Comments by "Big Woody" (@bigwoody4704) on "Operation Compass 1940-41 | BATTLESTORM North African Campaign Documentary" video.
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Just seeing this absolutely a great unkown man. I just told another poster this:
I'm convinced his trajectory would have kept rising.A brilliant man who escaped TWICE finally making it back to allied lines for good somewhere in Italy. He would have never been in that position had Winston rewarded his smashing victory by removing 50,000 of his troops.He had no business in the War room I'm convinced that doomed O'Connor's rising star.I can't imagine Brooke,IKE,Monty,Patton,Bradley,Horrocks,Dempsey,Truscutt doing it. Younger guys like maybe Collins/Gavin/Roberts/Lumsden perhaps
Winston really screwed the pooch there. The guy takes 133,000 Axis troops,400 tanks,1294 Artillery guns in just under 2 months with 36,000 man Army w/o either air superiority or ULTRA and the brandy adled Winston rewards him by taking 50,000 of his troops and sending them to Greece and Crete,FFS.Which IMHO led to his capture
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@Bullet-Tooth-Tony- tony I've read 43 books on the war and the personalities involved in the last 5 yrs . IMHO it goes back to Winston being impatient in July early August '42. He insisted on Auchinleck and Dorman - Smith going on the offensive immediately after the 1st victorious grueling battle of El Alamein July1 - July 27 so 4 weeks. As long as Jerry wasn't attacking and how could they as the were shorter on everything than even 8th Army. They(8th Army) immediately went into training two fresh divisions along with planting a massive mine field on the ridge at Alam Halfa - and I forget the tactical importance of that but it did figure in with the terrain. They HAD to resupply,reinforce and refit,the equipment(trucks,tanks,artillery,etc;) - something about sand and moving parts. So Churchill wanted them to move immediately and it simply wasn't practical.
He screwed up O'Connor(after his victory) by taking 50,000 of his troops a year earlier moving them to Greece/Crete that proved disasterous in all 3 places. But Churchill forgot that and started meddling in Auchinleck's busness. It was in Correlli Barnett's DESERT GENERALS or "Churchill and the Montgomery Myth" by R.W. Thompson (both informative with sources) that state Churchill sacked them because they both agreed on the afore mentioned process. This was the very thing that infuriated/drove Alan Brooke nuts - read Winston's War or Masters and Commanders on that. Great Statesman but Winston should not have been allowed anywhere around a war room or battle plan. Here is the kicker and it has been stated in all of the books on the Desert campaign that Ive read. Auchinlech/Dorman-Smith stated very candidly,bravely needed 6 weeks to resupply,reinforce and refit - makes perfect sense. So Churchill relieved them and called over General William "Strafer" Gott whose plain got shot down
When the Army and Winston then call up Montgomery he tells them he'll take 8 weeks.Which he did Aug13-Oct13) . That really pissed off Winston as he just relieved a winning General who told him that. So Churchill painted himself politically into a corner and couldn't relieve Monty now or the country would call for his head. This is covered very well in in the Desert Generals video on YT with historians Niall Barr,Tim Collins,Corelli Barnett,Nigel Hamilton and a few others just watched it 2 weeks a go and worth another look/listen *https://youtu.be/W4XVMEdghGk*
Here it is
Churchill and the Montgomery Myth" by R.W. Thompson, p57* Auchinleck explained his reasons to Churchill for not committing the green 44th division untrained in the desert and un acclimated.The Prime Minister argued but Auchinleck was adamant.Churchill turned upon Dorman Smith "do you say that too,why don't you use the 44th Division?" *Smith supported his Chief,"the 44th isn't ready,Sir" Because these two officers acted as they did that Morning a division was not squandered and many men's lives were saved, but they set the seal on their own professional doom" wrote John Connell
The judgement of Lt.Gen. Brian Horrocks is especially valuable in this context: "as we know the Prime Minister wanted the 8th Army to launch an immediate offensive. It says much for Auchilecks moral courage that ,at this time, when he was convinced that such an offensive would have little chance of success ,and he was under a cloud, he refused to attack until he was satisfied his troops were trained & reorganized. The 44th HC straight from the U.K. with out any desert experience would have been in on this attack. They might well erect a monument to Auchinleck who unquestionably saved them heavy casualties."
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