Patton and Operation Cobra
Wesley Johnston
the hedgerow fighting and the breakthrough and the pursuit of the Germans
across France.
One particularly disturbing assault on accuracy is a series of segment jumps
from the post-Goodwood situation to a shot of Patton standing in an armored
vehicle surveying the scene. I have forgotten the precise narrative the
History Channel gave at this point but it was to the effect that Patton and
the Third US Army were responsible for Operation Cobra. Only then did they
go backwards in time to show scenes of Cobra. But they do not tell you that
this actually occurred before Patton had command of the Third US Army and in
fact before there was a Third US Army as a combat entity. Thus the History
Channel narrative and flow of images leaves the clear impresson that Patton
was the creator and implementer of and the Third US Army was the force for
Cobra.
Now I see that there is a book being offered for sale entitled "Patton:
Operation Cobra and Beyond". I have no idea what it says about Patton and
Cobra. But the superposition of the two once again is disturbing.
Patton and Third US Army later did a great deal for which they do deserve
credit, but I think it is a great disservice to Bradley and First US Army
that this attempt to give credit for their achievement to someone else is
being fostered.
Here is how I understand Cobra to have been conceived and implemented and
why Bradley and First US Army and VII Corps deserve the credit that seems
now to be being given to Patton and Third US Army by some people. The bulk
of this comes from Martin Blumenson's "Breakout and Pursuit" (pp. 185-246),
with some from Patton's own "War as I Knew It" (pp. 91-98).
-------- First, what is the chronology of Cobra and of Third US Army
becoming operational and of Patton's assuming Third US Army
command? --------
Cobra took place on July 20, 1944.
Patton was given verbal command of Third US Army on July 28, 1944, assuming
official command at 1200 on August 1, 1944 but exerting whatever effective
command he could as soon as he could after the verbal orders, keeping in
mind that the troops were at that point still under First US Army until
August 1. He visited his future troops for the first time on July 29.
(WAIKI, p. 96)
-------- Second, what troops carried out Operation Cobra's
breakthrough? --------
The First US Army's VII Corps carried it out, making an attack through a
narrow front. This front, a well-defined rectangle, was to given the most
thorough bombing that had ever been seen, thoroughly devastating the German
defenses not just at the front but for a good distance back from it.
-------- Third, whose idea was Cobra? --------
It was Bradley's idea. Blumenson makes this clear on page 187: " ... General
Bradley had begun to conceive an operation that combined concentrated land
power and an overwhelming bombardment from the air. By 11 July General
Bradley had conceived the idea: two days later the idea became the First
Army's plan. It was called Cobra."
-------- Fourth, what was Patton's role in Cobra? --------
It appears to have been no role at all. In his diary, published as "War as I
Knew It" after his death, he makes no mention of Cobra by name nor by any
other reference: no mention of its planning nor of its implementation nor of
any role of his own in it. In fact, his diary jumps from July 12 to July 24,
noting references to funerals he attended during that time.
If there is someone out there who is among those who is seeking to give
Patton and the Third US Army credit, as the History Channel has, for
Operation Cobra, I would very much like to try to understand the basis of
such a claim.
Wesley Johnston
> > what was Patton's role in Cobra?
Lo on 25 July 44
This is where I think things were stretched by the History Channel show.
I should have cited one more date that Blumenson indirectly references
(p.282): "Strictly considered, Operation COBRA lasted only three days." --
thus COBRA lasted from July 20 to July 22, 1944.
So COBRA was technically over a week before Patton ever had any troops to
command. And strictly speaking, Patton had no role in COBRA but rather a
role in the aftermath of COBRA.
Unfortunately, the History Channel show went beyond just the consideration
of when COBRA ended. By putting a picture of Patton in the field and a
commentary about hsi taking over THIRD ARMY and then following that up with
consideration of COBRA, they changed the actual chronology and left the
distinct impression that COBRA was Patton's and the THIRD ARMY's
achievement.
And I am glad you like the website: I have been warmly rewarded by many
deeply touching notes from people who have benefited from using it. World
War II has had a tremendous and long-lasting impact on the world and
continues to do so.
DBSDESIGN
wrote:
>> what was Patton's role in Cobra?
>Patton's spearhead unit, the 4th Armored >Division, was about 10 miles East of
this >action
Oops. Correction. 4th Armored Div was
10 miles WEST, not East, of the area
selected to make the breakthrough by
General Collins and VII Corps.
DBSDESIGN
HREF="mailto:wwjoh...@aol.com">wwjoh...@aol.com</A>
wrote:
>> what was Patton's role in Cobra? To exploit a general breakthrough
>> that originated a few miles West of St. Lo on 25 July 44
>I should have cited one more date that Blumenson indirectly
>references (p.282): "Strictly considered, Operation COBRA
>lasted only three days."
>-- thus COBRA lasted from July 20 to July 22, 1944.
You may have misunderstood or that's a typographic error.
Operation Cobra began on 25 July 44. I have several books
written by Martin Blumenson and that is the date given
in all of them.
Cobra was originally supposed to start 20 July. Then delayed
by the same monsoon that turned Operation Goodwood into
a quagmire. Then there was a false start on 24 July, in which
USAAF bombers were recalled. The next day, Cobra went on.
>So COBRA was technically over a week before Patton ever had
>any troops to command.
If I was a nitpicking faultfinder, I'd say no. During Operation
Cobra, Patton was unofficially in command of Troy Middleton's
VIII Corps, on the move towards Countances by 28 July.
Officially speaking, VIII Corps, XX Corps and XV Corps became
part of the 3rd Army on 1 August 44. However that was just
a matter of formalizing what already happened.
>>Patton's spearhead unit, the 4th Armored Division, was
>>about 10 miles East
To avoid confusion I should probably repeat that I meant
4th Armored Division was 10 miles West of Collins.
>And strictly speaking, Patton had no role in COBRA but rather
>a role in the aftermath of COBRA.
I agree.
G N Can
breakout at St. Lo. I have always felt that the role of Middleton's
VIII Corps on the right deserves much greater attention than it has
received. Originally, VIII Corps was supposed to provide flank
protection for VII Corp's main effort. The success of 8th Infantry
Division in punching a hole in the German line at Lassay which allowed
the 79th and 90th Infantry and 4th Armored Divisions to advance to
Coustance, prompted Bradley to give Middleton a larger role in the
operation. Patton, who, as stated, was acting as an "observer" to
Middleton's H.Q. "advised" (can anyone picture Patton "advising"
anything) Middleton to assign a Regimental Combat Team to the 4th
Armored (13th Infantry) to race for Avranches with 6th Armored on a
coast road towards Granville. It was this combination of amour and
infantry...infantry riding tanks or following closely in trucks--an
American version of Blitzkrieg if you will...stemming from VIII Corp
that led the way to Avranches way out in front of the rest of VII and
VIII Corp units. When the rest of the American forces caught up and
were funnelling over the Pontaubault bridge, 4th Armored and 13th
Infantry were already on their way to Rennes the capital of Brittany.
Yes, 3rd Army officially became operational on 1 August '44 but Patton's
role and that of Middleton's VIII Corps on the extreme right flank was
quite significant and deserves more attention.
"People get the history they deserve." -General Charles de Gaulle,
lecture to army cadets, St Cyr, 1920.
Wesley Johnston
> You may have misunderstood or that's a typographic error.
> Operation Cobra began on 25 July 44. I have several books
> written by Martin Blumenson and that is the date given
> in all of them.
You are right. It has been a few years since I read Blumenson's book, and I
took the July 20 date from his map on p. 216, which is the plan for COBRA.
The actual start date for COBRA was July 25. That makes more sense when I
read Blumenson's sentence and the following sentence together (p.282):
"Strictly considered, Operation COBRA lasted only three days. By evening of
27 July, the situation had so evolved that General Bradley could conclude
that a successful penetration of the enemy defenses had been achieved."
So COBRA actually lasted from July 25-27, 1944.
> >So COBRA was technically over a week before Patton ever had
> >any troops to command.
>
> If I was a nitpicking faultfinder, I'd say no. During Operation
> Cobra, Patton was unofficially in command of Troy Middleton's
> VIII Corps, on the move towards Countances by 28 July.
> Officially speaking, VIII Corps, XX Corps and XV Corps became
> part of the 3rd Army on 1 August 44. However that was just
> a matter of formalizing what already happened.
This is the most important fact so far and not at all nitpicking. I see that
I also missed this in Blumenson (p.2 88): "He [Bradley] informally appointed
General Patton a second deputy commander and assigned him the mission of
supervising the activities of VIII Corps on the right." Blumenson makes no
more mention of Patton in the context of COBRA.
Patton himself makes no reference to it in his diaries/memoirs, though he
does lament that his own plan was not used (p. 95): "I stated at the time,
and still believe, that two armored divisions, preceded by a heavy artillery
concentration using air bursts, and followed by two infantry divisions,
could have cut straight down the west coast [which means VIII Corps, I
believe] to Avranches, without the necessity of waiting for an air blitz."
He goes on to explain that his belief was based on the invention of the tank
spade, for bulldozing hedgerows.
So Patton's role seems to have been of little impact, even to himself. But
it is clear that he was in fact involved, so that the History Channel
showing a photo of him in the context of COBRA has validity.
Thanks for pointing that out ... not at all nitpicking, since I am trying to
understand if there is any basis in fact for what the History Channel was
portraying.
> >And strictly speaking, Patton had no role in COBRA but rather
> >a role in the aftermath of COBRA.
>
> I agree.
So to this point, I am left with an improved understanding of Patton in the
context of COBRA: he was indeed there and in some form of influence (if only
supervision or unofficial command as opposed to actual command), though that
influence seems to have had little bearing on COBRA. And the History Channel
may not have been altering the time flow to show him there.
But I still have trouble with the History Channel jumping from the
post-Goodwood situation to Patton and THIRD ARMY and framing the whole of
COBRA as if it were Patton's doing ... and more significantly with the
History Channel's failure to give the credit for COBRA to those to whom it
really is due: Bradley, VII Corps, and the FIRST ARMY (and I do not overlook
the airmen; it is just that I am only considering the ground forces here).
I don't usually get invovled in such issues. But we are talking here about
young men who gave up their lives to make COBRA happen -- men who can no
longer speak for themselves. And I just do not want to see someone else
given the credit that they deserve. Patton has enough valid credits: he does
not need to be given claim to someone else's success. We owe it to those who
carried it out to keep the record clear, and I am very troubled that the
History Channel has not done that in this instance.