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.
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.
Labels: American Army, Bernard Montgomery, Dwight Eisenhower, English, etymology, General Patton, World War Two
posted by Randy at 11:07 AM
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