Posted on 07/24/2014 5:05:44 AM PDT by Kaslin
Nearly 70 years ago, on Aug. 1, 1944, Lieutenant General George S. Patton took command of the American Third Army in France. For the next 30 days they rolled straight toward the German border.
Patton almost did not get a chance at his summer of glory. After brilliant service in North Africa and Sicily, fellow officers -- and his German enemies -- considered him the most gifted American field general of his generation. But near the conclusion of his illustrious Sicilian campaign, the volatile Patton slapped two sick GIs in field hospitals, raving that they were shirkers. In truth, both were ill and at least one was suffering from malaria.
Public outrage eventually followed the shameful incidents. As a result, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower was forced to put Patton on ice for 11 key months.
Tragically, Patton's irreplaceable talents would be lost to the Allies in the soon-to-be-stagnant Italian campaign. He also played no real role in the planning of the Normandy campaign. Instead, his former subordinate, the more stable but far less gifted Omar Bradley, assumed direct command under Eisenhower of American armies in France.
In early 1944, a mythical Patton army was used as a deception to fool the Germans into thinking that "Army Group Patton" might still make another major landing at Calais. The Germans apparently found it incomprehensible that the Americans would bench their most audacious general at the very moment when his audacity was most needed.
If he was alive today, he wouldn’t say it took balls, he KNEW he would succeed through his preparedness and superior intellect.
No doubt he was a great general, he knew that the nazi’s were spread too thin and went for the jugular. He read the situation correctly with clarity. He knew what his men were capable of and took advantage of it. Because he was already prepared, his decision was made before he was asked to do it. The decision didn’t make him great, being prepared for that eventuality made him great.
He was the right man at the right time.
“If he was alive today, he wouldn’t say it took balls, he KNEW he would succeed through his preparedness and superior intellect.”
Exactly. Preparedness was everything. If I remember correctly he had his staff draw up contigency plans regarding the possibility of a German offensive,where it might happen and what he could do if it happened. So as depicted in the movie Patton went to that general staff meeting fully prepared to to relieve Bastogne.
I don't know who that lanky fellow is, but he is not Patton. Even though Scott did not particularly resemble Patton, he dressed and acted like him. Usually, anyone who has seen the movie recognizes pictures of the real Patton even if they've never seen pictures of Patton. I think the real Patton was a tad more striking than George Scott, and had a trimmer physique, but was not lanky.
Bradley stopped Patton from closing the Falaise Gap when Monte couldn’t.
That right there disqualifies Bradley from being included in the great generals list.
Bradley was more politician then general.
Or was Bradley simply acting under a mandate from Ike?
No Bradley put the brakes on. Ike was not the author of that decision. One could argue that was the right decision given the circumstances but Bradley, not Ike, owns the decision.
http://www.history.army.mil/books/70-7_17.htm
Regarding your Stonewall Jackson, you ‘ll get no real disagreement from me.
There’s been a long running “If only Jackson were alive on the first day of Gettysburg, everything would have turned out differently” line of thinking out there.
Is it possible that Jackson would have captured Seminary Ridge? Yes it is. It’s also just as possible that his performance that day could have been very similiar to that in the Seven Days campaign. If it was the latter, then the answer would be No.
“There’s a funny story about the capture of Trier that shows the differences between General Patton and General Bradley and their ability to judge a military situation. After the battle was already won and the Third Army had taken the city, General Patton received a message from General Bradley. The message said, “Bypass Trier. It would take too many divisions to capture it.” Patton’s humorous reply to Bradley was, “Have already taken city, do you want me to give it back?””
http://www.pattonhq.com/textfiles/thirdhst.html
Starting tomorrow (7/25/44) the allies start the carpet bombing of France to facilitate the breakout that Patton would take over.
Not trying to minimize Patton’s role, but the breakout IS coming in bocage.
Must be patient....
Grant actually did lose every battle in the Overland Campaign of 1864. From Wilderness to Cold Harbor.
He just failed to realize he was suppose to retreat afterwards. He retreated forward.
But having lost more men in the campaign than in the whole of Lee’s army, when it comes to numbers, he lost. When you look at it at who held the field after the battle, Grant lost. Grant never did actually ‘beat’ Lee in a battle until after the Army of Northern Virginia left the trenches in April 1865, almost a year after Grant took over.
After that he just won the war.
Grant’s strength was that he didn’t panic. He could pay the ‘Butcher’s Bill’ with his troops better than any other Union Commander. Meade, on the other hand, would have also finally beaten Lee, but, he would have not gotten quite so many folks killed while doing it.
General Patton’s Leadership Secrets
“A good solution applied with vigor now is better than a perfect solution applied ten minutes later.”
“Do everything you ask of those you command.”
“Do more than is required of you.”
“Do not fear failure.”
“Do not make excuses, whether it’s your fault or not.”
“Do not take counsel of your fears.”
“Give credit where it’s due.”
“In case of doubt, attack.”
“It’s the unconquerable soul of man, and not the nature of the weapon he uses, that insures victory.”
“Lack of orders is no excuse for inaction.”
“Make your plans to fit the circumstances.”
“Moral courage is the most valuable and usually the most absent characteristic in men.”
“Say what you mean and mean what you say.”
“Take calculated risks.”
“The duties of an officer are the safety, honor, and welfare of your country first; the honor, welfare, and comfort of the men in your command second; and the officer’s own ease, comfort, and safety last.”
“The soldier is the army.”
“There is only one tactical principle which is not subject to change; it is, ‘To use the means at hand to inflict the maximum amount of wounds, death, and destruction on the enemy in the minimum amount of time.’ “
“There is only one type of discipline, perfect discipline.”
“There’s a great deal of talk about loyalty from the bottom to the top. Loyalty from the top down is even more necessary and is much less prevalent. One of the most frequently noted characteristics of great men who have remained great is loyalty to their subordinates.”
“You’re never beaten until you admit it.”
http://www.pattonhq.com/textfiles/thirdhst.html
“L’audace, l’audace, toujours l’audace.”
Maybe time to pull out “Cobra” from the old Strategy and Tactics magazine.
It’s STILL a great game.
1944 - 1945
Facts and Figures
Reduced to cold, statistical figures, the feats of the Third Army were astonishing. The Army liberated or captured 81,522 square miles of territory. An estimated 12,000 cities, towns, and communities were liberated or captured, including 27 cities of more than 50,000 in population.
Third Army captured 765,483 prisoners of war. 515,205 of the enemy surrendered during the last week of the war to make a total of 1,280,688 POW’s processed.
The enemy lost an estimated 1,280,688 captured, 144,500 killed, and 386,200 wounded, adding up to 1,811,388. By comparison, the Third Army suffered 16,596 killed, 96,241 wounded, and 26,809 missing in action for a total of 139,646 casualties. Third Army’s losses were only 12.97 percent of the German losses. That is only about 13 American soldiers for every 100 German soldiers.
Third Army aircraft and artillery dropped or dispersed by shell 31,552,700 psychological warfare leaflets to enemy troops.
XIX Tactical Air Command completed 1,767 tactical reconnaissance missions and 77 photo reconnaissance missions which resulted in 3,205,670 aerial photographic prints being distributed.
XIX Tactical Air Command flew 7,326 missions and 74,447 sorties during the 281 days of fighting.
Third Army’s air support dropped 17,486 tons of bombs, 3,205 napalm tanks, and launched 4,599 rockets.
The Air Command destroyed 1,640 enemy planes and only lost 582 of it’s own from all causes.
Targets destroyed or damaged by the XIX Tactical Air Command included:
Tanks and armored cars 3,833
Motor vehicles 38,541
Locomotives 4,337
Railroad lines cut 2,585
Marshaling yards 974
Towns and villages 816
Factories 3,664
Supply dumps 220
Military installations 1,730
Gun installations 2,809
Highway and railroad bridges 285
Miscellaneous naval vessels 654
Miscellaneous targets 3,010
Third Army artillery fired 5,870,843 rounds of ammunition during the fighting.
Tank destroyers with the Third Army knocked out 648 enemy tanks and 211 self propelled guns. At the Maginot Line and the Siegfried Line, they eliminated 801 pillboxes. They fired a total of 101,178 rounds of ammunition on direct fire missions and 231,998 rounds on indirect fire missions.
Within the Army area, 2,186,792 tons of supplies were transported a total of 141,081,336 miles by trucks in the transportation pool. A total of 2,092 miles of railway track was reconstructed and placed into operation.
The Army repaired 99,114 general purpose vehicles, 21,761 combat vehicles, 11,613 artillery pieces, 125,083 small arms, and 32,740 instruments.
Third Army Engineers constructed 2,498 bridges with a total footage of 255,520 feet, almost 48 and one half miles of bridging. They built or maintained an average of 2,240 miles of road.
Third Army’s nine chemical mortar companies expended 349,097 rounds of 4.2 inch mortars, including 189,095 rounds of high explosive and 160,002 rounds of white phosphorous. Chemical warfare supplies included 32,454 gallons of flame thrower fuel and 335,944 grenades.
Third Army Signal Corps personnel laid 3,747 miles of telephone wire. The Third Army message center handled a total of 7,220,261 code groups and switchboard operators handled an average of 13,968 telephone calls daily.
Military personnel in the Third Army were paid a total of $240,539,569 from the 1st of August, 1944 until the 30th of April, 1945.
The forward echelon of the Third Army (code named Lucky Forward by General Patton) traveled 1,225 miles while making 19 complete moves during combat.
The decorations awarded to soldiers of the Third Army were:
Medal of Honor 19
Distinguished Service Medal 44
Distinguished Service Cross 291
Legion of Merit 159
Silver Star 4,990
Soldier’s Medal 247
Bronze Star 29,090
Normal promotions numbered 6,464; battlefield promotions totaled 1,817; and combat appointments totaled 848.
The correspondents of the Third Army and soldier correspondents wrote 30,326 stories totaling 7,010,963 words. They submitted 7,129 photographs about the Third Army’s combat fighting.
A total of 11,230,000 soldiers attended motion picture shows at the Third Army. The USO shows played to 650,000 soldiers, and the soldier talent shows played to a total of 625,000 soldiers.
General Patton was right when he said, “It sure takes a lot to kill a German.”
In this way, the Third Army played it’s proud part in helping to crush the Nazi war machine. When men talk of the Second World War the name of the Third U.S. Army and of it’s commander will awaken a special thrill of courage and adventure.
Perhaps more than any other group of soldiers in the European Theater, the soldiers of the Third Army deserved the praise of the Supreme Allied Commander Eisenhower when he said, “Working and fighting together in a single indestructible partnership you have achieved perfection in unification of air, ground, and naval power that will stand as a model in our time.”
http://www.pattonhq.com/textfiles/thirdhst.html
Not so sure it could happen in today’s structured world.
Once he saw the bulge forming, he had his folks create a plan and execute it almost immediately.
You need well trained, supplied, and motivated forces to do that.
I think Patton’s focus on discipline and planning had a ton to do with it. Also, his personal discipline to NOT micro manage his officers. That, above all else, is one of the things about him that I admire.
“There is only one tactical principle which is not subject to change; it is, ‘To use the means at hand to inflict the maximum amount of wounds, death, and destruction on the enemy in the minimum amount of time.’ “
Kind of fits in with the Gaza situation doesn’t it?
“In about fifteen minutes, we’re going to start turning these boys into fanatics - razors. They’ll lose their fear of the Germans. I only hope to God they never lose their fear of me.”
Lee was by far a greater butcher of his own men the Grant.
Patton’s intelligence people discerned the German build up before the Bulge, and reported it. They were ignored. Eisenhower and Bradley underestimated the enemy. Never a good idea.
Who surrendered?
Meade was Grants sub. Meade failed to realize what Grant was trying to do with Lee, that was to cut Lee off and Grant actually had to go and correct Meade. Meade was not well liked by his subs. He was tempermental and harsh-but was a very good tactician.
Grant never lost a battle. It even left Lee to say that he historically, never found a better general than Grant in the history of the world.
Two charges Grant said he regretted. Vicksburg and the Wilderness.
Lee on the other hand..lost lots of battles.
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