Chapter 847 Patton
After finishing the business, Major General Achim asked about the commander of these American prisoners.
"It's a Major General named George Smith Patton. He has a bad temper." Chuikov said and asked someone to bring Major General Patton over.
"Patton?" Major General Achim shook his head slightly, his tone full of disdain. "Unheard of, unknown."
If Yannick had been present, he might have laughed on the spot when he heard this comment. You must know that Patton was one of the most outstanding generals in World War II. Many people think that he is "a genius who leads the army and the most offensive spirit." Pioneer Officer" and "Napoleon of the Twentieth Century." British Marshal Alexander commented: "Patton is a propeller, always ready to take risks. He should have lived in the era of the Napoleonic Wars - he would have become an outstanding marshal under Napoleon." General Bluthrit of the German Army commented, " We think highly of General Patton as the most daring 'Armored General' in the Allies, an incredibly creative and resolute man, and our own 'Armored General' Gudry. An is very similar. Probably because he is closest to our concept of a classical military commander, his combat command left a particularly deep impression on us."
He is brave and tenacious in combat, decisive in command, and full of offensive spirit. He is good at taking advantage of armored troops to carry out rapid maneuvers and long-distance attacks. He is called a "bloody veteran" by his subordinates.
However, like Zhukov of the Soviet Union, this famous general's emotional intelligence is also somewhat lacking. Although he was indeed an excellent general, he was by no means a qualified soldier. Clausewitz, the spiritual ancestor of Western soldiers, has long said: "War is a continuation of political struggle in another form, and military operations must be subordinated to political needs." Therefore, a qualified soldier must be a Politicians who are "not unqualified", in other words, soldiers must understand politics. A soldier who only knows how to fight is just a warrior at best. When war comes, the country will use him to fight on the battlefield. Once the war is over, it is time for him to disarm and return to his field. He will not have a share in enjoying the fruits of victory. I'm afraid this is one of the reasons why Patton didn't qualify as a five-star general.
After a while, a US military officer with an angry face was pushed into the room.
"Major General Patton? An unknown person like you can command an army of soldiers. It seems that the United States has no generals available. Why don't you invite that super general Pershing to come out? Maybe he can turn the tide and save the country. A little bit of dignity for your US military?”
Major General Achim was talking about John Joseph Pershing. After the United States entered World War I, Pershing served as the Supreme Commander of the American Expeditionary Force, organizing and directing the training and operations of the US military on the French front. World War I was unlike World War II. There were only small-scale battles in Asia, which were almost negligible. The supreme commander of the U.S. military’s European Expeditionary Force was almost equivalent to the supreme commander of the U.S. military. At the end of the war, Pershing led the US military to conduct the Battle of Saint-Mihiele alone, and coordinated with the British and French forces to launch a general offensive against Germany, breaking through the Hindenburg Line and forcing Germany to surrender.
In recognition of his outstanding contributions in World War I, Pershing was awarded the rank of Army General in September 1919, and this military rank was no longer awarded to anyone other than Pershing. Some people also translate this military rank as marshal, which is obviously not accurate enough. Marshal in English is "Marshal". This military rank was originally intended to be awarded to the founding father and first president of the United States, George Washington, but Washington refused to accept it.
Until 1976, the U.S. Congress passed a decree posthumously conferring Washington the title of "Special General of the United States of America." It also clearly stipulated that this military rank was the highest military rank in the U.S. military, higher than any other military rank, and stipulated that only Washington could enjoy this most distinguished title. of honor. The second highest military rank is Pershing's "Army Special Admiral", and in the late World War II, the Navy's five-star general and the Army's five-star general established by the US military are the third highest military ranks.
However, Pershing retired as early as 1924 and is now an octogenarian at the age of 81. What is interesting is that in July 1944 in the original time and space, Free French leader de Gaulle visited the United States at the invitation of US President Roosevelt. During his stay in the United States, he visited Pershing. Pershing also asked de Gaulle about the people who had experienced World War I with him. Regarding the health of his old friend Marshal Philippe Pétain, de Gaulle said that Marshal Pétain was in good health. At this time, Pétain was already the biggest French traitor and the leader of the Vichy puppet regime supported by Germany.
In addition to being brave in combat and good at speaking, General Patton was also famous for his bad temper. At this moment, when he heard that the German guy in front of him looked down upon him so much, he suddenly became furious and jumped up. "Wow!" followed by a series of curses.
Major General Ashim frowned with disdain. "He's not very capable, but he's quite temperamental."
General Patton was so angry that his mouth was almost filled with smoke. "If you have the ability, let's line up our troops and fight with real swords and guns. I'll see if I don't beat you until you're full of teeth!"
Major General Achim couldn't help laughing. "General Patton, haven't you received news from your country? Do you know about the riots in Detroit? Your regular army has been beaten to pieces by the thugs, and you still want to fight us? Judging from your age, you must have participated in it In the last war? Have you forgotten how you were defeated by us? "
Before World War I, the United States had fought several wars, such as the Mexican-American War from 1846 to 1846, in which it defeated Mexico and forced Mexico to cede half of its territory. In the Civil War from 1861 to 1865, the North defeated the South. In the Spanish-American War of 1898, it defeated Spain and seized a large number of Spanish colonies. Although these wars were won, the strength of these opponents was relatively weak. Even Spain, once a European power, had fallen to a second-rate country at that time.
It can be said that since the United States defeated Britain in the War of Independence (as for how the weak United States defeated the British Empire at that time, it is like Afghanistan defeating the Soviet Union in later generations. The Netherlands, France, Spain and other countries that had conflicts with Britain in the War of Independence strongly supported the United States), the United States has not fought against first-class powers.
When joining World War I, the US troops that arrived in Europe had no steel helmets, no gas masks, did not know how to shoot slowly, and were extremely short of professional arms such as signal soldiers. They thought they would face the Germans face to face like Western cowboys instead of rolling in the mud of trenches. The German army had fought for decades and was simply beating these American rookies.
However, Germany was already at the end of its strength at this time, while the United States relied on its strong comprehensive national strength to quickly learn and grow in the war. Problems exposed in actual combat will be fed back and adjusted in a timely manner. With constant learning and adjustment, in less than half a year, the US military relied on strong logistics to force a 50-50 tie with the German army.
However, Major General Achim did not have a good impression of the US military in World War I. In his opinion, even if the Americans won World War I, they were just taking advantage of the situation.