Hodges wasn’t much help the first few days either.
From Atkinson’s The Guns at Last Light:
This was from Sunday, today is Tuesday, so we are 3 days into the Offensive.
Perhaps the prospect of a similar discomfited General Hodges, for at midday on Sunday he closed his office door in the Britannique, sat at his desk, and laid his head in his arms. He took no calls, and for the better part of two days showed symptoms of incapacitation. The precise combination of fatigue, illness, and despair would never be clarified; Major General Ernest N. Harmon, among the Army’s toughest combat commanders, later claimed that Hodges was ‘probably the most shaken man I have ever seen anywhere who pretends to have the carriage necessary for high command.” Eisenhower and Bradley apparently considered relieving Hodges, by one account, but chose to wait while General Ridgeway’s XVIII Airborne Corp rushed to reinforce the front. First Army’s capable if autocratic chief of staff, Major General Bill Kean, effectively took command until late Monday, December 18, when Hodges recovered his balance enough to order Spa evacuated.
This will bee seen again in my tomorrows post.
What I see in all of this, not only are our troops having a hard time with the campaign, but the top brass are feeling the strain of a prolonged campaign and how it affected them.
In this book, Atkinson talks about a time when Ike refused to have his blood pressure checked, knowing it was pretty high, in fear it would cause Marshall to relieve him and send him home.
Colorado may have mentioned this previously, but Hodges was the only high ranking American officer who didn’t get a rotation at some prestigious billet like Chief of Staff. It seems he wasn’t much of an inspired or inspiring leader. I think Joe Collins or Gerow would have been better suited for 1st Army command. He doesn’t come off well in the Battle of the Bulge. And really, neither does Bradley.
Very interesting post. I didn’t know those things. Thanks.
It is only the fire that reveals the quality of the metal.