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')
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')
Labels: American Army, Dwight Eisenhower, English, etymology, General Patton, Germanic languages, The Longest Day, World War Two
posted by Randy at 12:24 AM
1 Comments:
I liked 'The Longest Day.' I'll have to watch it for the German scenes.
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