Montgomery’s Plan, The Single Thrust

In contrast to General Eisenhower’s ‘Broad Front’ plan, General Montgomery envisaged a better option in the form of a ‘Single Thrust’ into Germany. He believed that by consolidating Allied forces to the north ready for a quick, powerful drive through the German defences and on to Berlin, the Allies could topple the Nazi seat of power much sooner. He thought this would stop the stagnation of the front line as the Germans inevitably consolidated closer towards their heartland. Although both tactics had backing from other high ranking generals, Montgomery’s insistence that there were blatant flaws in Eisenhower’s plan led to escalating tensions between the pair. Eventually Eisenhower chose to appease Montgomery by allowing part of his plan to go ahead in Operation Market Garden. This proved a failure as the Allies could not achieve their objective and from that point on they adhered to the broad front strategy.