Allied Commanders of World War Two/Patton, Part Three/Final

"George S. Patton" Part 3

With the defeat of the German offensive known as "the Battle of the Bulge," Patton's army pressed into Germany and crossed the Rhine River. In mid April 1945, Patton was promoted to four-star general, although just a couple of weeks before, he had gotten into more trouble by sending a force of some 300 men behind German lines to liberate a POW camp where his son-in-law was a prisoner. The operation failed and almost the entire force was lost. The 3rd Army advanced through Bavaria and into (German held) Czechoslovakia as the war ended.

As the postwar military governor of the German state of Bavaria, Patton got into more trouble, as his dislike of the Soviets prompted him to express views and to take actions that were highly controversial. He kept former Nazis in office to help govern the region, compared Nazis to American political parties, referred to Russians in Nazi-like terms, like "Asiatic" and "Mongolian,"* and espoused using the German army in conjunction with the Western Allies against the Soviets. While tensions with the Soviets mounted, Patton's strident opinions did not sit well with many Americans or western Europeans who had had enough of war, and just wanted to recover from World War Two. Eisenhower relieved Patton of his command, although the general prepared to help write the history of the U.S. Army in the war.

In December 1945 General Patton was injured in what appeared to be a relatively minor auto accident (others involved were uninjured), but he was paralysed by a spinal injury. He died a couple of weeks later from a blood clot in his lung. He is buried with 3rd Army troops in Luxembourg.**

* The Soviet Union actually inherited the former multi-ethnic Russian Empire of the Tsar, and as such, a large area of the country lay in Asia. The term "Russian" had become standard for Soviet citizens by many people around the world, although many were not really Russian at all. Nazi propaganda had played up the "Asian" part of the Soviet population to scare Germans and western Europeans into fighting against the Soviets (remember, historically Asian tribes like the Mongols and Huns had pushed into many parts of Europe in prior centuries), although there is no question that Nazi racial and ethnic ideas had long preached this Asian connection. There is also no question that Russians had been influenced by Asians (even mode of dress) prior to Tsar Peter the Great, who forcibly changed Russians to more western European ways.

** For my article on the movie, "Patton," see: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2011/09/patton-just-great-movie.html

WORD HISTORY:
Hand-This word "may" go back to an Indo European base "khend/khent," which had the notion of "seizing, grasping," but it only developed its meaning of "body part" in Germanic, as forms of the word are not found outside of the Germanic languages, except in borrowings. Old Germanic had "khanduz," which meant "hand." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "hand/hond," depending upon dialect, which later just became "hand." Common in the other Germanic languages: German has "Hand" (all German nouns are capitalized), Low German Saxon has "Hann," Dutch, West Frisian, Swedish, and Norwegian all have "hand," although Norwegian also has the variation, " hånd" (depending upon dialect), Danish has "hånd," and Icelandic has "hönd."

Allied Commanders of World War Two/Patton, Part Two

"George S. Patton" Part 2

The Germans were fascinated by Patton, as his military tactics and his disciplinary measures were similar to their own. Eisenhower and the Allies used this German fixation with Patton to their advantage, and they used every opportunity to keep the Germans believing that Patton would lead the next major Allied operation. Patton remained in the Mediterranean area for quite some time, and German military intelligence believed this pointed to a possible invasion of Greece. Later Patton went to England, where stories were leaked that he would be in charge of the invasion of France, and that the invasion would be directly across the English Channel to the area around Calais. The German forces were, therefore, bolstered in the Calais region, and even when Allied troops landed further down the coast in Normandy, many German military leaders were convinced it was only a diversionary attack and that Patton would still lead the main landing around Calais. This "fascination" with Patton kept a substantial German force (the 15th Army) awaiting an invasion that had already taken place.*

Patton was given command of the U.S. Third Army to concentrate on a breakout from the Normandy area. While the Allied landings were a success, the Germans and their use of the Normandy terrain proved a tough nut to crack. Patton's hard charging forces broke through the dwindling German lines and then turned to help trap a significant German force around the French town of Falais. The breakthrough brought a headlong retreat by the Germans. The Allied advance was so rapid, supply problems became about as big an issue as the Germans. With his fuel reserves low, Patton met with increasing German defensive resistance in Lorraine, the long-contested province along part of the German-French border.** With his forces unable to breakthrough the German lines, Patton's army was forced to slug it out with well led German units as winter approached.

Just when it looked as though the Germans would be defeated sooner rather than later, Hitler launched a massive surprise offensive north of Patton's 3rd Army in Belgium in mid December 1944. An initial German breakthrough brought heavy American casualties, and Eisenhower needed Patton to help stabilize the situation and to help relieve besieged U.S. forces in the Belgian town of Bastogne. Patton had anticipated Eisenhower's move, and he had his excellent staff make preparations for an assault by some of 3rd Army's units against the German southern flank. The German encirclement of Bastogne was broken and the German offensive foundered.

Next...the final part on General Patton.

* A good movie about the D-Day landings is the early 1960s "The Longest Day," based upon a book by the same name by American author Cornelius Ryan. It has a number of well known actors, including John Wayne, Robert Mitchum, Henry Fonda, Richard Burton and Sean Connery. It can easily be purchased or rented. For those studying German, there are quite a number of scenes with German dialogue, with English subtitles. The movie only covers the crucial first day of the landing operations, but it gives a good account of the historical events.

** The area had been German, but had gradually been taken over by France until 1871, when the newly formed modern German nation annexed the province (along with equally disputed province of Alsace) upon the defeat of France in war. France reclaimed the regions after World War One, and Germany took control once again after France was defeated in 1940. The area has been part of France since the end of World War Two, and the matter seems to be settled.

WORD HISTORY:
Sword-This word likely goes back to the Indo European base "suer/swer," with the meaning of "cut." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "swerdan," which then gave Old English "sweord." The "w" sound was once pronounced. Very common in the other Germanic languages: German has "Schwert," Low German Saxon has "Sweert," West Frisian has "swurd," Dutch has "zwaard," Norwegian has "sverd, " Danish has "svaerd," Swedish has "svärd," and Icelandic has "sverð" (similar to 'sverth')

Allied Commanders of World War Two/Patton, Part One

"George S. Patton" Part 1

This highly controversial American World War Two general was made even more famous by the 1970 release of the successful motion picture "Patton," in which the general was portrayed by George C. Scott. Patton had a number family members who were officers in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War, and his family was well off financially. Patton attended West Point and he became a cavalry officer. Later Patton served under General John Pershing during the American expedition into Mexico in response to Pancho Villa's raid into American territory. Patton achieved success in an attack in which he personally killed one of Villa's leaders. This gave the future general his first taste of fame.

During World War One Patton organized American tank units in France, where he was wounded near the end of the war. After the war, Patton teamed up with his future superior Dwight Eisenhower in developing ideas about American armored warfare, including the idea of relentlessly pursuing the enemy with mobile forces to prevent his digging in, and to, in his opinion, prevent higher casualties. Just months before America entered World War Two, Patton was put in command of the U.S. Second Armored Division. In November 1942 Patton was in charge of part of the American forces which landed in French Morocco, well in the rear of German Field Marshal Rommel's retreating army. The defeat of the U.S. II Corps by German and Italian units at the "Battle of Kasserine Pass" prompted General Eisenhower (the overall commander of the American forces there) to put Patton in command of the corps. Patton's strict discipline brought the corps together and helped it (along with other Allied forces) drive the Axis forces back until they surrendered North Africa in May 1943.

Patton was given command of the U.S. Seventh Army for the invasion of Sicily. Initially Patton's army was relegated to protecting the flank of British and Commonwealth forces under the command of Bernhard Law Montgomery, but Patton quickly improvised and sent troops into western Sicily and then onto the key city of Messina. It was during the Sicilian Campaign that General Patton slapped a couple of American soldiers who were in hospitals with no wounds. The first incident became a major story, and Patton was ordered by Eisenhower to apologize to the soldier and various units of the army. Patton was removed as commander of the Seventh Army, and while the outward appearance was that the general was in disgrace, Eisenhower actually had big plans for his friend "Georgie" Patton.

WORD HISTORY:
Ox-This noun goes back to Indo European "uksen," which became "ukhson" in its Old Germanic offspring. This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "oxa," which then became "ox." The plural, "oxen," is a retention of the old way English commonly formed plurals, and other Germanic languages still often use "n" or "en" to form plurals; for example, German has "Frau" (woman), and "Frauen" (women). Forms of "ox" are common in the other Germanic languages: German has "Ochse," Low German has "Oss," Dutch has "os," West Frisian has "okse," Swedish has "oxe," Icelandic has "uxi," and Norwegian and Danish have "okse."

Moderation Takes Another Hit

Moderation in American politics is being squeezed. Longtime moderate Republican Senator Olympia Snowe of Maine has decided against running for another term. She cited the polarized atmosphere in the U.S. Senate as the main reason for her decision to retire, and she said the Senate has become "dysfunctional."

Moderates are always under some fire, simply because they don't always satisfy those more committed to a particular ideology, and they almost never satisfy those VERY committed to a particular philosophy. Unfortunately, I don't see any end to this situation, which has been developing in fits and spurts for decades, but which has intensified in more recent times, as a fairly large number of very conservative Republicans have been elected to both houses of Congress, threatening to take the country back to varying degrees of the Middle Ages, the Iron Age, and the Stone Age. Opponents of this agenda seem to have no other choice than to hold the line just as fanatically against a headlong retreat into the distant past.* Many more moderate and traditional Republican officeholders or candidates have moved rightward in an effort to retain their offices (or gain office) in the face of the highly activist conservative rightwing. We certainly see this with Mitt Romney, a moderate Republican, who now has almost gotten to the point of beating his chest to prove how conservative he is.

So Olympia Snowe will be gone. She tried to do as her former Republican Senate leader, Bob Dole, did; that is, " to reach across the aisle" to the other party and come to agreements that may not have satisfied the hard left or the hard right, but which tried to do what was good for the nation, not what was good for an ideology. I will miss you Senator Snowe, and so will the nation.

* In a certain "odd" way, "progressives" have become sort of "conservatives," as they have had to react to the aggressive push by the rightwing to turn back the clock.

WORD HISTORY:
Snow-This word goes back to Indo European "sneigwh/snoigwh," which meant "snow." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "snaiwaz," which produced Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "snaw," with a long "a" sound, which then became "snow," the version that has endured for many hundreds of years. The verb was derived from the noun. Common in the other Germanic languages: (these are the noun forms) German has "Schnee," Low German Saxon has "Snee," West Frisian has "snie," Dutch has "sneeuw," Danish has "sne," Norwegian has "snø," Swedish has "snö," and Icelandic has "snjór."

Allied Commanders of World War Two/Eisenhower, Part Four/Final

"Dwight D. Eisenhower" Part 4/Final

It was at Eisenhower's headquarters in Reims, France that Colonel-General Alfred Jodl* signed the surrender on behalf of the German Armed Forces on May 7, 1945. With the end of the war, Eisenhower undertook providing assistance to the German population in the American Occupation Zone, which stretched from west central Germany (Hessen) into much of the southern part of the country (Bavaria and part of Baden-Württemberg), with headquarters in Frankfurt-am-Main. The beginning of what came to be called the "Cold War" brought the Western Allies into potential conflict with the Soviet Union, and Germany became the center of this potential conflict; thus, the western nations determined to make the Germans in the western occupation zones part and parcel of the defensive measures against the Soviets and their satellite allies (in this case, mainly Poland and Czechoslovakia). Later, Eisenhower was named Chief of Staff of the Army, became president of Columbia University, and was the commander of NATO.**

Both major American political parties courted Eisenhower to run for president in 1948, but he did not get involved. In 1952, however, "Ike" defeated Senator Robert Taft for the Republican nomination, and he went on to win a landslide victory against Democrat (then Illinois Governor) Adlai Stevenson. A rematch in 1956 produced the same Eisenhower landslide. In 1952, Eisenhower chose (then Senator) Richard Nixon as his vice presidential running mate, although shortly thereafter a controversy erupted about a special fund maintained on Nixon's behalf.*** Eisenhower had heart troubles (he was a heavy smoker), and Nixon served ably in his stead during periods of illness by the president, including a heart attack.

Eisenhower was confronted by a number of problems during his two terms as president: the Korean War, where Eisenhower was able to get an armistice,**** tensions of the Cold War,***** including the crushing of a revolt in Communist-governed Hungary, and the desegregation of American schools, where Eisenhower, a supporter of civil rights, sent in the U.S. military to back up the desegregation of a schools in Arkansas. Eisenhower also promoted the interstate highway system in America, a system still very much with us today. As with many former Republican presidents, in my opinion, it is likely the moderate Eisenhower would be an Independent today, and maybe even vote Democratic at times, especially in these more recent times of rightwing extremes in the Republican Party. Eisenhower died of congestive hear failure in 1969. While not a great speaker, Eisenhower's presidency has been reassessed to the upside by many historians. Ike loved golf, and just to show how images can stick in some minds, a late friend of mine (from my father's generation), and a Republican, once told me, "The only thing I remember about Eisenhower was he was always on the golf course on the news." The obvious implication is that Eisenhower didn't do anything as president, but that is unfair.


* For info on Jodl, see my article: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2011/10/german-military-leadersnazi-erajodl.html

** NATO stands for "North Atlantic Treaty Organization," and it really came into existence in 1949 as a military alliance by nations in western Europe and North America to counter any threat by the Soviet Union or its allies against member nations, as the treaty considered an attack on any one nation to be an attack on all members. The organization still exists, although the Soviet Union is now defunct, and the alliance's role has changed to protect an increasing number of member nations against attack or threats, and to act in common interest.

*** Nixon was a senator from California and a group of his supporters collected money to "promote" him during his time in the Senate. The money was to be used to pay for hotels, public appearances of a totally political nature, and political mailings during Nixon's first term in the Senate. Questions arose as to how the money was actually being used, and who was donating to the fund. Fairly or unfairly, Americans can be very suspicious of special funds and politicians, and after Eisenhower chose Nixon for his running mate, accusations came that Nixon was financially benefiting from the fund. The story became a hot topic, and there were rumors Eisenhower would "dump Nixon" from the ticket. Nixon made a televised speech where he defended himself, saying that he and his family were of modest means, and that he had not gotten money from the fund to enrich his lifestyle. In the best remembered part of the speech, Nixon said he had gotten a little dog as a gift, called "Checkers," and that no matter how much his opponents railed against him, he would not give the dog back. He asked viewers to contact Republican leaders about whether he should stay on the ticket with Eisenhower. The outcome from the public was overwhelmingly in Nixon's favor, giving Eisenhower little choice but to continue with Nixon.

**** Eisenhower personally went to Korea and toured the area. The death of Soviet leader Joseph Stalin (the backer of China and North Korea) presented an opening for serious negotiations which ended with a divided Korea, but the end to the open warfare and to the mounting casualties.

***** The "Cold War" was the term used for the tensions between the Communist dominated parts of the world, primarily in eastern Europe, and what were either basically free nations, or nations whose leaders were opposed to communism. The came about as the opposite of a "hot" war, where bombs and fire were regularly exchanged.

WORD HISTORY:
Steer-This is the noun meaning "young male ox, young bull." The origins of this word are uncertain, although many believe it it Indo European, and that it may be related to "stand," in the sense of "strength," but that is speculation. Old Germanic had "steuraz," meaning "bull, ox," and this gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "steor," with the same meaning. German has "Stier," some Low German has "stiar," Dutch has "stier," Swedish has "tjur," Danish has "tyr" (notice the absence of the beginning "s" in these two North Germanic languages). "Apparently," Frisian, Norwegian and Icelandic no longer use a form of the word.

Allied Commanders of World War Two/Eisenhower, Part Three

"Dwight D. Eisenhower" Part 3

Eisenhower made some crucial (and often controversial) decisions during the war. General George Patton often got into trouble during the war,* and Eisenhower reprimanded him, but he also continued to recognize Patton's talents that could help bring the war to a successful conclusion, supporting the naming of Patton to command the U.S. Third Army, a critical force for the breaking of the German lines in Normandy. Further, the launching of the D-Day invasion was hampered by bad weather conditions, but Eisenhower made a bold decision to go forward, catching the Germans sort of "off guard," because they did not consider the weather conditions favorable for the invasion, and many commanders, including Field Marshal Rommel, were away from their commands. Eisenhower also prepared a statement accepting responsibility for the failure of the invasion, if that result had taken place. How many people do any of us know who would take such responsibility?

In advance of the invasion, Eisenhower made it a point to visit the units to be involved in the invasion, and there is a famous photograph of him talking with American paratroopers who would soon be dropped in the rear areas of Normandy. In September 1944 Eisenhower went along with British Field Marshal Montgomery's plan to drop paratroops behind the German lines in the Netherlands in conjunction with a ground offensive. The operation was very costly, as the Germans reacted quickly and killed or captured many of the paratroops, and the operation did not succeed in its overall objectives. In December 1944, Hitler launched a major winter offensive against American forces near the Belgian-German border. The initial success of the attack brought a controversial decision from Eisenhower to place British Field Marshal Montgomery in charge of operations in the area; thus placing American troops under Montgomery's command, something that did not sit well with some Americans.** During this same time period, Eisenhower was promoted to "General of the Army (Five Star General)," the equivalent to a British or German field marshal. As the war neared its end, Eisenhower made the decision NOT to send forces to capture Berlin, but to permit the Soviets to take the city.***

As the war ended, Eisenhower ordered extensive documentation, including photos and films, of the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps under control of the Western Allies. The documentation served to prosecute Nazi leaders at the Nuremberg Trials in the postwar period, but it still serves to this day to refute those who deny the perpetration of the atrocities, including absurd Nazi apologists.

Next, the final installment on Eisenhower.

* I'll be doing an article on General Patton in the near future, and I will cover these issues then, but Patton first got into trouble by slapping a soldier in a hospital during the Sicily campaign. The incident became a big story, and Eisenhower required a public apology from Patton, including to the units of the Seventh Army, then under his command.

** Montgomery's claim to have saved the Americans made the controversy even worse, but "Monty," like Patton, was never one to fail to build up his own image.

*** For more information on the Berlin decision, see my article: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2011/09/allies-berlin-1945.html

WORD HISTORY:
Curse-This word, meaning "a spoken wish that harm come to someone," has a very shaky history. Attempts to connect this word to an ancestral term have been unsatisfactory, at best, as "apparently" there are no words in the other Germanic languages, past or present, that qualify as a relative, nor does it seem to have been borrowed from Latin or Celtic.^ Anyway, Old English (Anglo-Saxon) had "curs," before the modern version. The verb form in Old English was "cursian," and from the notion of "putting a curse on someone," came the idea during the 1200s of "using profanity" ("curse words") perhaps in the sense, "damn those people who steal" (literally, a "curse"), and then later meaning any profanity. "Cuss," the verb form meaning "swear," is from the American dialect of English dating from the early 1800s, where the "r" sound died out.^^ I can hear the English now, "Those damned Americans!"

^ Some speculate it "could" have been borrowed from Latin "cursus," which is the ancestor of English "course," as in "the path taken by a river or a runner, and also a class ('course') taken in education." Celtic was replaced in part of Britain by the Germanic dialects that became English; thus it was thought that perhaps it was borrowed from the language of the Britons, a Celtic dialect, but no successful connection has been made. Just as with Germanic, there are no "apparent" words, past or present, in either Latin or Celtic that seem to match up with "curse."

^^ Essentially the same thing happened with "gal," which is really "girl," where the vowel sound became altered and the "r" died out.

Allied Commanders of World War Two/Eisenhower, Part Two

"Dwight D. Eisenhower" Part 2

In the early summer of 1942 Eisenhower was put in charge of U.S. forces in the "European Theater of Operations" in England, and when Allied forces invaded "French North Africa"* in November 1942, Eisenhower was made Supreme Commander of these forces. During the course of operations in North Africa, then in Sicily, and then on mainland Italy, Eisenhower was confronted by the problems of a multi-national military coalition of American, Free French, and British (and Commonwealth) forces, all with prominent commanders not known for holding their egos in check.** Perhaps his prior experience with General MacArthur helped him, as he navigated this difficult terrain, pitted with egotistical personalities, with more than passing marks, although bruised egos were not uncommon. With North Africa and Sicily cleared of Axis forces, and with an ongoing slogging bout as the Germans slowly retreated up the Italian "boot," Allied emphasis shifted to an invasion of France, and Eisenhower was made its Supreme Commander.

As the Supreme Allied Commander, Eisenhower was in overall charge of planning for the massive invasion to be conducted against German forces defending Hitler's "Atlantic Wall."*** One of the key questions involved where the Allies would actually land. The easiest (in terms of distance) and thus the most inviting area was right across the English Channel in the area of the French city of Calais. It was in this area, however, that the "Atlantic Wall" was much more of a reality, causing Eisenhower and Allied leaders to look elsewhere to increase the chances of a successful landing. Somewhat further down the French coast, and thus further from embarkation ports in England, **** lay the area of Normandy. Here the Germans had been trying to make this portion of the "Atlantic Wall" a reality, but their efforts had not been completed by the early summer of 1944. This area was chosen by the Allies for the invasion. French Resistance forces were employed to help disrupt German communications and transportation networks leading to what would become the battle area. An aerial bombing campaign was also used to damage and disrupt all sorts of transportation facilities throughout France to inhibit German reinforcements from reaching the critical area before the landing had gained a foothold. Now came the big decision...when to land.

* "French North Africa" was composed of the French possessions of French Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, all with sea coast along the Mediterranean Sea. While France had surrendered to Germany in 1940, the surrender agreement permitted limited French military forces to remain in her colonies, as well as in a portion of France itself, usually called "Vichy France," as Paris and the periphery of France along the Atlantic was under German occupation. Upon the Allied invasion of French North Africa, Germany occupied most of "Vichy France," with Italy occupying a segment along the Mediterranean (essentially the "French Riviera").

** Eisenhower had to deal military leaders like Bernhard Montgomery (Britain), Charles deGaulle (Free French), and U.S. generals, George Patton and Mark Clark. He also had to deal with his superiors, Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill.

*** The "Atlantic Wall" was part bluff and part reality. Huge artillery pieces in reinforced concrete emplacements were meant to intimidate Allied invasion planners and any Allied troops assigned for landing operations, as well as to boost German morale to repel any invasion. Nazi propaganda films touted these guns and other fortifications with these purposes in mind. The thing about the big guns was, intimidating as they were, they could only fire out to sea, as they were in fixed fortifications. Once Allied troops landed, the guns could not be turned for use against targets on land. It wasn't until early 1944, after Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was given command of the German forces likely to face the invasion, that much better defensive preparations were made to defeat an Allied invasion. Rommel firmly believed the invasion forces would have to be stopped at the water's edge, before gaining a foothold on the beaches. He had millions of mines laid along beach areas of northwestern France, and he had various underwater obstacles installed to hinder Allied landing craft. Further, many inland areas were flooded and fitted with mines and traps to prohibit Allied paratroopers from landing behind the beach areas. It was under Rommel's command that the "Atlantic Wall" became much more of a reality, especially at certain key points, rather than a propaganda ploy.

**** Not only were troops and equipment to be sent out from these areas for the initial landing, but also supplies had to be sent on a continuing basis once troops were on the beaches or had advanced inland.

WORD HISTORY:
Stag-The origins of this word are very uncertain. There are some theories about the early history of the word, but they are just theories. It is likely, but not a certainty, that English borrowed the word in the 1100s as "stagga" from Old Norse "steggr," a term which was used for a couple of adult male animals. Where Old Norse got the word is unknown, although some connect it to Old Germanic (Old Norse is a Germanic language), but that connection is very dubious, in my opinion. Why it was used in English only for an adult male deer is unclear. Later it became "stagge," before the modern version. In America during the mid 1800s, the word took on the slang meaning of "relating to males only" (usually in "stag party"), and also, "solitary male" ("go stag;" that is, "go to a social function without female accompaniment").