do you agree with Patton's evaluation of the best way to resist Soviet aggression? Why or why not?

Answer 1

The Russians were always our grudging allies during the war, as the western powers decided that Nazism was a bigger and more immediate threat than communism. Since 1917, Patton however never trusted the Russians, though he was forced to work with them. Patton's troops had to rub shoulders with Russian troops at several locations along the Western Front by the end of the war, and he didn't like it much. He suspected Stalin was going to do a power grab for territory in eastern Europe, and history shows he was right. Another big factor was that at the end of World War II, the Russians were purposely allowed to capture Berlin, and Patton believed this to be a mistake. Stalin had demanded Berlin from Roosevelt and Churchill, and the western powers agreed because they decided the Russians had suffered so many more casualties than the other allies that they were entitled to have the honor to dish out the payback in Berlin. Also, since Berlin was the German capital, the Germans were expected to fight twice as hard, and they did. The Russians suffered 1 million dead and wounded in the vicious house to house fighting campaign that was required to take Berlin. That's 1 million American, British, French and Canadian soldiers that didn't have to be killed and wounded, and it's a good thing too, because front line American and British infantry divisions on the Western front by 1945 were pretty beaten up and under-strength. As Stalin devoured Eastern Europe, Patton had a famous quote regarding the Russians “I have no particular desire to understand them except to ascertain how much lead or iron it takes to kill them... the Russian has no regard for human life and they are all out sons-of-b**ches, barbarians, and chronic drunks.” If the Russians had not been allowed to capture Berlin, there would never have been a Berlin wall and many aspects of the Cold War would have been very different. Overall, history shows that Patton was right about everything, however the bottom line is the Allies were exhausted by 1945 and nobody wanted to start a whole other new war with the Russians. In the rush to peace and placate the Russians, the Allies made many fundamental mistakes that they paid for dearly later, however it was mostly the right thing to do at the time.

Answer 2

Patton due to his experiences in the 1920's with mccarthyism and the red scare had a very negative opinion of the soviet union. He viewed Russia and communism as barbaric and a threat to all values American and wanted to destroy it at all costs in order to preserve freedom. He never actually was in contact with any russian officials. The policy of containment which the Americans used in Europe in order to push the communist threat to the post war American establishment in western Europe, was advantageous and a logical move in order to preserve power within the American sphere of influence. This allowed the US to assert its dominance and gain economic strength and commercial influence. In addition to this it allowed itself to fund the military industrial complex which further boosted american influence in the sector and contracted american industrial members. This put the US in an advantageous position but did put us into many wars as well such as the middle eastern war in Afghanistan as well as vietnam. This unfortunately created greater animosity and nuclear threats. Elaborate more on this using examples, mention a couple of those conflicts and you'll have your final answer.