Montgomery, commanding ground forces for D-Day, gave a "scintillating" and persuasive briefing on his revised Overlord plan. He set objectives in Normandy, like capturing Caen, that were perhaps beyond the means of his exhausted British troops, worsening his relationship with American generals. Montgomery's Operation Market Garden failed to achieve its objectives; the absence of his trusted chief of staff, Freddy Duingan, removed a critical checks and balances system. Rommel showed moral courage by standing up to Hitler in June 1944, arguing the war was over and negotiations were necessary. Patton's swift repositioning of his Third Army to relieve Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge was his finest hour, surprising both allies and Germans.