In the second scene in the 1970 academy award-winning movie Patton, one gets a gruesome view of the results of a severe American defeat.
The scene depicted Kasserine Pass in Tunisia, North Africa during World War II.
Amidst the smoldering ruins of tanks and other armored vehicles, local Arabs were looting the valuables from the bodies of dead American soldiers.
American officers arrived in jeeps to survey the damage. They fired several rounds of ammunition into the air, causing the looters to flee before they could pilfer more items.
Actor Karl Malden, playing the part of General Omar Bradley, sadly scanned the scene. After such a humiliating American defeat at the hands of the Germans, there were lessons to be learned and changes that needed to be made.
The Battle of Kasserine Pass took place Feb. 19-25, 1943.
That was 75 years ago.
By all accounts, Americans were simply not prepared for their first major confrontation with Germany in World War II.
American soldiers lacked fighting experience, and they needed better leadership. In addition, the Allied command structure was inefficient and was too cumbersome to make prompt battlefield adjustments.
In head-to-head combat, German tanks were far superior to the American M-3 Lee and M-3 Stuart tanks that were widely used in the early-going in North Africa. Even when the larger American Sherman tanks were put in to the fight, they were still not the equal of German armor.
To make matters worse, the German effort in the North African countries was coordinated by a brilliant battlefield technician in General Erwin Rommel.
General Bradley wrote of the loss at Kasserine in his memoirs entitled A Soldier's Story.
Bradley had been sent by General Dwight D. Eisenhower to investigate the matter and to report back.
In interviews with officers and noncoms, Bradley was told that the Germans were a strong adversary, but that the real reason for the loss was that the Americans simply hadn't seen combat. He also learned that many of the officers no longer had confidence in the leadership of General Lloyd Fredendall.
Furthermore, the command structure was ineffective, and almost every last soldier knew it.
Historian Carlo D'Este wrote that one soldier quipped, "Never were so few commanded by so many from so far away."
While no one blamed the loss entirely upon leadership, Eisenhower relieved Fredendall and replaced him with a hard-charging general.
In the movie Patton, the actor portraying General Bradley said, "Up against Rommel what we need is the best tank man we've got, somebody tough enough to pull this outfit together."
"Patton?" one officer asked.
"Possibly," Bradley replied.
The officer grinned. "God help us."
In 1943 General George S. Patton was already known as a capable but flamboyant leader.
By the time the war was over in 1945, people would understand all too well that Patton was a man with shortcomings. But more importantly, the entire world would know that Patton had a gift for unleashing an army's fury upon the enemy, and that gift helped the Allies secure victory in Europe.
The American failure at Kasserine Pass made it possible for Patton to step in and demonstrate his leadership ability. He soon got an important American win at El Guettar in Tunisia in March and April of 1943.
After American forces had been mauled by the Germans at Kasserine, El Guettar gave them the opportunity to bounce back. It was there, under Patton, that they got their first victory over Germany.
Patton himself would tell you that he was destined for greatness, with or without the American defeat at Kasserine, and he would be right.
But 75 years ago, an embarrassing defeat forced Americans to regroup--and in the midst of the largest war in history--they began their long march to victory.
-- David Wilson, EdD, of Springdale, is a writer and teacher at heart. His book, Learning Every Day, includes several of his columns and is now available on Amazon, iTunes, and Barnes and Noble. You may e-mail him at [email protected]. The opinions expressed are those of the author.
Editorial on 02/21/2018