WI: Patton Survives, MacArthur Dies

What if General George Patton avoids the car that killed him in Munich in December of 1945 and around the same time General Douglas MacArthur falls down a flight of stairs? What impact would that have on the developing Cold War and the Korean War?
 

Genghis Kawaii

Gone Fishin'
Probably not much. Patton was a rank lower than MacArthur, and I can't see him being given MacArthur's position. Chances are that Ridgway would have had the helm in Korea and Marshall, and things would have gone on as they did IRL.
 
Probably not much. Patton was a rank lower than MacArthur, and I can't see him being given MacArthur's position. Chances are that Ridgway would have had the helm in Korea and Marshall, and things would have gone on as they did IRL.

I agree. I don't think that Patton would be giving MacArthur's position, but I COULD see him being sent to Korea.As Lincoln once said of General Grant. "I can't spare this man. He fights." Patton also fights. And wins. A LOT.
 
Ike was thought more usefull in the much larger task of establishing NATO. Folks were convinced the Russkies were about to roll west & sending Ike to a minor front might not have been the best idea.

Ridgeway was sent long after the situation had gone to hell & General Walker died. He was still relatively junior & suitable for command of a single army. Mac was the US representative for the entire Asian region. Had Stillwell survived he would have been suitable to replace a deceased MacAurthur, but he died of cancer circa 1946. Krueger was well regarded. Eichelberger was a bit young, but Truman did not worry about such things & Marshall favored younger officers anyway. Walker or someone similar would have been appointed US 8th Army commander in 1948 regardless of Macs death.

Patton was aging rapidly with health problems. It is unlikely he would have remained in service much longer.
 
What if US (not likely, but maybe) would have recommend a British commander?

Monty in charge of Korea? THAT would have been a different show.

Slim would have done the job, I think.

Wedemeyer would have been a candidate?

Ivan
 

sharlin

Banned
Patton was a bit of a political hot potato, he'd been relived of command and sent home, if he survived he'd probably be pensioned off maybe called up for Korea but by then he'd be an old man, he wasn't young anyhow.

Thing is he was a great battlefield commander but wasn't that good of a theater commander and to run something like Korea with the UN and locals you need a political head on you and Patton went at politics like a bull in a china shop.

If he survived i'd expect to see several darn good books as well as a few autobiographys.
 
Hell I get the feeling Patton would be even louder than Macarthur was about nuking china.

Probably, he was on record supporting re-arming the Wehrmacht in preparation for WWIII with the Russians. Communist victory in China would have pushed him from vocal to rabid in pretty short order.
 
Probably, he was on record supporting re-arming the Wehrmacht in preparation for WWIII with the Russians. Communist victory in China would have pushed him from vocal to rabid in pretty short order.

Maybe so, but from what i have read about Patton he always followed orders, regardless of his own feelings. Mac not so much.

So if he got the stop order Mac got he would have stoped. China would not have interveened and we would not have two Coreas
 
Did you really say bull in a CHINA shop? in Korea? wow

Did Patton follow orders when he "borrowed" the petrol designed for Monty?

The only one worse would have been 'Vinegar Joe' to lead the UN effort in Korea.

If Patton had access to the few nukes deployed to Asia during Korea, it is anyone's guess.

Ivan
 
Did you really say bull in a CHINA shop? in Korea? wow

Did Patton follow orders when he "borrowed" the petrol designed for Monty?

The only one worse would have been 'Vinegar Joe' to lead the UN effort in Korea.

If Patton had access to the few nukes deployed to Asia during Korea, it is anyone's guess.

Ivan


I'm sure he had every intention of returning whatever fuel was left after his victory lap in Berlin.
 
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