S8 Ep113: Wartime Beginnings: Patton, Montgomery, and Rommel in the Early 20th Century Professor Lloyd Clark Patton sought action and heroism early on, gaining fame as the "bandit killer" in Mexico in 1916 and exploiting the media spotlight. Montgomery was shot an
The John Batchelor Show
John Batchelor
4.5 • 2.8K Ratings
🗓️ 23 November 2025
⏱️ 9 minutes
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Summary
- Wartime Beginnings: Patton, Montgomery, and Rommel in the Early 20th Century
Patton sought action and heroism early on, gaining fame as the "bandit killer" in Mexico in 1916 and exploiting the media spotlight. Montgomery was shot and severely wounded leading a charge during WWI. This injury led to staffing jobs, which benefited him and the British army, allowing him to focus on leadership fundamentals and professional knowledge. Rommel was a hands-on, micromanaging, and recklessly brave leader, inspiring his troops through his role model status.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is CBSI on the world. |
| 0:06.5 | I'm John Batchew with Professor Lloyd Clark, |
| 0:08.7 | whose no book is The Commanders, |
| 0:10.2 | the leadership journeys of George Patton, Bernard McComery, and Irwin Rommel. |
| 0:14.3 | We go to Patton at war, but surprisingly not at war in the Great War on Europe. |
| 0:20.1 | You will remember that the U.S. did not enter that war until 1917. |
| 0:25.8 | However, Patton in 1916 found his way on to the expeditionary force led by John Pershing in New Mexico. |
| 0:35.1 | What's striking about this with all the time they had on their hands is that |
| 0:38.6 | Patton wound up making what he called a vehicle attack on one of Pancho Villas' lieutenants, |
| 0:48.8 | Julio Cardanus. And surprising to me, Professor, at this point, Patton has this imagination that I'm going to be a hero. |
| 0:58.4 | And he kills the man. |
| 1:00.4 | He shoots him dead. |
| 1:01.8 | He launches the attack. |
| 1:03.7 | Did the death in any way show up in his writing to his parents at this time? |
| 1:08.8 | Did he pause about it? |
| 1:13.1 | Shooting a man is different than imagining it. |
| 1:29.4 | I don't think it preyed on his mind at all. This is a man who, from his first days in the army, sought action, sought to be a hero and was willing to do whatever it took to be successful, |
| 1:31.5 | however that might be defined. |
| 1:39.7 | And just getting onto the expedition to Mexico, he was not backwards in coming forwards. |
| 1:41.5 | He was always innovating. |
| 1:43.4 | He was always pushing the boundaries. And therefore, he recognized that he would have to take risks and that if warfare was about anything, it was about defeating the enemy. |
| 1:52.5 | And if, therefore, somebody got in his way and he had to kill him, that was just the price that people paid. And he was willing to be the person that pulled the trigger |
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