Blackhorse
Posts: 1983
Joined: 8/20/2000
From: Eastern US
Status: offline
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I'm to blame for USMC and US Army leader ratings.*
I put some time and effort into fixing (what I perceived) as the most egregious errors in stock. In the interests of time I focused primarily on the Division and HQs commanders, although a few other noteworthy individuals (e.g. "Chesty" Puller; Marine Raider and Presidential son LTC James Roosevelt) were added or tweaked as well.
Several US Army divison commanders (including, most controversially, Ralph Smith) were relieved of command. I lowered most of their ratings from stock.
In general, most US Army leaders will have low aggression compared to Marine leaders. That reflects doctrinal differences -- and is primarily what led to Ralph Smith being relieved by the Marine's 'Howling Mad' Smith. MacArthur has value as one of the few senior US Army commanders with a high aggression rating. For all his faults, few other senior Army generals would have had the gumption or the ability to conduct his 1943-44 offensives on what was - for Americans - a logistical shoestring.
I am a big Stilwell fan. I think he was a great combat commander, and, like MacArthur, one of the few naturally aggressive US Army senior leaders in the Pacific. But Stilwell was miscast in a quasi-diplomatic role. He managed to alienate Chiang, Chennault and most of the British hierarchy in CBI. Lacking US forces of his own to command, to be effective Stilwell had to secure cooperation from the Chinese and the Brits -- and he failed to do so. To cite just one example, had Stilwell been more skilled in personally diplomacy Chiang might have given him authority to directly command the Chinese troops in Burma, which in turn would have made Stilwell more effective. One British General called him, "the best three-star company commander in the theatre". I reflected all this by reducing Stilwell's 'Admin' rating -- if you think there is a better way to reflect this shortcoming of "Vinegar Joe" I'm open to it.
Buckner's ratings went up from his Percival-esque level in stock -- IMHO, he was competent, but with low aggression.
While I have opinions on the qualities of several Generals, and reasons for the ratings, I also have a thick skin, and I'm not emotionally invested in promoting the reputation of any of them. I welcome questions and suggestions on how to improve the ratings.
* = and for adding the fictional Quinton McHale to the database. "McHale's Navy" was a 1960s US television comedy starring Ernest Borgnine as a PT-boat commander in the Solomons in WWII.
< Message edited by Blackhorse -- 11/29/2009 5:17:50 PM >
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WitP-AE -- US LCU & AI Stuff
Oddball: Why don't you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don't you dig how beautiful it is out here? Why don't you say something righteous and hopeful for a change?
Moriarty: Crap!
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