Clark

[barrett.t]

Do you think that the American officer Alan Clark should have been court marshaled for listening to his ego and taking Rome when he could have encircled kesselring's army and saved American lives? Sorry if I have the name wrong but you get the point I hope. Can someone explain to me about the ego. I cannot touch it or smell it but everyone's got one??????????????????????

[Brett]

I believe you are talking about Mark Clark

Mark Wayne Clark - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Technically, someone can only be court marshaled for a
criminal act. The military includes crimes that aren’t
considered crimes for a civilian (for instance desertion).
I’m not sure if insubordination is considered a military
crime, which at least from the above web site he sounds
guilty of.

At any rate, I would agree he should have been relived
of command.

However, in the larger sense I would argue that the
offensive in Italy was one of the biggest Allied blunders
of the war. I believe there was good airfield sites around
Foggia that were worth seizing, but that was S. of Rome

The counter argument I see is that German troops were
diverted from more important fronts. I would respond:

1. The diversion argument cuts both ways. The Italian
offensive diverted Allied troops to a theater with miserable
terrain, ideal for defense and too mountainous for Allies to
exploit their superior mobility.

2. Allies could have diverted German troops even
without an offensive. Hitler was notorious for
keeping forces in strategically valueless locations
(for instance Stalingrad after it was cut off & kept
a division in the British channel islands until the
end of the war). With just threats, commando
raids, & support for Italian partisans, the Allies
could have tied down significant Axis forces with
minimal cost.

[Hagen]

Wow!! If you court martialed every general with an ego problem who would lead??

[barrett.t]

Me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Whiterook]

Yeah, Mark Clark has been the topic of heated debate, and is widely considered a flawed commander. I must confess that I've not read enough about the man to form my own opinion yet. An interesting topic to research though!

[MAGNA]

Originally Posted by Hagen

Wow!! If you court martialed every general with an ego problem who would lead??

That is a very good point.