See my Post 141.
Patton engaged in classic blitzkrieg warfare which was carried out with "bypass and haul ass" strategy.
However, once you "bypass" some enemy concentration, you will have to neutralize it one way or the other.
If the enemy concentration represents an immediate danger to your rear, you must deal with it immediately and accept high casualties as the price of speed.
However, if time is on your side and the enemy concentration poses no immediate threat to your rear, you have the luxury of dealing with them methodically or, as in the case of how MacArthur dealt with the 100,000 crack Japanese troops on Rabaul, you have the luxury of simply cordoning them off and turning their entrenched positions into a giant POW camp without risking the life of a single infantryman.
Agreed. But Patton fought in a day when America fully recognized that the job needed to be done, regardless of the cost. The media didn't necessarily like Patton, but they were behind the overall mission.
Not like today when we have become as casualty concious (if not more so) than we were during Vietnam, with hostile, partisan media.
But the media and the media imposed squeamishness about casualties were a large factor in reducing the effectiveness of the gains made by troops in 'Nam. All we can do is hope the folks in the Pentagon have the guts to do what is necessary to win, because we have no other option.
Don't think for an instant that I am callous toward our troops, who I consider the bravest of the brave and hold in high regard. Some will come home in a box, unfortunately, in getting the job done. IMHO, the only thing worse would be for these brave souls to get killed and the job not get done.