Which taught me more: Patton v. The Victors?
             Before this class began I can honestly say that I did not know much about World War II. I learned about the wars throughout history class in high school, but never really took an interest. I have never been a huge fan of war; I believe most problems can be settled more efficiently. To me, the thought of solving problems by killing innocent people and ruining the land the war was fought on is just creating a bigger problem.
             As we were watching Franklin Schaffner's movie Patton and also reading the book The Victors by Stephen Ambrose, it seemed to spark my memory; and little things I had learned were coming back to me. These two pieces vary by showing different areas of the battlefield from the actions of a brave private to the viewpoint of the great allied generals, along with explaining and examining the German standpoint. The movie and the book helped to refresh my memory about World War II, if not teach me more than I already knew and also gave me a different perspective on the war.
             The movie, Patton, tells the tale of one man's journey during World War II. General George S. Patton was one of the most controversial figures of the war. He participated in some of the most crucial battles of World War II. Many military experts consider him to be America's greatest general, a hero of the war. This is displayed early in the film, when Patton and his troops arrive in North Africa. Allied troops had just taken profound casualties in a battle with the German Army. Patton quickly takes over the situation, turns things around and eventually runs the German army out of North Africa. He was probably the most charismatic generals in World War II. Patton's battlefield intelligence garners him fear and respect from the Germans, and resentment and misunderstanding from the Allies. Patton was great at being a General, but not as good with his social skills. Whi...