Here's one for you. Who, in your opinion was the greatest American leader of WWII and why? And, did I miss someone who should've made this list? [ 07. November 2002, 05:17 PM: Message edited by: grampas girl ]
Hi GG, It was a tough choice between F.D.R and D.D.E. I chose D.D.E. because he had to not only fight conduct the war, but had to be a politician too. Had you had George Catlett Marshall listed--I would have chosen him instead--as he was the "biggest" person during the war.
A very good poll. I voted for MacArthur. Anyone who was willing to fight as a private to defend Bataan and Corregidor is A. OK with me. BTw, i wouldve add Johnathan Wainwright "With head bowed in profound sadness, But Not In Shame, I go off to meet the Japanese Commander. CvM
I choose MacArthur, becuase he had the guts to say "I'll return to the Philipines" and he did that. But Eisenhower was maybe a good politican, but not a good stratigist. E.g. the attack towards Prague which he forbade.
Definitely Eisenhower. He had the very hard job of keeping together and coordinating an alliance with many different nations, which meant being adept at both military and political matters. MacArthur, IMO, was basically a gung-ho leader with a much too high opinion of himself and a knack for making cute quotable statements. He made a couple of neat moves, most notably the Inchon landing - but that's another war. I could go on about MacArthur, especially the Korean War, where he managed to lead his men to an American Stalingrad on the Chinese border in many ways. I don't know any other American leader who has manged to get entire US Armies routed.
Odd list two military commanders and one political. Have to agree with C.Evans, if Marshall had been listed I would have voted for him, if we were just talking military. As for McArthur I must admit I wouldn`t rate him as a great leader, a good one but not great. The US should have left the Philippines to "wither on the vine" after the japanese invasion, but thanks to McArthur`s ego (he made Monty look modest) hundreds of thousands of philippine civilians as well as thousands of US troops died in a conflict with no strategic value.
You could have Churchill as well of course, he was half-American [ 08. November 2002, 05:35 AM: Message edited by: redcoat ]
Of the three available I chose Eisenhower because he had the most difficult job as a true joint chief commander. Patton would be my choice.
Agreed.Eisenhower was the man with most work to keep the allied troops together.Who knows what might have happened if that would have failed??
By the way, I voted for Franklin Delano Roosvelt because I think he was a great man, a golden politician who fought the best he could in his way for the country he loved. I think he is the best American politician of the XX century. He got his country out of the worst economic crisis of all times, made it win the greatest war in history and made a power of it.
Nope, Roosevelt was a bolshevik (No offense Freid ) He let pearl Harbor happen. Why? Do you ask? Because at that same time, his beloved Communism in Russia was on the verge of being wiped out by the Wehrmact. Btw, thanks for the pic Freid but i like this one better. this one is Ok too.
General Jonathan Wainwright?! Good choice! But FDR a RED?! How you dare?! You sound like Hitler in "Mein Kampf" talking about the Jew-Bolshevik conspiracy to destroy the world... Would you be so nice to explain yourself? Look what you did! Now I am defending USA!!!
I voted for Roosevelt, I think he was a great politician who did a lot good things, i.e. the 'new deal'. I believe that Eisenhower became president mostly due to the second world war. I would never vote for someone that wants to drop a-bombs all over the world and start a third world war. regards
You are right about FDR, Charlie. I am glad you are not saying nonsense things like CVM And by the way, general Eisenhower is one of the few men in WWII that kicks my liver! I just can't stand the ugly bald man!
