Best Generals Post-1900:

magussprite

Nytram01 said:
Quotes from German Generals to back up that claim please.
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"Patton, he is your best" - Von Rundstadt
Hanson, Victor Davis, The Soul of Battle: From Ancient Times to the Present Day", New York: Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0684845024 (1999), p. 13

"the most astonishing achievement in mobile warfare." - Rommel
Terry Brighton. Patton, Montgomery, Rommel: Masters of War. New York: Crown, 2008. p. xvii

""Patton! No doubt about this. He was a brilliant panzer army commander." - von Manteuffel
McNeese, Tim, Battle of the Bulge, p. 78

That said, I haven't read the source documents that I list, they are references on Patton's wikipedia page. I will give that as a warning to their veracity, but more or less, I trust Wikipedia these days, especially when they have citations. I did not list the uncited quotes from Jodl or Kesselring.
 

Nytram01

magussprite said:
"Patton, he is your best" - Von Rundstadt
Hanson, Victor Davis, The Soul of Battle: From Ancient Times to the Present Day", New York: Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0684845024 (1999), p. 13

"the most astonishing achievement in mobile warfare." - Rommel
Terry Brighton. Patton, Montgomery, Rommel: Masters of War. New York: Crown, 2008. p. xvii

""Patton! No doubt about this. He was a brilliant panzer army commander." - von Manteuffel
McNeese, Tim, Battle of the Bulge, p. 78

That said, I haven't read the source documents that I list, they are references on Patton's wikipedia page. I will give that as a warning to their veracity, but more or less, I trust Wikipedia these days, especially when they have citations. I did not list the uncited quotes from Jodl or Kesselring.
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Thanks for that. I'll look up the sources when I have time and money for it.

However I will just say that I have read that Von Rundstedt only called Patton the best American and said that Monty and Patton were the best general two he met.

I've also that Rommel quote doesn't really say that Patton was the best only that he accomlished something impressive.
 

Nytram01

voss749 said:
The entire fictional army Patton was commanding before D-day was based on the idea that the Germans considered him "the man" who would lead the invasion. The idea that he would be reprimanded so harshly for slapping a soldier was unbelievable to them. The Germans "knew" that Patton would lead the invasion and Normandy was just a diversion and we knew that they "knew" it.
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But that was not providing quotes. That's just Patton mythology. You do, of course, realise that Patton did a lot of public speaking and talks with the press prior to the Normandy invasion saying he was going to lead the invasion and it was going to be over the Pas De Calais and the Allies engaged in a sophisticated scheme of mis-direction and subterfuge to lead the Germans into believing that the main attack was going to be against Calias. That the Germans "knew" the attack was going to come there and that they "knew" Patton was going to lead it was all because they had been tricked into thinking that by the Allies, it did not mean that they thought Patton was most dangerous enemy they were going to face.
 
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Awilla the Hun

This is probably one another of his great talents. If you wanted a general to look like they were about to invade and liberate mainland Europe with their bare hands, that general would probably be a former cavalry officer who quoted classical warfare, made enormous and profanity filled speeches at his troops, toted guns all the time and had designed a new US army cavalry sabre to kill enemies more quickly. Not a little man with a beret and moustache.
 

magussprite

Nytram01 said:
However I will just say that I have read that Von Rundstedt only called Patton the best American and said that Monty and Patton were the best general two he met.
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Could you return the favour with a source? I still have access to my academic portal with my university, when I get some time I too would like to do some research.
 

Nytram01

magussprite said:
Could you return the favour with a source? I still have access to my academic portal with my university, when I get some time I too would like to do some research.
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I've seen the claim online numerous times and I thought I read it in Nigel Hamilton's work but looking through it quickly now I couldn't find a quote on it. I'm sure I've read it in a book somewhere so I'll keep looking and get back to you.
 
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