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To: daniel1212

> Patton who boasted he could be in Berlin in a few days <

Patton was certainly correct about that. By early April of 1945 the German soldiers who faced him were demoralized. Many were eager to surrender.

But what would have happened once Patton reached the outskirts of Berlin? Hitler was still alive, and he still had an iron grip on the city. The Soviets suffered hundreds of thousands of casualties taking Berlin. The Americans would have suffered much the same.

As you noted, Eisenhower held Patton back. Probably a good thing as FDR (or Truman) would have ordered a withdrawal anyway.


18 posted on 04/11/2024 6:42:08 AM PDT by Leaning Right (The steal is real.)
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To: Leaning Right

Germans would have been more than happy to surrender to the Americans.


19 posted on 04/11/2024 6:43:56 AM PDT by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: Leaning Right
But what would have happened once Patton reached the outskirts of Berlin? Hitler was still alive, and he still had an iron grip on the city. The Soviets suffered hundreds of thousands of casualties taking Berlin. The Americans would have suffered much the same.

No, as the Americans did not consider mass casualties of their own soldiers to be much just a statistic, while from what I read, Hitler feared the Soviets the most, and Germany was hoping to work out a conditional surrender - which Patton would be in favor of, in order to deter the "greater enemy" of Stalin - and it was the latter who insisted on unconditional surrender of Germany, as he had his own plans for domination. Lying to Roosevelt.

38 posted on 04/11/2024 9:37:56 AM PDT by daniel1212 (Turn 2 the Lord Jesus who saves damned+destitute sinners on His acct, believe, b baptized+follow HIM)
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