re: Rommel Vs Patton

quote:

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I think the Union wins the war eventually, the numbers and industrial capacity were too much. The South's only chance was to break the Northern voters will and have them force the politicians to seek a peace settlement.

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Which is exactly what the Southern leadership was trying to accomplish. The Army of the Potomac had been thoroughly whipped throughout the war, save at Antietam. War fatigue in the North was widespread and Lincoln was facing a tough challenge from McClellan for the White House; McClellan was running on a peace ticket. You had Vicksburg fall and the victory at Gettysburg sealed on consecutive days, the 3rd and 4th of July. It was a MAJOR boost to Northern morale and essentially won Lincoln another term.

From a tactical standpoint, Gettysburg was a battle that NEVER should have happened. Heath marched division towards the town to seize a shipment of shoes and met a Union screening force of cavalry. Without any reconnaissance (due to Stuart out gallivanting around), Lee threw his army towards the town, as Meade raced his forces there, as well. Lee (1) lost sight of his mission objective, destroying large Union supply caches in PA (2) allowed himself to be bogged down in a large battle that was not necessary to achieve victory (3) gave very vague orders to his subordinates such as telling Ewell to "attack when prudent" up Culps hill. The order should have been to take Culps Hill immediately; this was a case when Jackson was sorely missed. (4) He attacked an entrenched enemy who held the high ground when he could have simply out maneuvered them and found a battlefield that played favorably into his own hands. Lee simply thought his army to be unstoppable and his troops paid a dear price for his hubris.