Patton's Assorted Manure Piles?

[Digger]

It is pretty easy to pick on Patton as he did provide his own caricature. He was certianly no brilliant strategist, nor was he a great organiser. He was, however a quick decision maker and a great oppurtunist. His wide right hook around St Lo, which sealed the Germans fate at Falaise, was exactly that. Other generals may have doddered and limited the pursuit, fearing ambush. He was the perfect man for this task a risk taker that urged his tanks forward, and even if alot of was for some of his own glory. It worked.

The real is fact that Hitler sealed the fate of all his army in Normandy by refusing them the chance to fall back intact after their flank had been turned and blow the Seine bridges is the main reason the Germans were wiped out at Falaise.

Some may argue that Patton really did what any general would have done. This does have some merit as the Germans commanders knew full well what was going on, I just don't belive they expected an Allied general to be that agressive and to move so quickly. I think that Hitler's erros and insanity really just made Patton look good.

History is written by the victors and it is much more palatable to laud Patton's charge accross France than to focus on the inability of the OKW to see sense and order their troops back. I have no doubt that the campaign in France would have gone on for longer had Falaise no happened.

He was effective at pusuit and exploitation, but when this is weighed against the fact that the Germans were the architects of their own destruction in France. I think his own claims at greatness are somewhat diminished.

Matt ~Digger