Operation COBRA

On July 25 of 1944, Allied ground forces under the command of Gen. Omar Bradley (who's quote regarding Gen. McArthur's stance on going to war with China over Korea was that it was "the wrong war, in the wrong place, at the wrong time" was pilfered by John Kerry last year...unattributed, might I add), bogged down in the countryside of Normandy, decided to end the slog with one big push. Bradley conceived of a "breakout" of Normandy, which would consist of using medium and heavy bombers, in concert with ground forces, to obliterate German resistance to the Allied advance once and for all. From June 4 to late July, Allied forces had been moving slow through Normandy, getting picked off at will by Germans who hid behind the massive hedgerows that ran parallel on both sides to a great many Normandy roads. The casualty rates were too high for the invasion to be successful, even after the initial landings in early June.

Employing heavy B-24s and B-17s, as well as medium B-26 bombers, Allied aircraft pounded the German line for days at a time. But a few things happened that didn't go according to plan: some bombers let their payload go too soon, and bombed the American lines. 100 GIs lost their lives to "friendly" bombing, 600 were injured. Lost in the bombing was Lt. Gen. Leslie McNair, the highest ranking officer in US history to ever lose his life to "friendly" fire.

Despite the losses, the bombing was successful, and American forces met diminished resistance going forward. The actions taken during Operation COBRA would be the reason behind the successful push to Paris, which was liberated in late August of 1944. Despite its success, Eisenhower was left bitter by the American casualties that the bombers inflicted, vowing never again to use heavy air bombardment in coordination with ground advancement in any future operations.

I bring up Operation COBRA for a couple of reasons. Pre-eminent British military historian John Keegan, through his research, has put casualty figures throughout ALL wars at or around 25%. Some have claimed that military casualties due to friendly fire run as high as 40% of all casualties inflicted. Whatever the number is, one salient truth holds firm: war is a dirty, deadly, and unpredictable business. Thucydides, whilst writing about the Peloponnesian Wars, once stated that, "...when a man comes face to face with his enemy, he rarely sees what he needs to see.." It was as true in 460 B.C. as it is today.

Much was made a few months back about the death of Pat Tillman, the professional football player who decided to foresake fame, fortune, and (relative) safety to join the US Army. That Tillman immediately advanced through the ranks to become a Ranger, one of the most elite units in the Army, was no surprise. Tillman subsequently lost his life in Afghanistan, the result of what has been designated as "friendly fire". Tillman's parents have been quite vocal in their anger over their contention that the military attempted to "whitewash" his death and make it appear more heroic than it really was. Understandably so. However, how he died, be it via enemy or friendly fire, is immaterial in the grand scheme of things. That he was in Afghanistan, with the Army Rangers....that was more than heroic enough.