Content deleted Content added
Citation bot (talk | contribs) Misc citation tidying. | Use this bot. Report bugs. | Suggested by AManWithNoPlan | #UCB_CommandLine |
Derim Hunt (talk | contribs) mNo edit summary |
||
Line 70:
On March 5, 1943, after the American [[Battle of Kasserine Pass|rout at Kasserine Pass]], Eisenhower visited II Corps headquarters and conferred with Brigadier General Bradley. Eisenhower asked "What do you think of the command here?" Bradley's response was "It's pretty bad. I've talked to all the [[Division (military)|division]] commanders. To a man they've lost confidence in Fredendall as the corps commander." British [[General (United Kingdom)|General]] [[Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis|Sir Harold Alexander]], the [[18th Army Group]] commander, informed Eisenhower that he would welcome a replacement for Fredendall.<ref>[[Martin Blumenson|Blumenson, Martin]], ''Masters of the Art of Command,'' Da Capo Press (1990), {{ISBN|0-306-80403-4}}, {{ISBN|978-0-306-80403-8}}, p. 284.</ref> Eisenhower offered the II Corps command to Harmon, who declined on the grounds that it would be unethical to appear to personally benefit from his negative assessment of Fredendall.
Eisenhower then decided on [[Major general (United States)|Major General]] [[George S. Patton]] as Fredendall's replacement. On March 5, 1943, Eisenhower personally flew to [[Tébessa|Tebessa]] to inform Fredendall of his decision to replace him, which he couched in terms of a routine reassignment.<ref>[[John Eisenhower|Eisenhower, John S. D.]], ''Allies: Pearl Harbor to D-Day'', Da Capo Press (2000), {{ISBN|0-306-80941-9}}, {{ISBN|978-0-306-80941-5}}, pp. 279–280.</ref> Eisenhower arranged the replacement so that Fredendall's reputation was not formally brought into disrepute, an action some believe he soon came to regret.<ref>Blumenson, pp. 282–284.</ref><ref>Eisenhower, John S. D., ''Allies: Pearl Harbor to D-Day'', Da Capo Press (2000), {{ISBN|0-306-80941-9}}, {{ISBN|978-0-306-80941-5}}, p. 280: "Upon assuming command of II Corps, Patton was given specific personal written instructions by Eisenhower, including this directive: "You must not retain for ''one instant'' any man in a responsible position where you have become doubtful of his ability to do his job."</ref> On March 6, 1943, Patton replaced Fredendall. When Patton arrived at II Corps headquarters, Fredendall was at breakfast. Patton had disliked Fredendall in 1941 when they were both division commanders at [[Fort Benning]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]]. After a brief conference, Patton formally relieved him, saying II Corps "was primarily a tank show and I know more about tanks." Patton noted in his diary that Fredendall was "Very nice, conducted himself well – very well." In a letter to his wife Beatrice that day, Patton even wrote that "Fredendall is a great sport, and I feel sure, is a victim largely due to circumstances beyond his control." However, only a week later, after an initial inspection of his new command, Patton had completely changed his mind: "I cannot see what Fredendall did to justify his existence."<ref>Perry, Mark, ''Partners in Command: George Marshall and Dwight Eisenhower in War and Peace'', London: Penguin Group (2007), {{ISBN|1-59420-105-6}}, {{ISBN|978-1-59420-105-9}}, p. 178.</ref>
Fredendall was the first of seven American corps commanders in World War II to be "relieved of command" (most for medical reasons), but despite this, he received one more promotion: in June 1943, he was advanced to lieutenant general.
| |||