Well I'll put one in Ulysses' column
Several times Grant made decisions which indicate to me that he had the capacity to understand the enemy as people. His humble backgrounds provided a means of empathizing with the common man and his priorities. With Vicksburg Grant issued a great number of pardons rather then try and ship Confederate soldiers North knowing the the great majority of them would return home - they'd had enough. He further understood that by keeping them at home there was a greater burden on the South vs. moving that burden to the North - such as tying up rail roads and other resources.
This did not inhibit Grant from ruthlessly engaging the enemy when that is what supported the military objective - he just had the foresight to understand how to employ both direct and indirect ways toward operational and strategic ends.
He also understood the long term requirements for political redress needed to integrate the South back into the Union. While there were some things that were unconditional and the South had to realize it was beaten, there must be the potential for a lasting peace. As such he avoided many things that could have made peace more difficult to live with.
Patton (and the rest of his USMA peers) did study the American Civil War and its leaders. He must've had an acute sense of why they took the actions they did. He may well have considered some of those lessons as they began to consider how the U.S. would help put Europe back together again.
I might add the when considering any wars - consider the political object of the war; when considering battles, the object is most often purely military - although it might have operational or strategic significance and as such, effect the political end.
Best regards, Rob
Dunno about that but he was a loser
There was once an Armor School commandant who banned the playing of Garry Owen by the post Band while he was there. Good man.
Patton was a "small warrior"!! Kind of...
I realize this thread has gone a bit cold, and all may have moved on, but I've some news on this matter. Patton's 3rd Army had an OSS organization in his G-3 called a Special Forces Detachment. Each of Ike's numbered armies had such an organization. Patton's was led by Lt Col R. I. Powell and his mission was to link the 3rd Army with the SOF guys (The Jedburghs and others) who were out with the resistance groups. I don't want to scoop myself too much here, but Powell and SHEAF's allied SOF coordinated with various French resistance groups to cover Patton's southern flank. They requested air dropped weapons, met with various FFI leaders, and Powell was back and forth to London to coordinate activities. I've nothing with Patton's writing on it giving me any indication how he felt about the FFI capabilities, (this is one of the great sadnesses of my life at the moment) but I know the SOF guys briefed him up on stuff. I just have yet to find any words of his regarding how he felt about the whole issue. But I suspect he was doing his "Big war" thing and happy to have someone running a small war that covered his flank.