Your friend may have been 3rd Army, that’s the crew that loved Patton best. My dad served in the 7th Army under Patton in Sicily and Corsica until Patch replaced him. He much preferred Patch, Patton could be a little prickly. Dad later served in Vietnam with Patton’s son, and found him an excellent officer who didn’t trade on his name.
“I have often thought that if Rommel had been allowed to live and Patton had survived the accident, the two would have worked together to avoid many of the problems of post war Europe. “
As far as where the borders were established? Or German acceptance of the occupation? I’m not clear on your meaning.
McAuliffe of Bastogne fame was commander of the 7th Army in Heidelberg in the mid 50s. He became fluent in German and was a very popular speaker at German civic events. This helped heal the wounds of the war.
Patton hated the Russians as did the Germans. I don’t believe
Stalin would have gained such an upper hand had Rommel succeeded in his surrender attempt. He was loved by the German people and could have been the natural leader of Germany.
Allowing the Russians to take Berlin was a monstrous mistake. There were too many Communists and left wingers in our bureaucracy even then. Roosevelt himself had been a great admirer of “Uncle Joe.” Thank God he dumped his former vice president in favor of Truman because the Commie stink was getting to well known even for Roosevelt.
My friend was in the Third Army. He fought across Europe with Patton.
Patch was a great general. One of my favorites, yet Patton was, is, and always will be my pick.
Both the borders and German acceptance of the occupation would have improved. Patton insisted on using the Germans for the jobs the Germans knew how to do. He was criticized instead of applauded. Rommel would have concurred.
Thanks for the update on McAuliffe. “Nuts” is one of my favorite comments. I visited Bastogne last summer and also Patton’s grave in Luxembourg. One can still see the foxholes in the forest and the remains of defensive perimeters our men dug. Time has not erased all wounds to the earth.....just as the craters at Point du Hoc are still evident.
The two men who could have shortened the war and healed the wounds were both eliminated. And so history marches on.