There is a controversy that remains unresolved to this date regarding Operation VARSITY; a breach of security prior to the battle. Many of the veterans contend that the Germans knew all of the details concerning the operations. They listened to broadcasts from Axis Sally, who told them in the days prior to 24 March that the 17th Airborne was to cross the Rhine near Wesel. The controversy remains unsolved while we await the 75 year moratorium on the declassification of certain VARSITY documents.[1] For now we have the opinions and recollections of the veterans and the pre-invasion intelligence assessments offered by German commanders to make our assessment. The subject is so rich that it warrants more than a few paragraphs or even a chapter; it requires an entire thesis. That is far too large for the scope of this blog, and conflicts with the supposition that the nature of an airborne operation relies on the element of surprise. None the less this topic remains of interest to the author and he intends to tackle it some day. To access the article in the on-line edition of Thunder From heaven click here: http://17airbornedivision.org/yahoo_site_admin/assets/docs/02TMC-2A_SPRENGER.91113851.pdf
[1] Bill Tom, ed. 2008. Something to Think About. Thunder Mail Call no. 2a (March). http//www.17airbornedivision.org [accessed December 31, 2011]






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