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2026-03-24 -Short Attention Span Theater-

'The soldiers would follow him anywhere': The WW2 general who outwitted his arch-rival

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Posted by Skidmark 2026-03-24 00:00|| E-Mail|| Front Page|| [1803 views ] Top

1 In his race with Patton to cross the Rhine, Monty came in 3rd.

Posted by Threrert Ulaper8572 2026-03-24 06:18|| 2026-03-24 06:18|| Front Page Top

2 Sounds like Rommel was overrated then.

Posted by DooDahMan 2026-03-24 06:19|| 2026-03-24 06:19|| Front Page Top

3 McClelland with an accent.

Posted by Super Hose 2026-03-24 06:35|| 2026-03-24 06:35|| Front Page Top

4 Second Battle of El Alamein was pretty much a WW1 style battle for which Monty's training was well suited.

Posted by Procopius2k 2026-03-24 07:38|| 2026-03-24 07:38|| Front Page Top

5 Market-Garden

Posted by Matt 2026-03-24 10:57|| 2026-03-24 10:57|| Front Page Top

6 Um, no. BBC trying to change history to their betterment. Rommell ran circles around him, Patton openly mocked him. Just no.

Posted by 49 Pan 2026-03-24 11:24|| 2026-03-24 11:24|| Front Page Top

7 Thought you would be in Daytona.

Posted by Skidmark 2026-03-24 11:44|| 2026-03-24 11:44|| Front Page Top

8 Ref #5 - Always wondered, if Bletchley Park was reading so much of Germany Army traffic, and Market Garden was so crucial a strategic effort, why were they unaware of the two SS Panzer units undergoing refit and resting in the Arnhem area when the British 1st Airborne Division landed on September 17, 1944, the 9th SS Panzer Division Hohenstaufen and the 10th SS Panzer Division Frundsberg.

Posted by NoMoreBS 2026-03-24 15:17|| 2026-03-24 15:17|| Front Page Top

9 Montgomery was a very good general who fought an intentional set piece battle. Attrit with artillery and then force breaks in their lines with infantry and armor. He saw combat in WWI and a succession of assignments to command from battalion to army group.

What most people don't recognize is that Montgomery commanded the only large, overseas force of the actual British Army. He could not afford to be decisively defeated, England could not replace those soldiers. With the exception of India, which sent 2 million volunteers to war, all the other Commonwealth countries were not heavily populated. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1342260/wwii-mobilization-by-country

As for Eisenhower, he was a very good planner, good at choosing the right person for the right job and had a true gift of getting people to do what he wanted and getting people to work together despite any differences. Through no fault of his own, he never commanded in combat (neither did Bradley).

Posted by Chantry 2026-03-24 15:24|| 2026-03-24 15:24|| Front Page Top

10 ^^^ wiki cite:
General Omar Bradley (1893–1981) was a pivotal U.S. Army commander in World War II, known as the "G.I.'s General" for his focus on soldier welfare. He commanded the II Corps in North Africa/Sicily, led the First Army during the D-Day invasion, and commanded the 12th Army Group—1.3 million men—across Europe.
History.com
History.com
+2
WWII Command and Key Actions
North Africa & Sicily (1943): Bradley served under Gen. George Patton, leading II Corps to crucial victories, including the capture of Bizerte.
D-Day and Normandy (1944): He commanded the U.S. First Army, directing the landing at Omaha and Utah beaches, followed by the breakout, Operation Cobra.
12th Army Group: He led the largest body of American soldiers ever assembled in the field, sweeping across France and Germany.
Battle of the Bulge (1944–45): Bradley played a key role in turning back the German counter-offensive.

Posted by NoMoreBS 2026-03-24 15:35|| 2026-03-24 15:35|| Front Page Top

11 @10 Patton despised Bradley, something he made clear in his diaries. The diaries, never meant by Patton to published were and Bradley either read those parts or it was told to him. That's relevant, because Bradley was the technical advisor for the movie Patton. I like the movie very much, but it is not entirely accurate.

A minor correction, Bradley saw a little combat along the US/Mexico border. He never commanded a division or smaller in combat, which is my definition of a combat command. His headquarters in Europe was 10's of miles behind the front line. Patton, who went to the front lines at least every other day, was very close to the front lines.

It was Patton that did most of the "sweeping" and it was Patton that broke through to Bastogne, because he and his intelligence office predicted that the Germans might attack, a view not agreed with by higher up's like Bradley.

Posted by Chantry 2026-03-24 15:59|| 2026-03-24 15:59|| Front Page Top

23:24 DarthVader
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