Gerry
A Bridge Too Far
This phrase is commonly used to indicate something that is out of reach or unattainable – perhaps over-ambitious or simply too dangerous physically or reputationally.
It appears to date from the Second World War and is attributed to the British Lieutenant-General Frederick Browning who was one of the principal leaders in what was called ‘Operation Market Garden’. The objective of this famously failed operation was to bypass the German lines and seize intact several river bridges in the Netherlands to aid the advancing British Forces after D-Day.
The operation was stymied at the Wilhelmina Canal which, like other bridges, was held by a surprisingly strong and unexpected German resistance. Browning always doubted the success of the operation and expressed the phrase prior to the operation commencing. Ignored by Whitehall he was ultimately and sadly proved right, and while the full casualty list is unknown it is estimated that the British lost 15,000 dead, wounded or captured.
Cornelius Ryan, an Irish author, used the phrase for the title of his book about the operation that later became the screenplay for the Attenborough directed movie starring Sean Connery, Ryan O’Neal, Michael Caine and Sir Laurence Olivier. Possibly the popularity of the book and the movie brought the phrase into more common usage.
The phrase doesn’t especially apply to military operations and is more commonly used to denote a challenge that requires much effort to achieve and can describe that extraordinary but failed effort to keep a business going throughout lockdown. For many businesses, remaining viable was just a ‘bridge too far’ and saw ideas and ambitions crumble – close but out of reach.
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