepting tactical level action. By Montogomery's standards it was a daring operation but did not take into account the presence of experienced and effective German units in the vicinity. The result was approximately 15-17,000 Allied soldiers wounded, killed or captured without meeting the strategic aim. The presentation will cover the span of decision making at the strategic to operational levels to help open discussion for how militaries plan operations. Individuals that had a profound impact on the operational will be…