Scott McGraw
Professor Powell
FYSM 120 – Leadership, War, and Hollywood
September 19th, 2019
Patton vs. Bradley
The movie Patton features two very important generals: Patton and Bradley. Both of them have differences that make them different types of leaders. Both generals wanted to reach the same goal of defeating the Germans in WWII. Originally Bradley was under the commands of Patton, but later on, in the movie Bradley was able to command himself. Throughout the movie you can see how they develop and struggle as leaders. Both have features that a great leader has and what a weak leader has. No leader has the combined qualities of these two because it simply wasn’t possible under their circumstances. Ultimately, I think Patton was the more successful leader. When it comes down to it Bradley’s troops were more willing to obey his directions, but Patton made more progress. Sure, Bradley was a more intelligent person, even Patton stated that Bradley was very smart later on in the movie but being more intelligent also gave him less power. Being the more successful leader, I would also want to emulate general Patton over Bradley. Although Patton made some very questionable decisions throughout his time, I believe he was a more profound leader and made more of a mark on people throughout their journeys in the war. These are the reasons that Patton was the more successful leader and why I would rather emulate him as well.
General Patton was judged because of his discipline. General Bradley was smarter than Patton. There wasn’t a doubt about it. In battle though, brain smarts do not always win. A reason why Patton was seen sometimes as a bad leader is because he was too harsh when it came to his discipline. A scene that illustrated this is after his first battle in the movie. After witnessing many casualties Patton went into the doctor’s tent where injured troops were being held. Patton paid his respects to the injured soldiers who got hurt in battle and thanked them for fighting alongside him. There was one person though who was crying on the edge of the bed because he couldn’t take the trauma that comes with war. Patton slapped the helmet off his head and told him that he wouldn’t have any cowards in his army. Afterward, he sent him to fight at the front of the line for the next battle. Although I understand his point, he was too harsh. Acting cowardly in a battle situation isn’t good for the minds of the rest of the troops. Because he was in the doctor’s tent, being that he wasn’t injured, Patton took offense to that and thought it was disrespectful towards the injured troops. The fear Patton implemented in his troops, and the bravery and boldness he had, and willingness to keep fighting and keep advancing with no regard is what made him more successful. I don’t completely agree with his discipline strategies, but they gave him better results than Bradley. Pushing on and on is dangerous, and doesn’t involve much strategy, but that, along with his discipline, were the reasons why he was one of the most feared generals to the Germans. Bradley lost more men being too cautious. Sure, he was better at strategy, but when it comes to winning a battle in WWII, Patton’s boldness went farther than Bradley’s caution.
I would rather emulate general Patton because of his boldness and bravery. A quality that often makes a leader a good leader is being able to motivate their followers. A leader who can motivate their followers and make them willing to obey them makes them great. Bradley couldn’t do that. Followers were more willing to listen to him, but what he did with that made him weak. Patton was strong. Sure, a good leader is respected, but especially during war, a good leader is feared. Patton was one of those leaders who, when he was in charge, would never second guess himself or take crap from anyone. Patton’s guts are what made him advance so far in battles and what stirred up so much fear in the Germans. Sometimes having the respect of your enemies is more important than having the respect of your allies. This is especially the case with Patton. Bradley got along well with all of the allies but was not feared nor respected as much as Patton was by the Germans. He would dig himself out of bad situations like lack of supplies or lack of help from the allies but would always manage to prove his strength and persevere. Besides his harshness, there was no reason not to follow this man into battle. I would rather be a strong and feared leader than a smart and cautious leader. That might just be my personal opinion. but this, to me, demonstrates again why Patton was more successful and explains why I emulate him over Bradley.
The worst part about war is all the deaths that come along with it. Any leader would want the best of their troops and would want all of them to come out alive. The best leaders knew that wasn’t possible. Patton’s bravery and boldness drove him to become more feared and more successful than Bradley. Many deaths occurred during the war but being afraid is the worst way to go into battle, and Patton knew that. This is why he was more successful, and this is why I emulate him. The best leaders know that sometimes the harder or scarier decisions, like pushing one, are the better ones.