His "Market Garden" operation got about 10,000 men killed or captured, Polish, english and Canadiens, I think. Their 60 mile drive into the Ruhr was on a narrow strip of land, which could not be resupplied.

I have to take issue with this. Sorry to anyone not interested for the length of this post.

To quote my references:-

"Altogether 36,671 officers were executed,imprisoned or dismissed and out of 706 officers of the rank of brigade commander and above only 303 remained untouched. Cases against officers were usually grotesque inventions. Colonel K.K Rokossovsky, later the commander who delivered the coup de grace at Stalingrad, faced evidence purportedly provided by a man who had died nearly twenty years before."

Anthony Beevor, Stalingrad

"There is also some evidence that Stalin had become alarmed by developments in Spain, where the Red Army contingent fighting against Franco (besides acquiring valuable tactical experience) was beginning to show it's teeth in conflict with the members of the NKVD who were attached to it. Whatever Stalin's motives, and whether or not he intended to go as far as he did, the final figures are staggering. Only Budenny and Voroshilov survived among the Marshals. Out of eighty members of the 1934 Military Soviet only five were left in September 1938. All eleven Deputy Comissars for defence were eliminated. Every commander of a military district (including replacements for the first 'casualties') had been executed by the summer of 1938. Thirteen out of fifteen army commanders, fifty seven out of eighty five corps commanders, 110 out of 195 divisional commanders, 220 out of 406 brigade commanders were executed. But the greatest numerical loss was borne in the Soviet officer corps from the rank of colonel downward and extending to company commander level. Before the purge the Red Army had been a vigorous and perceptive body, abundantly equipped and alert for new ideas. Afterwards innovation slowed down to a walking pace, technique disappeared, the 'Mass Army' reclaimed it's position as the proletarian ideal - but the trained reflexeswhich can quicken a mass and make it formidable had been eliminated."

Alan Clark, Barbarossa

I personally find it impossible to believe that there was such a high level of pro German or anti Soviet cospiracy in the Red Army. Stalin may have believed it, but history judges him to have been paranoid to an unhealthy level. Although he still has his apologists here.

Whatever the truth behind the reason for the purges, I think it is certain that they crippled the Red Army as a fighting force and led directly to the disasters of 1941 and the massive casualties, both military and civilain that resulted.

They're oversexed

Ther're overpaid