WI: President Patton 1948

What if George S. Patton avoided his accidental death in 1945, was elected to the California Senate in 1946, and then was successfully drafted in 1948 presidential primaries and beat Truman?
 
Ignoring the how:

Patton did have a fair track record at administration and running a efficient staff, so just the usual problems running the executive branch. He had a tin ear for politics & his social consciousness derived from his rich kid youth, but he also a had a sense of responsibility & ethics beyond the usual wealthy scion. His political naivety would leave him vulnerable to manipulation and bad advice.

What we would likely have seen is a fairly well administered executive branch with policy a bit unclear & lurching about across some poorly thought out policies. President Patton would probably get in a fight with the disarmament factions. He'd be less likely to buy off on Louis Johnsons all air force and nothing else defense policy. So, Johnson would soon be replaced as Sec Def. He would probably try to reverse in some ways the drawing down of the US Army in favor of big bombers for the new Air Force. While there would be some success the outcome is ultimately in the budget allocations of Congress, so its not going to be easy to reverse very much in a couple years. Perhaps the US Army would be a little better prepared for the Korean War, but not in a strategically significant way. But, then this administrations foreign policy may postphone the Korean war.
 
Ignoring the how:

Patton did have a fair track record at administration and running a efficient staff, so just the usual problems running the executive branch. He had a tin ear for politics & his social consciousness derived from his rich kid youth, but he also a had a sense of responsibility & ethics beyond the usual wealthy scion. His political naivety would leave him vulnerable to manipulation and bad advice.

What we would likely have seen is a fairly well administered executive branch with policy a bit unclear & lurching about across some poorly thought out policies. President Patton would probably get in a fight with the disarmament factions. He'd be less likely to buy off on Louis Johnsons all air force and nothing else defense policy. So, Johnson would soon be replaced as Sec Def. He would probably try to reverse in some ways the drawing down of the US Army in favor of big bombers for the new Air Force. While there would be some success the outcome is ultimately in the budget allocations of Congress, so its not going to be easy to reverse very much in a couple years. Perhaps the US Army would be a little better prepared for the Korean War, but not in a strategically significant way. But, then this administrations foreign policy may postphone the Korean war.
OK so without a Korean war, do you think a unified Germany under the Stalin note is more likely?
 

nbcman

Donor
OK so without a Korean war, do you think a unified Germany under the Stalin note is more likely?
With a President Patton who made these statements:

The difficulty in understanding the Russian is that we do not take cognizance of the fact that he is not a European, but an Asiatic, and therefore thinks deviously. We can no more understand a Russian than a Chinaman or a Japanese, and from what I have seen of them, I have no particular desire to understand them, except to ascertain how much lead or iron it takes to kill them. In addition to his other Asiatic characteristics, the Russian have no regard for human life and is an all out son of bitch, barbarian, and chronic drunk.

We promised the Europeans freedom. It would be worse than dishonorable not to see that they have it. This might mean war with the Russians, but what of it? They have no air force, and their gasoline and ammunition supplies are low. I've seen their miserable supply trains; mostly wagons drawn by beaten up old horses or oxen. I'll say this; the Third Army alone and with damned few casualties, could lick what is left of the Russians in six weeks. You mark my words. Don't ever forget them. Someday we will have to fight them and it will take six years and cost us six million lives.

I believe that by taking a strong attitude the Russians,they will back down. We have already yielded too much to their mongolian nature.

Let's keep our boots polished, bayonets sharpened,and present a picture of force and strength to the Russians. This is the only language that they understand and respect. If you fail to do this , then I would like to say that we have had a victory over the Germans, and have disarmed them,but we have lost the war.

Less than zero chance.
 
Do you think he'd support something similar to operation unthinkable?

He could support it, but sworn in in 1949 he'd be commander in chief of a dismantled Army, a castrated Navy, and a air force without bombers that could make round trips to the enemy industrial heartland.

Pretty much. Even if he wants too, Patton is simply not going to be getting away with any sort of aggressive scheme when his ground army is outweighed 5:1 across the board by the best estimates, his tactical air force is outweighed 3:1, and his strategic nuclear force are, by the admission of both it’s civilian and military heads, incapable of carrying out any of their assigned wartime missions.
 
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