Your Favourite Military Commander

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    • Your Favourite Military Commander

      Copying Butter Ball Bill's idea of the prettiest plane of all times, I bring up the topic of your favourite military commander. No time limits. Only requirement is that he/she actually existes/exists.

      Having said all of that, I would go for Patton.
      The past is a foreign country.
    • Yes, it's called Killing Patton. Presumably, the anti-Soviet attittude of Patton (and that he didn't hate Nazis) made the U.S. angry. The OSS then organized a car crash*, which badly injured Patton, but when they saw he was recovering and would be able to go and command the 3rd Army again, they allowed a Soviet agent to poison him.

      * Patton's chauffeur was substituted for an OSS one name Woodring, who presumably caused the car crash.
      The past is a foreign country.
    • Pablo22510 wrote:

      Yes, it's called Killing Patton. Presumably, the anti-Soviet attittude of Patton (and that he didn't hate Nazis) made the U.S. angry. The OSS then organized a car crash*, which badly injured Patton, but when they saw he was recovering and would be able to go and command the 3rd Army again, they allowed a Soviet agent to poison him.

      * Patton's chauffeur was substituted for an OSS one name Woodring, who presumably caused the car crash.
      I'd believe it, his death never made much sense. Then the movie Patton seemed to be trying to hard to tie it in with his story arch and it never fit well.
    • I am adding the Desert Fox.

      First, some facts -
      1.) Rommel died because he hated Hitler.
      2.) Rommel was a "Conservative" in the tradition of Bismarck - they did not mesh well with Nazis.
      3.) Rommel's behavior towards his troops was more in keeping with the pre-Nazi German traditions.

      That being clearly stated, the man was a strategic genius who rightfully deserves his namesake.
      Images
      • Rommel.jpg

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    • Rommel was the second best general. He treated captured enemy troops and his troops alike. He refused to kill commandos. He was deeply anti-Nazi, and followed the Prussian battlefield laws/code of honour. Read a book called 'Killing Rommel'. Although it's main about the LRDG, it outlines how well rommel treated British prisoners. It mentions how in German camps, British injured sat next to German injured. The book is just beautiful.
      The past is a foreign country.
    • Kalantigos wrote:

      I support the Rommel entry, he was definitely one of the most respectable/admirable generals of his era, especially considering the side he was on.

      Pablo22510 wrote:

      Rommel was the second best general. He treated captured enemy troops and his troops alike. He refused to kill commandos. He was deeply anti-Nazi, and followed the Prussian battlefield laws/code of honour.
      I agree with you both, he was in the pre-Nazi (and anti-Nazi) Germano-Prussian tradition. One that should be admired and applauded.

      I believe it was attributed to Rommel the sentiment that the English should not have been enemies.

      Even Bismarck at worst considered England a rival due to their attempts to restrain Germany on the continent. But in no way would have done anything remotely resembling what the diplomatically inept, classless, imbecile Hitler did.
    • I don't know why you would kill any prisoners, if you treat them nice I am sure they would have no problem doing manual labour. Just feed them well and give them decent housing and I am sure they will be co-operative. Let them play sports and such too, maybe arrange a tournament between all the POW camps with the guards and POW's playing together and broadcast it to all the camps via radio(in English so most of the POW's would understand it). You could also use that for anti-British and American propaganda which would show how nice Germans were.

      Forum ArmyField Marshall :00000441:

      Mess with the Bill, you get the scorn!

    • itsDeems wrote:

      Pablo22510 wrote:

      Having said all of that, I would go for Patton.
      Agreed, especially because the Nazis and the Soviets were terrified of him.So much so, I believe there is now a theory and book that Stalin had Patton killed.
      ......this isn't true.... when German Generals were asked what they think about General Patton their answer was.."Who?"
      If the king doesn't move, then his subjects won’t follow.

      Do you know why snow is white? Because it forgot what color it was.

      Strength that knows no boundaries is merely violence.

    • My top General:

      • Douglas Macarthur
      • Who he was and WW2-was an American five-star general and Field Marshal of the Philippine Army. He was Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the Philippines Campaign, which made him and his father Arthur MacArthur, Jr., the first father and son to be awarded the medal. He was one of only five men ever to rise to the rank of 5 star- General of the Army in the US Army, and the only man ever to become a field marshal in the Philippine Army. He developed a concept of Island Hopping. Which is a tactic of going around heavily defended Japanese Islands and attacking weaker and closer islands to Japan.
      • Korean War-He also was the commander during the Korean War where he changed the war drastically. With what is widely considered the crowning example of his military genius, MacArthur completely changed the course of the war overnight by ordering -- over nearly unanimous objections -- an amphibious invasion at the port of Inchon, near Seoul. Evidence has indicated that the Chinese Communists, having studied MacArthur's tactics in World War II, warned the North Koreans to expect such an attack. Still, they were not prepared. The Americans quickly gained control of Inchon, recaptured Seoul within days, and cut the North Korean supply lines. American and ROK forces broke out of the Pusan Perimeter and chased the retreating enemy north. On September 27, after Washington had consulted with its allies regarding war aims, MacArthur received permission to pursue the enemy into North Korea. ROK forces crossed the 38th parallel on October 1, opening a fateful new chapter in the conflict.


      • Relieved of Duty- The relief of the famous general by the unpopular politician for communicating with Congress led to a constitutional crisis, and a storm of public controversy. Polls showed that the majority of the public disapproved of the decision to relieve MacArthur.By February 1952, almost nine months later, Truman's approval rating had fallen to 22 percent. As of 2014, that remains the lowest Gallup Poll approval rating recorded by any serving president. As the increasingly unpopular war in Korea dragged on, Truman's administration was beset with a series of corruption scandals, and he eventually decided not to run for re-election.Beginning on May 3, 1951, a Joint Senate Committee—chaired by Democrat Richard Russell, Jr.—investigated MacArthur's removal. It concluded that "the removal of General MacArthur was within the constitutional powers of the President but the circumstances were a shock to national pride." (Basically saying Truman was said to have ended Douglas's military career because he was "gaining" to much public support and influence over the American People and was afraid that if he ran against Truman in the next election his military achievements would allow him to win unmatched. Instead the discharging of Douglas ended Truman's chance at re-election)
      If the king doesn't move, then his subjects won’t follow.

      Do you know why snow is white? Because it forgot what color it was.

      Strength that knows no boundaries is merely violence.

    • Inchon was really cliffy and a 'stupid' place to land, wasn't it? The Korean war was great, lot of brave men. Did you know that, through trial and error, American pilots could chase MiG's back into China by finding out where the Chinese radar was and then get the MiG's in those pockets, shoot them down and fly away. At least one MiG was shot down by a British Sea Fury, the best propeller ever made(I think).

      Forum ArmyField Marshall :00000441:

      Mess with the Bill, you get the scorn!

    • Emperor Lelouch wrote:

      .this isn't true.... when German Generals were asked what they think about General Patton their answer was.."Who?"
      Are you kidding? German generals were terrified of Patton. They thought he was the best Allied general. Rommel and Patton had deep respect for each other. Kesselring wanted to go up against anybody EXCEPT Patton.
      The past is a foreign country.
    • Actually, German generals highly respect Patton, but to be terrified? Not even the slightest, he was regarded by both allies and axis a master tank commander.

      Patton was his name, and armoured warfare is his game. Master of both speed and steel.

      Patton was indeed one of Americas best general, what's preventing him from being greatest? He is very predictable a common trait for all tank commanders, He maybe one of the best, His army may be a wall of steel and firepower, but He can be seen by the horizon at midnight, and yes that's an exaguration, sorry about that. A general is someone who is a master in the art of warfare, to Sun Tzu warfare can be an art, to Patton? Supremacy and crude yet effective brute strenght and nothing else.

      I might appear to underrate the man but I'm not, you need to see both sides of the coin to trully learn, good or ill.
      "Victory needs no explenation, defeat allows none"
      -imperium thought of the day