George B. McClellan

[Nytram01]

Originally Posted by ole

We are accustomed on this side of the pond to view Montgomery as somewhat of a clown. I'm sure that your side has another view. Eventually, we'll come to agree on a fairly accurate view of what actually happened. I grew up believing Montgomery to be a t***** problem to be solved by Ike and Bradley. Posts like yours make me rethink that assumption. Do keep it up.

ole

The bleeped word was t h o r n y. I suppose I could have said p r i c k l y, but the result would have been the same.

Monty is portrayed in somewhat of a poor light because he was unpopular with his contemporary generals and just about everybody who wasn't under his command...with the exception of Field Marshall Alan Brooke who was his biggest supporter.

Also unlike most of the British Generals Monty was not a nice guy. He was over-opinionated, concieted and egotitical. Winston Churchill once described him as being "indomitable in retreat; invincible in advance; insufferable in victory!"

For a moderate view of Monty I suggest this article from Carlo D'Este: http://www.armchairgeneral.com/monty...od-general.htm

[Hanny]

Originally Posted by cw1865

Actually Market Garden didn't work, but it was imaginative in an attempt to get over the Rhine. And you're correct, Montgomery does win battles and important ones too (Alamein). McClellan did ok, he was at the gates of Richmond and then Lee takes over and its as if the man just lost his nerve or something. He winds up checking Lee at Antietam, but....he's just a frustrating figure....when Lee was asked after the war who his toughest opponent was he answered McClellan.

Not only post war Lee and L-street, but during the war as well, when Mac was removed, it was commented in the same vein.

[Hanny]

Originally Posted by Nytram01

I want to go back to this for a moment. Word of warning, you might not agree with everything I say here.

I feel the comparison between Montgomery and McClellan is quite unfair.
.

Not least, that what Monty did with Ultra, compared to what the US did with the same intel, at Kasserine is not the same as what Mac did with Pinkertons intel on CSA troop numbers (being writen as being the ANV field strength, but calculated as the total in all of the theatre), and when this cleriocal error was corrected, Union commanders had better intel, which did not stop tham from getting the numbers of the ANV widely wrong till the end of the war.