Military history of the United Kingdom during World War II allowed them to be withdrawn from the line and redeployed to Greece where they were urgently needed to help quell the civil war. Montgomery and Eisenhower had long been debating the merits of a broad front attack strategy versus concentrating power in one area and punching through German lines. Eisenhower favoured the former, and Montgomery the latter. However, in late 1944, logistic problems meant that the former was temporarily out of the question. Montgomery conceived Operation Market Garden to implement a narrow front strategy. The idea was to land airborne forces in the Netherlands to take vital bridges over the
1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) Infantry Division, the US 101st Airborne Division, and the 1st Polish Parachute Brigade landing at Rambouillet St Arnoult, to close the gap between Orléans and Paris. Operation "Axehead", using the same force, was to seize the bridges over the River Seine in support of 21st Army Group. Operation "Boxer", with the same force, was to seize Boulogne and assault V1 flying bomb sites. Near the end of the month, Operation "Linnet", with the same units as before, was formulated to seize crossings over the Escaut. Operation "Infatuate", drawn up in early September, involved the entire I Airborne Corps landing in