General Mark Clark and his handling of the Italian campaign. He wavered at Salerno, say his detractors, sent the Texans of the US 36th Division to needless deaths across the River Rapido, and most heinous of all, disobeyed General Alexanders orders to cut off the retreating German 10th Army at Valmontone during the DIADEM Battle for Rome, and instead turned the bulk of his forces through the Alban Hills in an effort to reach the Italian capital more quickly. This decision, it has been argued, was motivated largely by personal vanity and an unchecked arrogance that corrupted his military judgement. How many Brits Polish and other allied lives did this little escapade cost with him showboating in Rome. Fox with the runs how many times do we have to bash your head against a wall before you learn people who live in glass houses should not throw stones. You can say a lot about us brits but in the end we are gentlemen and keep our mouths shut about other countries Military disasters, but we could rake up that little falling out with rice growers that started with the French at Dien Bien Phu ending with your Military throwing helicopters of the decks of ships. Just crawl back in your dam hole and keep a civil tongue in your head.
Dont speak unkindly of the dead. Clark, oft berated, was the man we needed in the hour we needed him:
https://www.historynet.com/mark-w-clark-a-general-reappraisal.htmFox is, however, very much alive. Speak candidly of him.
Best,
Ted
