Quote:
Originally Posted by JayTeeMe
I haven't really studied Patton at all. Patton didn't at all need to be a genius. From the time he touched the ground the outcome of the war was a foregone conclusion.
Lee was outnumbered in every battle he fought and against an opponent that had superior weaponry and the economic conditions were such that the enemy would get stronger over time while he got weaker.
This is a flaw in your thinking. The question is not who overcame the most resistance, issues and adversity...... The question is..... who would be the more capiable person to have as in charge of your army if you were going to go back in time to try invoke your will on a era.
Patton > Lee
In the Mexican-American War Lee was very associated with Winfield Scott. Hard to give him full credit while another great military thinker was actually in command and closely working with Lee.
Early in the Civil war, his men called him "Granny Lee" because of his allegedly timid style of command. Patton's men would have never seriously made such a reference. Maybe to Bernard Montgomery but never Patton.
Yes, Lee had his moments of aggression..... with some success, but Lee's decision on the third day of the Battle of Gettysburg, against the sound judgment of his best corps commander General Longstreet, to launch a massive frontal assault on the center of the Union line was disastrous. The assault known as Pickett's Charge was repulsed and resulted in heavy Confederate losses. The general rode out to meet his retreating army and proclaimed, "All this has been my fault."
Lee would have a hard time making my top 50 GOAT list. I would put him about somewhere around 90 well behind Patton.
There is only one tactical principle which is not subject to change. It is to use the means at hand to inflict the maximum amount of wound, death, and destruction on the enemy in the minimum amount of time."
- General George Patton Jr