+Patch (Alexander -), generaal die Leopold III bevrijdde. R.I.P.

Hij stierf in de USA aan de gevolgen van een longontsteking.

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Alexander McCarrell Patch Jr. was born in Fort Huachuca, Arizona on November 23rd, 1889, the son of then Captain A. M. Patch Sr. He attended Lehigh University before transferring to the United States Military Academy from which he graduated in 1913. General Patch served during the First World War but came to prominence as a commander during the Second World War. He formed the Americal Division which then served in Guadalcanal in relief of the 1st Marine Division. The XIV Corps under his command lead the final offensive against the Japanese forces there. Patch put down his ideas about leadership with the publication of an article in December, 1943 called “Some Thoughts on Leadership. In 1944, he was transferred to the European Theatre as commander of the 7th Army which landed in southern France in Operation Dragoon. In 1945, he took over the 4th Army. General Alexander M. Patch died of pneumonia on November 21st of the same year.

http://204.218.225.188/GeneralPatchBioN.htm (20031015)

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Een biografie van Patch verschijnt zeer laat, pas in 1991:
Sandy Patch
A Biography of Lt. Gen. Alexander M. Patch
By William K. Wyant
Foreword by Maj. Gen. John S. Guthrie
Praeger Publishers. New York. 1991. 264 pages
LC 91-8748. ISBN 0-275-93454-3. C3454 $78.95
Available (Status Information Updated 9/26/2003)

** Description **

This is the first biography of one of the most important yet least well-known American military leaders of World War II. Written by a veteran journalist and former staff officer who served under General Patch in the Pacific and Europe, it offers a firsthand account of the general's life, personality, and style of command as well as detailed histories of the military campaigns on which his reputation rests.



As commander of the U.S. Seventh Army, General Patch came to prominence in the Pacific, where he led army and marine troops to victory over the Japanese at Guadalcanal. This achievement earned Patch the coveted assignment of leading the assault on the beaches of southern France in 1944, which was to prepare the way for D-Day and the landing at Normandy. The most important battles of his career, however, came in the winter of 1944-1945, when Patch's Seventh Army was able to foresee and crush the last desperate German counterattack mounted in France and join Patton's troops in the closing months of the war. Patch, who was often overshadowed by Patton's colorful and very public persona, deliberately maintained a low profile throughout the war, earning respect through his decisiveness, acute strategic judgment, and deep concern for the safety of his men. World War II military leadership is an area of growing interest to military historians, biographers, and World War II specialists, and this groundbreaking study provides a comprehensive profile of a relatively unknown but much-revered Army officer.

** Table of Contents **

-- Foreword

-- North Wind in the Vosges

-- Education of an Infantry Officer

-- Trouble and Glory on the Border

-- In France with the American Expeditionary Forces

-- The Piping Time of Peace

-- Test on Guadalcanal

-- Savo Island's Shadow

-- Victory on the Island

-- Home, and Then Back to the Wars

-- Now Thrive the Armorers

-- A Phantom Force at Bouzareah

-- To London and Back--Amid Uncertainty

-- Through the Strait of Bonifacio

-- Courage, mon vieux, le diable est mort...

-- Gauntlet at Montelimar

-- And Some Get Away

-- A Salute to the Lion of Belfort

-- At Epinal: A Personal Tragedy

-- On to Strasbourg--First to Reach the Rhine

-- Strasbourg's Fate in the Balance

-- Emptying the Colmar Pocket

-- Patch Returns to the Offensive

-- Blitzkrieg into Southern Germany, and Victory

-- Hang Up Your Sword and Shield

-- At Last, the Footsteps of the Messengers of Peace

-- Home to Our Mountains

-- Bibliography

-- Index

** Author **

WILLIAM K. WYANT, a retired U.S. Army colonel, was a member of the news staff of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch Washington Bureau for nearly twenty-five years, covering the Pentagon, military affairs, and the White House and working on foreign assignments in India, Central America, and the NATO countries. During World War II he served as Secretary to the General Staff of the Seventh Army under General Alexander Patch.

http://info.greenwood.com/books/0275934/0275934543.html (20031015)

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Alexander Patch, the son of an army officer, was born in Fort Huachuca, Arizona, United States on 23rd November, 1889. He attended the West Point Military Academy and graduated in 1913 (75/93) and joined the 13th Infantry Regiment in Texas. He saw action in Mexico and in France during the First World War and by 1918 had reached the rank of lieutenant colonel.
After the war Patch studied at the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth and spent twelve years as Professor of Military Science and Tactics at Staunton. Promoted to colonel he was placed in charge of the recruitment camp at Camp Croft in North Carolina.
After the bombing of Pearl Harbor Patch was promoted to major general and sent to New Caledonia. As head of the 164th Regiment he joined Alexander Vandegrift and his US Marines on Guadalcana on 13th October 1942. Patch led a counter-offensive against the Japanese Army and secured victory on 9th February 1943.
In May 1943 Patch returned to the United States where he was placed in charge of the 4th Corps at Fort Lewis, Washington. He was also given responsibility for the Desert Training Center.
Patch returned to front-line duties when he was placed in charge of the US 7th Army which landed in France near Toulon on 15th August, 1944. His troops advanced up the Rhone Valley and captured the Saar on 15th March 1945. He then went on to force the surrender of German troops under the command of Hermann Balck.
In July 1945 Patch was promoted to lieutenant general and placed in command of the 4th Army based in San Antonio, Texas. Alexander Patch died of pneumonia on 21st November 1945.

http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/2WWpatch.htm (20011015)