The title of this, then the first sentence, hit me between the eyes. I think it clears up any discussion between anyone interested in this subject. Of all the other great points, this is, by far, the most important. Read more @ http://voxday.blogspot.com/2014/09/things-ive-noticed-while-reading.html
I read a lot of military history as a kid. I was a typical WW2 nerd, member of the Military History Book Club... Now? Not so much. I just don't have that kind of time, but if I drew one observation from reading military history was the surprise at how careerist and political generals were. Half of their decisions seemed motivated by trying to grab headlines as to win the war.
As Dugout Doug once said, "Ike was the best clerk I ever had." The only true general/warrior of WWII was Patton.
Patton was a pompous, arrogant pretty-boy parade field general whose claim to fame was going around to U.S. military hospitals in Europe accusing wounded soldiers of being cowards and brutally whipping and beating them with his swagger stick. Patton was a sort of debonaire rogue-general who designed his own uniforms complete with pearl-handled six shooters. German officers thought of him as a silly-looking cowboy rodeo clown dressed in outlandish costumes. General Eisenhower finally relieved Patton of his combat command and put him in charge of a camouflage unit which produced mock war tanks -- something befitting of his personna. Link? No! Do your own research.
I don't need to link to anyone. Patton went to a lot of hospitals but at only ONE did he meet a cowardly soldier who was there because he was afraid to stand with his comrades in combat. Ike only relieved him because of bad publicity stateside by those who were against our involvement in the war in the first place. Ike also knew that Patton was a military genius and reinstated him to lead one of the greatest campaigns of the war. He would've reached Berlin well in advance of the Russians but was again held back for political purposes. It was because of that that we ended up with a divided Berlin and Germany and a Cold War that could've been avoided if Patton had only been left to command.
