You raise a great point. We Americans generally don't know a whole lot about the Antwerp operations because they were primarily a Canadian mission commanded by Monty. We tend to be more interested in what our boys were doing. This particular episode isn't well-known or often discussed here in the US.
I think one of the main reasons we were delayed in Antwerp was because Monty was delayed in taking Caen. It was a domino effect. The men were tied up by Monty at Caen (and the channel ports including Calais, Boulogne, and Dunkirk) for forever so the manpower wasn't readily available and then Market Garden took priority because Monty wanted to beat the Soviets to Berlin.
From my point of view, all that mess is laid at Monty's feet. I don't think Ike could have fired Monty, politically speaking. Could he have nixed Market Garden (and the channel ports) for the Scheldt? Probably, but then Monty AND Bradley/Patton would have all been pissed at him. That's the thing about armchair generalling...hindsight is 20/20. We've just talked about Ike being too timid at Falaise, but in the same breath we say he was too aggressive with approving Market Garden. Patton wanted the supplies to continue his southern thrust (and the speed of his advance did have the Germans off balance). Monty wanted the supplies for Market Garden (a gamble, but one with a potential for a very big payoff). Who was advocating for the Scheldt? Nobody except some limey admiral Monty chose to ignore.
Speaking of the navy...
My question is with air and naval supremacy, why wasn't the allied Navy able to do more to reduce the German defenses? Yeah, yeah, minefields and coastal batteries, I get it, but we're talking 16 inch naval rifles behind thick steel armor with a 20 mile range firing at fixed targets. Even if most of our heavies were busy in the Pacific, the Brits had plenty of 14, 15, and 16 inch guns on their battleships. Why weren't they pounding the fcuk out of the German defenses? It's not like they were needed for convoy escort duty in late '44.
Anyway...
I've often said the best infantry the Brits had weren't Brits, they were Canadian (or maybe Poles). Let's give those Canucks (or Snow Mexicans, as Swonk is fond of calling them) some credit for battling their asses off in the Scheldt. They fought hard and well, and suffered many casualties.
Alex.