re: Spinoff: Was Pelelieu the Biggest Waste of a Campaign in WWII?

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I would argue that Market Garden was a bigger waste.

We already had a way into Germany so why invade the Netherlands?

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The thinking was this....

1. It would be the fastest and easiest way to get allied forces across the Rhine which was a substantial barrier.

2. It would stop the Germans from launching their V2s from Holland which at that time were pounding London

3. Holland has the huge ports of Rotterdam & Amsterdam which we desperately needed at that time. By late summer and early fall our supply situation on the Western Front was becoming pretty desperate the closer we go to Germany due to the distance supplies had to travel overland from France to the front.