Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Patton or MacArthur

Not a MAC fan, but he was ORDERED (we follow those whilst in uniform) to leave the PI.

It's amazing how a simple question can extract so much stupidity from a broad range of know-nothings.

Patton was literally a savant when it came to strategy and tactics at that time in history. His ability to adapt to the modern age of warfare (especially in a time when it was evolving so rapidly) was almost God like. Combine this with a true warrior's spirit and a DEEP understanding of human tendencies and you end up with a leader that simply had no peer.

His decisions were not based solely on theory either. They were DEEPLY rooted in world history. His knowledge of previous events in all regions is what gave him the confidence to make decisions as quickly as he did. The idea that he "inspired" his troops is rather absurd. He drove men harder than most any flag officer would even dream of and this hardly endeared him to his men at the time. Much like a dead artist, his work was only appreciated by those under him after his passing and after their making it out alive.

I do get a kick out of somebody saying he "had a large ego." Show me ANY man that achieved what he achieved and claim he didn't have an ego. I'll happily call you on being FOS and slap you in your mouth.

General Patton had NO PEER in his lifetime. None. Even his enemies recognized and advised against squaring off with anything under his command.

He booted McArthur because McArthur was being too effective against the Chinese Communists, who Truman wanted to ensure retained a grip on the Korean peninsula. How was that admirable? Millions of people live in literal slavery to this day because of Truman's communist sympathies.

The US public certainly didn't think it was admirable after McArthur's congressional testimony.

Agree with everything in your post EXCEPT the "HE HAD NO PEER" statement. I can think of at least ten General Officers (all German) that given the logistic limitations they had were not only his equal, but in my opinion superior/

Patton, or MacArthur?

For WWII....Patton. And he was right about Russia, but he respected the chain of command too much to buck it. A shame he met an artificial and untimely end by the powers that be....

For the Korean War...MacArthur. He was right about China - we should have drove straight through to Beijing. It would have eliminated 2 major current problems being dealt with today.

MacArthur is rightfully respected in military history circles...but if he'd shown the same chutzpah in WWII that he showed in the Korean War...the Iron Curtain may never have been a thing in Eastern Europe....

Just sayin'....

Oh for fugk sake.

Patton was right about everything. And vocalized it like nobody else.

It's amazing how a simple question can extract so much stupidity from a broad range of know-nothings.

Patton was literally a savant when it came to strategy and tactics at that time in history. His ability to adapt to the modern age of warfare (especially in a time when it was evolving so rapidly) was almost God like. Combine this with a true warrior's spirit and a DEEP understanding of human tendencies and you end up with a leader that simply had no peer.

His decisions were not based solely on theory either. They were DEEPLY rooted in world history. His knowledge of previous events in all regions is what gave him the confidence to make decisions as quickly as he did. The idea that he "inspired" his troops is rather absurd. He drove men harder than most any flag officer would even dream of and this hardly endeared him to his men at the time. Much like a dead artist, his work was only appreciated by those under him after his passing and after their making it out alive.

I do get a kick out of somebody saying he "had a large ego." Show me ANY man that achieved what he achieved and claim he didn't have an ego. I'll happily call you on being FOS and slap you in your mouth.

General Patton had NO PEER in his lifetime. None. Even his enemies recognized and advised against squaring off with anything under his command.

Yes, he was. And Patton paid for it, too. If it weren't for the "untimely car accident" and the "unforeseen heart problems", Patton would've been kicking ass in Korea, and he would NOT of stopped at the Yaloo...

Instead, MacArthur was the most experienced when Korea came around. He was right about the Chinese coming across to aid North Korea. He was dead set about going across the river to beat the Chinese there, and that's what got him relieved of command.

If memory serves me right...the Chinese came across the river just after MacArthur was relieved, taking advantage of the change in leadership chaos to beat our forces back down the peninsula. When we got our legs back underneath us, we again beat the Communist forces back up the peninsula - Chinese and NorK combined this time. When we crossed the DMZ, the Chinese FORCED the NorK's to sign the cease-fire, to prevent our forces from taking it all the way to Beijing.

Yes, he was. And Patton paid for it, too. If it weren't for the "untimely car accident" and the "unforeseen heart problems", Patton would've been kicking ass in Korea, and he would NOT of stopped at the Yaloo...

Instead, MacArthur was the most experienced when Korea came around. He was right about the Chinese coming across to aid North Korea. He was dead set about going across the river to beat the Chinese there, and that's what got him relieved of command.

If memory serves me right...the Chinese came across the river just after MacArthur was relieved, taking advantage of the change in leadership chaos to beat our forces back down the peninsula. When we got our legs back underneath us, we again beat the Communist forces back up the peninsula - Chinese and NorK combined this time. When we crossed the DMZ, the Chinese FORCED the NorK's to sign the cease-fire, to prevent our forces from taking it all the way to Beijing.

The problem was resupply. The Americans kept begging for ammunition, food, etc. Every day for months, they expected an American landing or American bombing raids. It was a very purposeful decision by Roosevelt not to defend the PI and to let it fall. The crazy thing is that the Americans and Fillipinos were able to keep the upper hand for a long time. The Japs had underestimated our forces and our resolve and threw raw recruits at us with substandard arms and minimal logistical support.

If memory serves me right...the Chinese came across the river just after MacArthur was relieved, taking advantage of the change in leadership chaos to beat our forces back down the peninsula. When we got our legs back underneath us, we again beat the Communist forces back up the peninsula - Chinese and NorK combined this time. When we crossed the DMZ, the Chinese FORCED the NorK's to sign the cease-fire, to prevent our forces from taking it all the way to Beijing.

I have never been able to understand why Macarthur didn't have the defense alerted for the attack on the Philippines.

It's amazing how a simple question can extract so much stupidity from a broad range of know-nothings.

Patton was literally a savant when it came to strategy and tactics at that time in history. His ability to adapt to the modern age of warfare (especially in a time when it was evolving so rapidly) was almost God like. Combine this with a true warrior's spirit and a DEEP understanding of human tendencies and you end up with a leader that simply had no peer.

His decisions were not based solely on theory either. They were DEEPLY rooted in world history. His "first-hand" knowledge of previous events in all regions is what gave him the confidence to make decisions as quickly as he did. The idea that he "inspired" his troops is rather absurd. He drove men harder than most any flag officer would even dream of and this hardly endeared him to his men at the time. Much like a dead artist, his work was only appreciated by those under him after his passing and after their making it out alive.

I do get a kick out of somebody saying he "had a large ego." Show me ANY man that achieved what he achieved and claim he didn't have an ego. I'll happily call you on being FOS and slap you in your mouth.

General Patton had NO PEER in his lifetime. None. Even his enemies recognized and advised against squaring off with anything under his command.

Actually, they did have aircraft in the air as soon as they heard about Pearl Harbor, but those planes had to land eventually, to refuel and for the pilots to get a little rest. The Japanese were delayed in Formosa by fog on the runways, or they'd have been met by every P-40 in the Philippines. As it was, the delay from the fog on the runway made the Japanese a bit late, as in, they got to Clark Field just after the US planes landed to refuel. Fog in Formosa pretty much got the USAAF wiped out. Once the US airpower was gone, there wasn't much left to defend the Philippines except PT boats and submarines, neither of which had very good functional torpedoes.


That said, I'd pick Patton in a heartbeat.

Insertion for accuracy.