How one could make the call between Montgomery and Patton for “most arrogant” I cannot even begin to imagine. They were both arrogant to a point mere mortals cannot begin to comprehend.
Patton’s own argument that at least knew he was a Prima Donna and PIA, Monty’s problem was he would not admit to it.
I think this makes Monty slightly more arrogant. Not that it matters much.
I knew a few that served under Patton in either Sicily or the 3rd Army’s match across France. Patton was generally respected but not loved at all. The old guy I knew that served in the 3rd army thought he was the best general in the war. He liked to point out that though Patton’s casualties were high, the casualties vs. land taken was one of the lowest. He said something along the lines of the men hating the commanders that would keep expending lives over the same 2 miles. My take was he took a lot of pride in being with Patton’s army.
Horatio Nelson was pretty beloved, apparently – at least by the people of Britain. His death at Trafalgar was considered a national tragedy. Given that many of the sailors in the fleets were there under duress (press-ganged), I do wonder how they actually felt about him.
George Washington. At times he was greatly loved and respected by the men who served with him; at other times they were openly rebellious.
His political career was equally filled with love and hatred. Thomas Paine said history would decide if Washington was “an apostate or an impostor” and wrote Washington a personal letter saying that he prayed for his death.
I’ll give him the European Theatre. But MacArthur was his equal in the Pacific.
George B. McClellan (US Civil War, Union side) was elaborately loved by his men, despite his poor track record in actual battle. There was even “staff talk” of the Army marching on Washington to force the President to retain him in command, although it came to nothing. When Little Mac was fired for the second and final time, the soldiers remained loyal to civilian authority, but did permit themselves huge displays of grief at losing their commander. One writer has suggested that they recognized that McClellan’s removal meant the war was going to become a lot “harder,” which in fact happened. McClellan had indeed been ambivalent about pursuing advantage over the South.
No other Union general in that war would be loved in the same way; although some would become favorites, the Army of the Potomac lost its innocence after McClellan and became cynical.
Luigi Cadorna (World War I, Italian) combined the worst sort of repetitive, unimaginative bloodletting with brutal savagery toward his own men, executing more of his own soldiers than any other commander in the war. He lost 11 consecutive battles over the same ground – largely because he was unable to overcome the enemy’s extensive reserve trench system – and was then attacked on that same ground, and having failed to dig reserve trenches of his own, was routed. He punished whole units for the actions of a few, and became reviled throughout Italy by bereaved or fearful parents.
He later went on to two notable postwar “distinctions” – he was given a medal by Mussolini, and he “won” the Straight Dope Message Board “Worst Military Leader” Elimination Game.
Dagnabbit. I’ve been waiting to get to a PC all morning so I could check my cites and post McClellan. Finally I get the toddler off to a nap, fire up the PC, and get ready to post, only to find you’ve beaten me by a couple minutes. Curse you!
I’ve heard very different opinions of Patton from WW2 vets, but I definitely encountered several who shared your dad’s take.
Some sneered about his nickname, “Old Blood and Guts,” noting that it was OTHER people’s blood and guts Patton was spilling.
I’ve posted in at least one other thread that it was damn lucky that MacArthur was in the Pacific: had he been in the ETO with Montgomery and Patton, the sheer concentration of ego would have formed a singularity large enough to swallow the continent.
I’ve read that the US Marines and ANZAC troops in the South West Pacific area cordially detested MacArthur because he would assign them the worst possible invasion sites while reserving the (relative) creampuffs for the Army. Then have shitfits when they didn’t just walk over the Japanese.
It also didn’t endear him to the USMC that he called Alexander Vandegrift a glory hound. Talk about pot v kettle . . .