Doesn't quite work like that. Congress can authorize the president to appoint someone to a new and higher grade (as was done with Omar Bradley's promotion to be general of the army), but it cannot force the Chief Executive to actually make the appointment, which is a constitutionally protected preroragative outside the remit of the legislative branch. Truman could veto the authorizing legislation, and Congress could override it, but he can still decline to make the actual promotion, which is an entirely discretionary act on his part, independent of what anyone wants or desires.
Patton in Korea/MacArthur in the White House
- Thread starter BiteNibbleChomp
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Essentially correct. Ordinarily, assuming the necessary enabling legislation has been passed, the president nominates, the Senate confirms (or not), and finally, the president appoints. The Congress can authrorize the president to make an appointment of a named individual to a higher rank or grade, as was done with General Bradley, but the president is no way obligated to use this authority.
I hope that our author might consider revising this point. In OTL, one of Ridgeway's principal complaints was that commanders and staff were not visiting the front often enough ( which his predecessor had also complained about, but had not corrected). Ridgeway, unlike Walker, saw to it his wishes were complied with. I consider it highly unlikely he would change Patton's policy on this score.
This is out of character for Ridgway. He was a strong believer in leading from the front and expected his corps commanders to get out to the frontline regimental and battalion CPs*. Patton getting shot wouldn't change his mind, as that was just the price you had to occasionally pay for effective leadership.
Blair, Clay "The Forgotten War" page 574
Yep that administration sounds like one hell of a prelude to ww3."My fellow Americans, I'm pleased to tell you today that I've signed legislation that will outlaw Russia forever. We begin bombing in five minutes."
Nope, that's not in accordance with the West Point Regulations on the wear of the uniform.
General officers were, once upon a time, authorized to prescribe their own uniforms. The results were not always fortunate.Nope, that's not in accordance with the West Point Regulations on the wear of the uniform.
Corrected both of these, thanks
Patton actually ordered the speech himself... not that the media will mention that of course
He did get it ITTL.
Very true, but a lot of men in the other two armies had previous commanders that had actually done a good job to point to as comparisons. 8th Army... had Walker, and when Walker got in that plane crash, their morale was about as low as an army's can be.
You mean, "if Beatrice plays his cards well for him"
. George had about as much political skill as a stick of dynamite.Thanks mate!
Sure there would even be a prelude? If Patton has any say in the matter, war probably starts on January 20.
Thanks - really appreciate it!
Shame, that would be quite the scene!Nope, that's not in accordance with the West Point Regulations on the wear of the uniform.
- BNC
1950? They wouldn't have the technology to run it "live". It would have been a filmed presentation shown on network TV at a later date...I like to think that the news networks edit the footage slightly to make it more presentable and don't run Patton live, but I'll leave it open to interpretation
- BNC
Read the TL, and I think it's reasonably good even if I think Patton is a bit more prescient at times then he would have actually been.
Quite. All accounts of Ridgeway indicate he was a highly able, professional, and aggressive soldier. I'd honestly call him a better general then Patton, since he had all of Patton's high qualities (intelligence, aggressiveness, respect for the enemy’s capabilities) with none of his foibles (ego, arrogance, undiplomatic bearing, disrespect for the chain of command, disregard for logistics). He did a lot OTL to whip the 8th Army into a effective fighting instrument after Walker and MacArthur had let it languish for far too long, basically a lot of what Patton did here. ATL, he's very unlikely to relax Patton's discipline, since he can see how effective it is at keeping the men in fighting shape.
I really hope this TL doesn't do Ridgeway dirty like that. The man was one of the US's finest commanders in the 20th century.
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marathag
Banned
Wasn't till the 60s when AT&T had enough of the nationwide Long Lines microwave network going that most.of the nation could get live ABC,CBS and NBC programming coast to coast to their affiliatesNow you see how little I know about how TV works
- BNC
A sniper, firing at a non-moving target in the open, and he misses center-of-mass, that much, twice?
But I think I can explain it. The sniper fired from very long range - 800-1,200 meters. He underestimated the drop across that distance. (Which would be about 5 meters - he's about 0.5 meter off. His sights are probably not well calibrated for such long range.) And he fired the second shot while the first shot was still in the air. (An AK-47 round would take 1 to 1.5 seconds to travel that far.)
But I think I can explain it. The sniper fired from very long range - 800-1,200 meters. He underestimated the drop across that distance. (Which would be about 5 meters - he's about 0.5 meter off. His sights are probably not well calibrated for such long range.) And he fired the second shot while the first shot was still in the air. (An AK-47 round would take 1 to 1.5 seconds to travel that far.)
Or perhaps it could be two snipers together, both using the same incorrect estimation for the distance?
chankljp
Donor
You know something that I just realized? Considering that thanks to Patton, UN forces were able to push into North Korea a lot quicker, the levels and intensity of bombing campaign against the country would likely not have been as heavy compared to OTL, in which an estimated 85% of the country's buildings were razed.
Meaning that the northern parts of Korea will retain a lot more of their colonial-era infrastructure that were set up by the Japanese. Take the Sup'ung Dam that I have mentioned from earlier, for example, with it being the largest hydroelectric dam in Asia at the time, which in OTL was not targeted for bombing until May 1953 (As a reminder, we are still in November 1950 right now). This means that unless the Chinese managed to push the UN all the way back to the 38 parallel, in addition to holding onto much more land and control a larger population, the ROK should be able to industrialize much quicker and easier, given them a much stronger economy and higher standards of living depending on how quickly the government in Seoul can get their corruption problem under control, and secure countries that they can export to.
The idea of there being a much earlier Miracle on the Han River right on the PRC and the USSR's doorstep will certainly have some very interesting implications on how the rest of the Cold War would develop. Especially in the case of the former, assuming the famine caused by the Great Leap Forward still happens.
And as a lover of history, I really like the idea of cities in northern Korea beyond just Kaesong managing to retain their historical buildings without having to be rebuilt almost totally from the ground-up.
Meaning that the northern parts of Korea will retain a lot more of their colonial-era infrastructure that were set up by the Japanese. Take the Sup'ung Dam that I have mentioned from earlier, for example, with it being the largest hydroelectric dam in Asia at the time, which in OTL was not targeted for bombing until May 1953 (As a reminder, we are still in November 1950 right now). This means that unless the Chinese managed to push the UN all the way back to the 38 parallel, in addition to holding onto much more land and control a larger population, the ROK should be able to industrialize much quicker and easier, given them a much stronger economy and higher standards of living depending on how quickly the government in Seoul can get their corruption problem under control, and secure countries that they can export to.
The idea of there being a much earlier Miracle on the Han River right on the PRC and the USSR's doorstep will certainly have some very interesting implications on how the rest of the Cold War would develop. Especially in the case of the former, assuming the famine caused by the Great Leap Forward still happens.
And as a lover of history, I really like the idea of cities in northern Korea beyond just Kaesong managing to retain their historical buildings without having to be rebuilt almost totally from the ground-up.
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