Most beloved general.

[Jon@lbc]

Who do you think was the most beloved general in ww2 I thought bradley or Eishonhower I dont mean the most skilled patton had a great tactical mind and kicked german butt but was nicknamed blood and guts by his troops and on two occasions slapped his own troops

[Doctor Sinister]

OK, sticking to the question of most beloved General, I have to be controversial and say Monty. But bear in mind that I'm speaking from a British perspective, so I am strapping myself into my flame-proof chair as we speak.

Dr. S.

[Full Monty]

'Bill' Slim (14th Army in Burma and India) was held in some affection by his men. Same with 'Sepp' Dietrich.

[Jon@lbc]

Hey doctor sinister do you think you could post a link to your secret evil empires website
(p.s. I am NOT a french spy intent on shutting down your orginisation )

[Jon@lbc]

Why do you think monty was so popular what about Dietrich and bill slim

[Full Monty]

When Slim took over the 14th Army morale was particularly low. I'll 'cut and paste' from another website because it sums up Slims qualities in a much better way than I ever could

" Upon taking command of Fourteenth Army, Slim found morale at "a dangerously low ebb." He identified what he considered were his principles of morale stating them as the spiritual, intellectual and material.

Slim allowed that "[i]t was one thing to marshal my principles but quite another to develop them, apply them, and get them recognized by the whole army." The spiritual foundation of the army was considered by Slim to be good, both religiously and in the Army’s belief in their noble cause, the defeat of the Japanese Army. He set about to improve the intellectual and the material principles.

Slim took a straightforward approach in dealing with these concerns by talking directly to the soldiers of Fourteenth Army, and encouraging his commanders to continue doing so. As he stated, "[w]henever I could get away from my headquarters, and that throughout the campaign was about a third of the time, I was in these first few months more like a parliamentary candidate than a general - except that I never made a promise." Slim wanted to ensure that the soldiers of the army felt that:

... they shared directly in the triumphs of Fourteenth Army and that its success and its honour were in their hands as much as anybody’s. Another way in which we made every man feel he was part of the show was by keeping him, whatever his rank, as far as was practicable in the picture of what was going on around him. ...It was in these ways that we laid the spiritual foundations...

Slim had a major impact on his soldiers. In his biography on Slim, Lewin states that:

... words would have remained words, without the man. Soldiers are skeptical of mere words. It was during these peregrinations, however, that his Army began to think of Lieut[enant]-General Slim as Uncle Bill. ... Uncle Bill they came to see, was theirs and they were his, linked in the brotherhood of battle. His evident grasp of the present offered them hope for the future. His message was that enshrined in the famous motto of the Royal Tank Regiment: ‘From mud through blood to the green fields beyond.’

Slim also had to convince the army that they could defeat the Japanese soldiers and, in so doing, to destroy the myth of the Japanese superman. Victories elsewhere, such as the Australian victory in New Guinea, helped in these efforts. However, the Fourteenth Army needed its own victories. The army had to get the feeling that it was "[they] who were hunting the Jap, not he us."

The above was ripped straight from - http://198.231.69.12/papers/amsc1/040.html

[Full Monty]

Dietrich's popularity stemmed largely from his personal bravery and the fact that he 'rose through the ranks'. Whilst a good leader of men he was never better than 'competent' as a general - something, it appears, even he was well aware of - and he certainly owed his promotions to his close association with Adolf Hitler as much as his skills as a commander. He seemed never to lose touch with the men under his command, sharing their privations and successes. I suppose he would have been seen as a 'soldier's soldier' by his troops.

[Doctor Sinister]

Originally Posted by Jon@lbc

Hey doctor sinister do you think you could post a link to your secret evil empires website
(p.s. I am NOT a french spy intent on shutting down your orginisation )

At the risk of hijacking the thread...I used to have a link in my Sig' before the WHQ/ACG merger - but I took it out in case I offended any of our French members.

You'll find a link in my personal profile though. I warn you though - it's not the best looking site in the world...it's the propaganda that counts.

Dr. S.

[cpgor]

I would say Rommel, His men would follow him anywhere and had high morale, he always gave them a chance to win the battle, and he and his officers suffered the same hardships as his men.

[Stage]

Originally Posted by Jon@lbc

Hey doctor sinister do you think you could post a link to your secret evil empires website
(p.s. I am NOT a french spy intent on shutting down your orginisation )

That's the first thing that French Spies ALWAYS say!

[Janos]

Originally Posted by Jon@lbc

Who do you think was the most beloved general in ww2 I thought bradley or Eishonhower I dont mean the most skilled patton had a great tactical mind and kicked german butt but was nicknamed blood and guts by his troops and on two occasions slapped his own troops

I thought of two. Sepp Dietrich (already mentioned) and Omar Bradley, who was dubbed "The Soldier's Soldier" for his popularity with the troops.

[chrisvalla]

Bradley, Monty, Rommel, Yamamoto... maybe not loved but revered highly... would be my suggestions. I'm not familiar enough with Soviet WWII generals to even throw a name in the hat.

[RichardS]

I can only speak for my dad, but he loved Patton. It was, I think, because he knew that Patton for all his faults would shorten the war by not tip-toeing around the enemy.

[Jon@lbc]

I tought it was omar Bradley the soldiers soldier also

[Lance Williams]

Rommel, defying Hitler's orders not to retreat went a long way with his men.