Before the Battle of the Bulge, Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, Bernard Montgomery and Courtney Hodges thought fellow general George S. Patton was a talented, eccentric, flamboyant and sometimes buffoonish throwback to 19th century glory hounds. Yet it was Patton alone who in America's darkest hour of 1944 most clearly grasped both the dangers of, and the solutions to, the disaster.To no avail, Patton had warned his superiors that a gambler like Hitler would likely try something desperate in December. Even before the generals met, Patton had preplanned a risky rescue operation. In a blizzard, he turned a large part of his army 90 degrees on a 100-mile trek to save the collapsing American lines to the north at Bastogne, Belgium.
Had the American command followed the rambunctious Patton's recommendation to cut off the overexposed German bulge at its base, rather than conservatively try to push it back at the nose, the campaign would have ended even sooner, with far fewer lost American lives.
I think it was von Mannheim who observed that in pincer attacks, the Americans prefer the small game. Eisenhower was not lacking in tactical brilliance, he was gifted with strategic vision, and he had learned the lesson of Market-Garden well. Eisenhower was conservative, because the more cautious approach would almost certainly win the war, with little risk. He had no stomach for a repeat of Market-Garden.
Many years ago, I read a book about Patton sending a task force to rescue his son-in-law who was held in German prison camp...The mission was a failure.
I do think that he was a great general...