Quote Originally Posted by johnmacadam View Post
In terms of 'great' war generals, the British only have Montgomery. The man who won the desert war against Rommel and gave them their first victory. The British in fact like Rommel more, he was a 'good' Nazi.

In fact the British don't really like their generals at all. Any study of British history, especially WW1 has a standard view of 'lions led by donkeys'.

WW2 doesn't have the same ressonnance, maybe because the number of British war dead was less than half that of WW1, maybe because WW1 still looks like a colossal blunder by blimpish morons, whilst WW2 looks like a classic battle between good and evil.

The Marshall Plan was morally honorable, but also a political act. Whether the US would have felt so inclined if the Soviet bear wasn't slavering at the door is impossible to say.
I never thought about it before but now that you mention it, I can't think of a single well-known British general (aside from Montgomery) since Wellington. And even Montgomery I would have to hedge on the word "great." He did very little that was new and extraordinary. He defeated Rommel by building up the proverbial irresistible force behind the lines at Alamein and literally blasting the Axis from their positions. And even there he wasn't able to contain them, prevent them from withdrawing in good order. The one really daring plan which he had, "Market Garden", was a only partial success at best.

As for the Marshall Plan, every interchange between sovereign nations is, by its nature, political. Each national leader tries, or at least SHOULD try, to get the best possible outcome for his own country. While it may have been hard on Britain and France, I doubt you would find too many Americans who would be disappointed. But my interests don't lie in the political arena. I'm more into the military aspects of the war.

And by the way, Rommel was not a Nazi, not a member of the party. He was a German general/ field marshall, and he supported the leader of his country as far as he could, as is expected of any military commander. But he was never a Nazi. There can be no doubt, though, that he was among the best generals in the war.