"Monty Remains in Command" Topic

"It was tragically ironic that General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces, was killed in a non-combat related mechanical accident caused by an equipment malfunction in his signature Willy's 4x4 staff jeep. Rugged, reliable, and highly maneuverable, this famed workhorse of the American military had replaced equines in everything from cavalry units to supply trains and had been hailed by Ike himself as, alongside the Dakota and the Landing Craft, one of the three most important tools in the war.

A staff officer who had never seen combat in his 27-year career, Eisenhower had run Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) off-shore from England. The death of this soldier-statesman was a fateful act of destiny since Ike had been travelling to Tac to relieve General Bernard Law Montgomery of his command of the 21st Army Group, which comprised all Allied ground forces engaged in the Battle of Normandy (Operation Overlord). His mentor, Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS), Alan Brooke was sharply critical, observing that "Ike knows nothing about strategy and is 'quite' unsuited to the post of Supreme Commander. It is no wonder that Monty's real high ability is not always realized. Especially so when 'national' spectacles pervert the perspective of the strategic landscape."…"

This Day in Alternate History

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Armand

A horror story.

Ha!…

Armand

Why Patch? Devers was commander of the ETO from May 1943 to January 1944 before Eisenhower took over and Devers was sent to the MTO as U.S. Commander in that theatre, making him Clark and briefly Patton's commander. Before that he had played a major role in the development of the U.S. Armored forces. He had advocated for the DUKW and also the M26. IIRC Devers ended the war as the second most senior U.S. general in Europe after Eisenhower.

Thanks

Armand

Patch is almost unknown today, but he was very well respected at the time, earning plaudits from both ends of the rank spectrum (Bill Mauldin and George C Marshall). Guadalcanal ruined his health, and he had to spend several months recuperating, but was very succcesf there with XIV Corps and he rose consistently through division and corps to army-level command throughout the war. He died shortly after the war ended of the long-term effects of sickness, and I would speculate that the year he spent recuperating and in training commands stateside probably deprived him of a serious shot at an army group command. Devers was a very solid staff and administrative guy, but he did not spend time in combat commands at lower levels.

Perhaps the writer thought that Patch's combat experience, combined with his wide ties to people in the old Army (his father and brother were both general officers, and the Patches were a well known and widely respected Army family) would have suited him for a job that required demonstrated qualities of leadership, experience under fire, and the ability to work well with everyone. Devers was a nonsmoking teetotaler, and not always tactful, and did not have any experience of corps or division combat command (Ike had not, either, but by 1944, his reputation stood very high with Marshall and Roosevelt). Since it didn't happen, it's all speculative- but having known Patch's nephew, I can only say that if he was anything like his uncle, than the older Patch must have been a pretty great guy.

In "what if" scenarios we can assume any alternate set of facts. For plausible "alternate history" though I believe the altered facts need to be realistically possible at the time the alternate timeline deviates from the OTL.

In the summer of 1944 Patch was either still a Major General or had just been promoted to Lieutenant General. His early war experience was in the Pacific. He was brought to the MTO to be IV corps commander in 1944 before 7th Army opened up. Patch was junior to Clark and Devers in the MTO as well as Smith, Bradley, Patton, Hodges, Simpson and probably others on the Normandy front. I just don't see him leap frogging that many generals at that point in the war.

Good point…

Armand