The US didn't really win until Grant started spending lives.

Off Topic » in reply to He wasn't much of a general, too.

Bowser — 9/6/2006 12:56:30 AM (archived)

The Confederacy was exacting casualties at the rate of 3 Federal to 1 Confederate. McClelland didn't like those figures. Actually, no American general liked those figures until Grant came along. And he and Lincoln were willing to acccept losses like that.

The US could maintain that rate, the Confederacy couldn't, and eventually lost.

The idea of being very loose with their soldiers lives has been a hallmark of the US military until this day. In Vietnam, a war of attrition by definition, since new territory wasn't being conquered, the US military was happy to trade lives, thinking there were more Americans than Vietnamese.

In WWII, Montgomery saw the end coming for Germany, and didn't want to waste the lives of English troops, England being a small place without a bottomless manpower pool.

On the other hand, Patton couldn't see that Americans were killed fast enough. His ego demanded fast, even in the face of the inevitable and he didn't care about the lives of his own people.

The world would have a lot more great people if Montgomery's plans had been followed.

Arf

The whole thread (27 posts)

Deja vu... - Tom Brosz - 9/4/2006 10:40:05 PM
- He wasn't much of a general, too. (n/t) - alcaray - 9/5/2006 4:58:20 PM
  - The US didn't really win until Grant started spending lives. - Bowser - 9/6/2006 12:56:30 AM
    - If Montgomery had his way, there might only have been an East Berlin (n/t) - alcaray - 9/6/2006 3:22:19 PM
      - That was all decided beforehand. Berlin WAS taken by the Russians. (n/t) - Bowser - 9/6/2006 6:10:26 PM
        
        If we did not hold substantial amounts of Germany... - alcaray - 9/6/2006 6:18:56 PM
        
        Conferences, Malta, Yalta, Potsdam, etc., settled all that. - Bowser - 9/6/2006 6:53:50 PM
        
        You think that it was determined in advance that the USSR... - alcaray - 9/6/2006 8:57:46 PM
        
        Yes. And Patton's gains had nothing to do with anything. - Bowser - 9/6/2006 9:24:44 PM
        
        No. By treaty Poland (to use one example) was to be an independant country. - alcaray - 9/6/2006 10:22:30 PM
        
        Poland was taken by the Russians. And was to have free elections. - Bowser - 9/7/2006 12:51:25 AM
- Programme Change: The role of Condoleeza has been played today by Mr. T. Brosz - Tony - 9/5/2006 1:52:21 PM
  - I hope you weren't holding your breath... - SDAI-Tech1 - 9/7/2006 7:47:39 AM
  - I notice nobody's commenting on whether or not the parallels are there. - Tom Brosz - 9/5/2006 6:00:11 PM
    - You mean the parallel geography? - Mary Anne - 9/7/2006 1:05:16 PM
    - For instace, the parallels between "state's rights" and slavery? - Fox - 9/7/2006 3:38:18 AM
    - Let's see... - dtb - 9/6/2006 5:33:30 PM
      - re: Let's see... - Tom Brosz - 9/7/2006 1:30:58 AM
    - Interesting. As you wish. Let's look at history. EG - Chamberlain was a success. - Bowser - 9/6/2006 12:46:51 AM
    - re: I notice nobody's commenting on whether or not the parallels are there. - azstrummer - 9/5/2006 11:56:26 PM
      - The party names are largely irrelevant. The attitudes are the same. - Tom Brosz - 9/6/2006 1:51:00 AM
        
        re: The party names are largely irrelevant. The attitudes are the same. - azstrummer - 9/7/2006 8:47:42 PM
    - Grrrr! (n/t) - alcaray - 9/5/2006 9:46:32 PM
    - Who's furious? - Tony - 9/5/2006 6:26:45 PM
- I've heard of conservatives being stuck in the past, but this is ridiculous. (n/t) - ER - 9/4/2006 11:57:03 PM
  - She's between a rock and a hard place - Lindy - 9/5/2006 5:25:35 PM
    - More like a the First Maroon and Cheney. (n/t) - Bowser - 9/6/2006 12:47:57 AM

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