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worst commander of the war?

Discussion in 'WWII General' started by macker33, Jul 17, 2009.

  1. macker33

    macker33 Member

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    Out of the ones you know anyway and hitler dont count,

    My vote would have to go to goering,it seems everything he touched went wrong.
     
  2. sniper1946

    sniper1946 Expert

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    patton,prepared to take risks,and a prima donna? monty for market garden....
     
  3. JagdtigerI

    JagdtigerI Ace

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    That is a hard question to answer because each Generals had his own faults. To decide which general had the most as well as factoring in how severe each one was can be tricky.

    Goering certainly doesn't seem to have a very good track record.
     
    343 kokutai likes this.
  4. JeffinMNUSA

    JeffinMNUSA Member

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  5. 343 kokutai

    343 kokutai Member

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    If I had to choose one I would say Goering.

    As for Market Garden, I think that Monty gets too much of the blame. So many things went wrong which he couldn't control he was the overall planner not one of the commanders in the field.
     
  6. Kruska

    Kruska Member

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    Hello JeffinMNUSA,

    Surely Goering should lead that list.
    BTW how do you distinguish a Nazi bomber from a Luftwaffe bomber? by the swastica on the rudder? ;)

    Regards
    Kruska
     
  7. jeremyhill

    jeremyhill Dishonorably Discharged

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    Moderator position at XXXXXXXXXXXX.com
     
  8. SPGunner

    SPGunner Member

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    Paulus for failing to breakout from Stalingrad.
     
  9. C.Evans

    C.Evans Expert

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    Paulus didn't break out of Stalingrad because he was following Herr Mustaches insane orders. Otherwise-he wasn't a horrible Army Commander though history looks at him a bit more unfairly than should be.
     
  10. wokelly

    wokelly Member

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    The MG blame game seems to be a big thing done by mainly US historians, though certainly not exclusively. I have always wondered a bit if some US historians like to point at it so as to ignore the bigger screwup going on in Hurtgen Forest at the same time. I am not trying to take a kick at the US forumites here, but seriously MG is the single biggest attacked launched at Monty by US anti-monty historians.
     
  11. Kruska

    Kruska Member

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    Oh boy, I can scent a killer thread comming up.

    MONTY

    Regards
    Kruska
     
  12. Wolfy

    Wolfy Ace

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    Goering might have been much better than his reputation, as he may have foreseen the fact that the gig was up. He was intimately involved in prewar German economic leadership and had more access to intelligence data thanks his Gestapo. The knowledge deduced from his positions may have convinced him that the war was not going to favor Germany. That may be why he spend the war hunting, eating, stealing art, and living the good life like a true sociopath.
     
  13. Army Group Fen

    Army Group Fen recruit

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    Why has no one mentioned General Percival? He was the man at the head of one of the biggest military disasters in the history of the UK.

    If you're picking axis commanders for me Mussolini is one of my top choices. I think the real master of poor commander on the battlefield has got to be. Heinrich Himmler. What was Hitler thinking? I know it was nuts....but per - lees!
     
  14. redcoat

    redcoat Ace

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    Unsure why you felt the need to mention two of the most successful Allied generals in a thread for the worst commander of the war ???
     
  15. delta36

    delta36 Member

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    I vote hitler the worst commander, I mean he thought he could capture Moscow, Stalingrad, AND the Russian oil fields all at once.
     
  16. Bob Guercio

    Bob Guercio Dishonorably Discharged

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    Hi Everyone,

    I'm not sure about who the worst commander of World War II was but I know those that I like and those that I dislike.

    One commander who doesn't get very much press is General Leslie Groves who was in charge of the Manhattan Project.

    Predicated upon what I believe to be true, I don't like this man at all.

    I say this because, IMHO, his main reason for wanting to drop the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was to justify the cost of developing the bomb and his job.

    I'm not saying that the atomic bomb should not have been dropped. I'm not smart enough to render a decision on that. However, the thought of a couple of hundred thousand people being killed to justify an expenditure is quite loathsome.

    Bob Guercio
     
  17. brndirt1

    brndirt1 Saddle Tramp

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    This is rather shortsighted, Groves was in charge of the production of the atomics, not deciding on how they would be used. His ability to "do the job" is what got him the Manhattan Project, which he was extremely upset about. He tried to decline the appointment, but his excellent work as "ram-rod" on the Pentagon made him the only choice for the job.

    He brought the Pentagon in on time, and under budget. Not a bad result, he also kept the Manhattan Project functioning as smoothly as possible when you are dealing with hundreds of intellectual prima-donnas, and thousands of persons who cannot even be told what they are working on.

    His administration of this project was exemplary. How the atomics are used was not loathsome, not using them would have been more so. The Japanese culture may not exist today if not for the atomics. That would be loathsome.

    That however is neither here nor there, General Leslie Groves wasn't on the targeting committee. He took the assignment, produced what was required, and turned the weapons over to those who made those decisions. Don't try to tar Groves with the usage of the bombs he oversaw the production of.
     
  18. Bob Guercio

    Bob Guercio Dishonorably Discharged

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    My post may have been shortsighted but you have not quoted me accurately. Let's clarify exactly what I said.

    I never said that the usage of the bomb was loathsome. I said that wanting to use it to justify an expenditure and a job was loathsome. And I believe that he wanted it used for that reason and in my book, that's a damn good reason to dislike someone. Also, regardless of what part he played or didn't play in the decision making process to use the bomb, he certainly wanted it used!

    Regarding the usage of the bomb, I was very specific about saying that I'm not smart enough to render a decision whether or not it was the right thing to do. I have always been neutral on that decision and, in all likelihood, I will remain neutral until the day I die.

    Also, it's my understanding that, although the usage of the bomb may have been outside of his jurisdiction, he was involved in many aspects of it after it was produced. For example, he ordered that the bomb be armed at Tinian before takeoff; however, this order was not obeyed and it was armed in the air. Also, I find it hard to believe that he had no influence whatsoever in the decision to use it. I would go along with saying that his influence was minimal.

    I never mentioned his competence regarding the management and administration of the bomb; however, I will mention it now and he did a masterful job.

    My original post in it's entirety follows in order to support the above.

    "I'm not sure about who the worst commander of World War II was but I know those that I like and those that I dislike.

    One commander who doesn't get very much press is General Leslie Groves who was in charge of the Manhattan Project.

    Predicated upon what I believe to be true, I don't like this man at all.

    I say this because, IMHO, his main reason for wanting to drop the bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki was to justify the cost of developing the bomb and his job.

    I'm not saying that the atomic bomb should not have been dropped. I'm not smart enough to render a decision on that. However, the thought of a couple of hundred thousand people being killed to justify an expenditure is quite loathsome."

    Bob Guercio
     
  19. redcoat

    redcoat Ace

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    None of this qualifies him as a bad commander, let alone the worst of the war . :rolleyes:
     
  20. Bob Guercio

    Bob Guercio Dishonorably Discharged

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    True! And I may add that I never said he was a bad commander or the worst of the war!!

    The bottom line is, shortsighted or not, that I don't like General Leslie Groves because cost and job justification, IMHO, played a role in his desire to want the bombs used.

    I will concede that I really did not address the subject of this thread and perhaps I shouldn't have posted to it. With this, why don't we agree to drop it!

    Bob Guercio
     

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