Lloyd Fredendall

Lloyd Fredendall (December 28, 1883 - October 4, 1963) was an American General during World War II. Major General Fredendall is best known for his command of the Central Task Force landings during Operation Torch, and his command of the US II Corps during the early stages of the Tunisia Campaign. In February 1943, whilst in command of II Corps, his forces were defeated by German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel in the Battle of Kasserine Pass. This contributed to Fredendall's dismissal and replacement with General George Patton in March 1943. Fredendall was generally considered neither likable nor competent.

Career

Fredendall was once described by American General Lucian K. Truscott as,

"Small in stature, loud and rough in speech, he was outspoken in his opinions and critical of superiors and subordinates alike. He was inclined to jump to conclusions which were not always well founded. Fredendall rarely left his command post for personal visits and reconnaissance, yet he was impatient with the recommendations of subordinates more familiar with the terrain and other conditions than he." [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3723/is_200303/ai_n9222724 "Command Failures]

Fredendall's British commander, Lieutenant-General Kenneth Anderson, considered him incompetent well prior to the loss at Kasserine. Fredendall was given to speaking and issuing orders using his own slang, such as calling infantry units "walking boys" or artillery "popguns". Instead of using the standard military map grid-based location designators, he would make up confusing codes such as "the place that begins with C". This often led to confusion amongst his subordinates, and precious time was lost attempting to figure out his meaning.

Before Kasserine, Fredendall used an engineer company to build a large, dug-in Corps headquarters 70 miles behind the front. General Omar N. Bradley called it "an embarrassment to every American soldier". Fredendall neither visited the front nor considered input from commanders farther forward. He split up units and scattered them widely, often positioning elements too far apart for mutual support or effective employment of artillery, the strongest U.S. arm.

After the Battle of Kasserine Pass, on 5 March 1943, Eisenhower visited the II Corps headquarters and conferred with Bradley. Eisenhower asked "What do you think of the command here?" Bradley's response was "It's pretty bad. I've talked to all the division commanders. To a man they've lost confidence in Fredendall as the corps commander"." On 6 March 1943, at Eisenhower's direction, General George S. Patton relieved Fredendall.

Fredendall spent the rest of the war in training assignments in the United States.

The American historian (and retired Army officer) Carlo D'Este has described Fredendall as "...one of the most inept senior officers to hold a high command during World War II". [D'Este, Carlo (1995). Patton: A Genius for War. New York: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-016455-7.] 2nd Armored Division commander Ernest Harmon, in his after action report for the Kasserine battle, called Fredendall "a son of a bitch" and later said he was both a moral and physical coward.

Commands

*1936-1938 Commanding Officer 57th Regiment, Philippines
*1938-1939 Executive Officer to Chief of Infantry
*1940-1941 Commanding General 4th Division
*1941-1943 Commanding General II Corps
*1942 Commanding General Central Task Force, Operation Torch, North Africa
*1943 Commanding General XI Corps
*1943 Deputy Commanding General Second United States Army
*1943-1946 Commanding General Second United States Army
*1943-1946 General Officer Commander in Chief Central Defense Command
*1946 Retired

ee also

*Operation Torch
*Battle of Sidi Bou Zid
*Battle of the Kasserine Pass

References

Further reading

*cite book | title = An Army at Dawn | author = Rick Atkinson | year = 2002 | id = ISBN 0-8050-6288-2

External links

* [http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3723/is_200303/ai_n9222724 "Command Failures"] , Steven L. Ossad (from findarticles.com)