Posted on 02/22/2005 10:06:56 PM PST by SAMWolf
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are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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General George S. Patton was a flamboyant commander who was not content to wait on the sidelines. So when the plans for the Allied conquest of the island of Sicily called for a British army to capture the key port of Messina, Patton decided he would get there first. Patton at Messina, Life 1943/8/17 Inside Seventh Army headquarters on the southern coast of Sicily, a scowling Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Jr., greeted Lieutenant General Omar Bradley with bad news. "We've received a directive from Army Group, Brad," Patton said between puffs on a cigar. "Monty's to get the Vizzini-Caltagirone road in his drive to flank Catania and Mount Etna by going up through Enna. This means you'll have to side-slip to the west with your 45th Division." "My God," Bradley replied angrily, "you can't allow him to do that!" But Patton had nothing else to say on the subject. "Sorry Brad," he said evenly, "but the changeover takes place immediately. Monty wants the road right away." To Patton, Bradley, and just about every other senior United States Army officer, British General Sir Bernard Montgomery got his way entirely too often. This time, just four days into Operation HUSKY (the code name for the Allied Invasion of Sicily), Montgomery had convinced 15th Army Group Commander General Sir Harold Alexander to grant his Eighth Army exclusive use of a highway previously promised to the Americans. Patton and Bradley considered the decision an insult to American military prestige. Gen. Terry Allen's "Big Red One" lands at Gela July 10, 1943 On July 10, 1943, Allied ships had deposited Patton's Seventh U.S. Army on the beaches along the Gulf of Gela, on Sicily's southwest coast. Montgomery's British Eighth Army went ashore to the east, south of Syracuse. The Allies targeted the city of Messina, at the northeast tip of the triangular island. Capturing Sicily would eliminate persistent Axis attacks on nearby Mediterranean supply routes, and if Messina could be taken quickly, the invaders would snare thousands of Axis prisoners and gain a convenient jump-off spot for the upcoming invasion of Italy. By July 13, Bradley's II Corps had advanced inland to within 1,000 yards of the Vizzini-Caltagirone road (Route 124)--a major transport route that cut east to west across the center of the island. Meanwhile, dug-in German troops had blunted Montgomery's advance up the island's east coast, hemming Eighth Army in on the plain of Catania between towering Mount Etna and the sea. In a sudden change of plan, Montgomery decided to send a flanking force west around Etna. To do so he needed Route 124, and Alexander, who had overall command of HUSKY's ground forces, gave it to him. The Americans, one of Patton's frustrated staff officers said, were left to "sit comfortably on our prats while Montgomery finishes the goddam war!" Sicily invasion map from Newsweek 1943/09/06 The British generals thought little of American fighting ability. In February, German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's Afrika Korps had thrust across the hot sands of North Africa and smashed through inexperienced and poorly led U.S. troops at Tunisia's Kasserine Pass. The unfortunate performance of the young Americans--many of whom had never before seen battle--distressed the British commanders. Alexander declared, "they lack the will to fight." Montgomery believed "they have no confidence in their Generals." In the wake of the disaster at Kasserine Pass, the Allied Commander in the Mediterranean, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, sent Patton to Tunisia to take over U.S. II Corps. Patton quickly injected discipline and his fighting spirit into the corps and led it to victories at Gafsa and El Guettar. In mid-April as the Tunisian Campaign neared its end, Patton left the corps in Bradley's hands and returned to French Morocco to take part in planning for the Sicily operation. General Sir Harold Alexander Despite the Americans' improvement on the battlefield, Alexander and Montgomery remained unimpressed. For their part, Patton and many of his colleagues resented British impertinence, especially on the part of Montgomery. Arrogant, self-centered, and pushy, the 56-year-old general in the natty black beret irked his colleagues with outlandish statements and demands. In many ways he was not unlike Patton. At the age of 58, Patton was deeply religious, swashbuckling, "human dynamo" who strutted around in a polished steel helmet with a pair of ivory-handled revolvers strapped to his waist. "His vigor was always infectious, his wit barbed, his conversation a mixture of obscenity and good humor," Bradley wrote. "He was at once stimulating and overbearing. George was a magnificent soldier." By the time he waded ashore on Sicily, Patton's antipathy toward his British counterparts had also come to affect his relationship with his boss, Eisenhower. Patton's long-time friend had the difficult job of holding together the young Anglo-American alliance. But Patton felt that American interests and honor too often took a back seat to British demands. "God damn all British and all so-called Americans who have their legs pulled by them," Patton wrote in his diary in Tunisia. "Ike is more British than the British and is putty in their hands . . . ." For the first invasion of the Axis' home turf, Patton commanded the new Seventh U.S. Army, including Bradley's II Corps. Patton welcomed the chance to assert U.S. military might. Initially scheduled to land on the island's northern coast and capture Sicily's capital Palermo, American troops expected to go on the offensive in Sicily. But Montgomery favored a less dispersed landing to the south and in the end, his plan won out. Patton still expected Seventh Army to make its mark. But to Alexander, it was clear that "Eighth Army would have the glory of capturing the more obviously attractive objectives of Syracuse, Catania, and Messina . . . ." Messina and view of distant Itlay, ILN 1943/09/11 From the outset Eighth Army strategy left little room for Patton to operate, and Montgomery essentially imposed his will on Alexander. Montgomery reasoned that if the Americans could simply "hold firm against any action from the west I could then swing hard with my right with an easier mind. If they draw enemy attacks on them my swing north will cut off enemy completely." Two days later, Alexander transferred use of Highway 124 to Montgomery. "They gave us the future plan of operations," Patton wrote bitterly, "which cuts us off from any possibility of taking Messina."
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On July 16 Alexander issued another directive that positively infuriated Patton. The order stipulated that Montgomery's Eighth Army would advance on Messina on three fronts. The Americans were officially left with the distasteful task of protecting Montgomery's left flank. Alexander lamely authorized Seventh Army "to capture Agrigento and Porto Empedocle"--something Truscott had done that very day. Patton blamed Montgomery. "Monty is trying to steal the show," he wrote to his wife, Beatrice, "and with the assistance of Divine Destiny [Eisenhower] may do so . . . ."
Patton wasted no time putting his new plan into action. He created a Provisional Corps under the command of Major General Geoffrey Keyes, his deputy commander, and sent it northwest towards Palermo while Bradley's II Corps set out for the north coast, knifing across the island's center through tough German defenders. Facing light resistance from largely dispirited Italian troops, Keyes' troops "moved so fast that often the German and Italian 88s [88mm anti-tank guns], which they captured en route, had not been pointed around or set up to shoot against them." On July 22 Truscott's Division entered Palermo after covering an astonishing 100 miles in just 72 hours. Wild celebrations and ebullient Sicilians greeted the Americans. Support for Italy's Fascist Dictator Benito Mussolini was nowhere to be seen. The next day the 45th Division of Bradley's II Corps reached the coast at Termini, 25 miles to the east. Until he took matters into his own hands, Patton wrote in his diary, "Monty was trying to command both armies and getting away with it." Now Seventh Army was making its mark.
On July 25, 1943, King Victor Emmanuel III, supported by leading Italian political figures, deposed dictator Benito Mussolini, and Italy began to negotiate peace terms with the Allies. (Italy would pull out of the Axis in September.) As German commanders planned to evacuate Sicily, Patton and Montgomery began squeezing Axis defenders into the island's northeast corner. Eighth Army continued to probe German defenses at Catania while Canadian and British troops drove in a "left hook" around Etna's western slope. To the north, the 1st and newly arrived 9th American Divisions advanced east from the island's rugged center, while the 3rd Division attacked down the north coast road. "The mountains are the worst I have ever seen," Patton wrote on August 1. "It is a miracle that our men can get through them but we must keep up our steady pressure. The enemy simply can't stand it, besides we must beat the Eighth Army to Messina."
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history.acusd.edu
www.1uptravel.com
www.temple.edu
www.webbuild.net
bcoy1cpb.pacdat.net
www.army.mil
www.ibiblio.org
Husky was the largest amphibious operation of World War II in terms of men landed on the beaches, and of frontage; it overshadowed even the later Normandy landings. Strategically, the Sicilian operation achieved the goals set out for it by Allied planners. Axis air and naval forces were driven from the island; the Mediterranean sea lanes were opened and Mussolini had been topled from power. It opened the way to the invasion of Italy, which had not necessarily been seen as a follow-up to Operation Husky. The invasion also had an impact on the Eastern front. One of the reasons why the Germans had to cancel their offensive near Kursk was that they decided to send units to Italy after they received news of the invasion. The casualties on the Axis side totalled 29,000, with 140,000 captured. The capture of Biscari airfield also resulted in an atrocity when American troops killed seventy-three Prisoners of War. The US lost 2,237 killed and 6,544 wounded and captured; the British suffered 2,721 dead, and 10,122 wounded and captured. For many of the American forces this was their first time in combat. However the Axis successfully evacuated over 100,000 men and 10,000 vehicles from Sicily. No plan had been made by the Allies to prevent this. |
To all our military men and women past and present, military family members, and to our allies who stand beside us
Thank You!
Good evening Samwolf....I'm bookmarking for reading in the morning. A great thread as always.
Great post. Today's climate with Europe's new governments, really makes me wonder if the huge sacrifice was worth it.
Teaser
1942 - Japanese sub fires on oil refinery in Ellwood, Calif
/Teaser
"I'm going to beat that...gentleman too Messina!"
Looks like a good read, I'll need to take some time off to read this in the morning. Paging through quickly before bed I see a couple pics of old Monty. Grrrr. I'll report back after reading in the morning. Good night Sam.
BTTT!!!!!!
Good morning ALL
February 23, 2005
If a scientist discovered the cure for cancer, we would expect the discovery to be shared with the world. Basic ethics requires that good news not be kept secret.
When the king of Syria laid siege to the city of Samaria, the food supply was cut off. Four men with leprosy, deciding it would be preferable to die at the hands of the Syrians than to starve, went to surrender to the enemy. But when they came to the camp, they found it deserted. The army had fled in the night.
Food lay everywhere. The four men stuffed themselves, and they were tempted to remain silent about the good news. But then the memory of Samaria with its famished inhabitants came back to them. "We are not doing right," they told each other (2 Kings 7:9). So they became evangelists-bearers of good news. Ultimately, evangelism comes down to this: one starving person telling another starving person where to find food.
You and I have discovered that salvation is found in Jesus Christ. It is a breakdown of basic integrity to keep that truth to ourselves. If we have found the cure for a guilty conscience, if we have found the food of life, we are obligated to share it with others. -Haddon Robinson
Evangelism is one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.
Shades of the movie "Patton" bump for the Freeper Foxhole
Regards
alfa6 ;>}
Good morning, thanks for the ping. Very interesting read today. Of course most of us know what happens when you put two egomaniacs on the same team. I just believe Patton's motivation was more selfless than Montgomery's and just wanted to knock Montgomery down a few pegs.
Cheers!
On This Day In History
Birthdates which occurred on February 23:
1417 Paul II [Pietro Barbo], Italy, Pope (1464-71)
1633 Samuel Pepys London England, navy expert/composer (Diary, Memoirs)
1649 John Blow composer of 1st English opera (Venus & Adonis) (baptized)
1685 George Frideric Händel Halle Germany, organist/baroque composer (Messiah)
1734 Mayer Amschel Rothschild Frankfurt, founder (House of Rothschild)(it's all a plot)
1776 John Walter II London, chief proprietor (The London Times, 1812-47)
1818 Major General Jeremy F Gilmer General/Chief Engineer Confederate War Department
1824 Lewis Cass Hunt Brigadier General (Union volunteers), died in 1886
1838 Gilbert Moxley Sorrel Brigadier General (Confederate Army), died in 1901
1865 Barney Dreyfuss baseball owner (Pittsburgh Pirates)
1868 W E B Du Bois Great Barrington MA, civil rights writer (Souls of Black Folk)
1879 Agnes Arber English biologist/philosopher (Mind & the Eye)
1883 Victor Fleming Pasadena CA, director (Wizard of Oz, Gone With Wind)
1883 Karl Jaspers Oldenburg Germany, existentialist philosopher
1904 William L Shirer historian (Rise & Fall of 3rd Reich)
1911 G Mennen Williams Detroit MI, Sup Court Justice/(Governor-D-MI, 1949-60)
1917 Kenneth Tobey actor (Chuck-Whirlybirds)
1928 Vasily Grigoryevich Lazarev Siberia USSR, cosmonaut (Soyuz 12, 18A)
1929 Elston Howard Yankee catcher (1st black New York Yankee/1963 AL MVP)
1937 Tom Osborne college football coach
1939 Majel Barrett Columbus OH, actress (Christine Chapel-Star Trek)
1940 Peter Fonda actor (Easy Rider, Lilith, Wild Angels, Trip)
1943 Fred Biletnikoff NFL wide receiver (Oakland Raiders)
1944 Johnny Winter [John Dawson], Leland MS, guitarist (Silver Train)
1947 Colin Sanders British computer engineer (Solid State Logic)
1951 Ed "Too Tall" Jones NFL linebacker (Dallas Cowboys)
1963 Bobby Bonilla New York NY, outfielder (New York Mets, Baltimore Orioles, Marlins)
Morniing Radu.
Morning AZamericonnie.
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