Ephemera, Americana, & Historical Memorabilia

BALCK, Hermann (1893-1982, German General). Autograph Letter Signed. [Date illegible, ca. 1970s-1980s]. Two folio pages on one leaf. On plain white paper. 11 ¾ x 8 ¼”. One vertical and one horizontal crease. Excellent. Framed under glass as to be visible on both sides; frame is, in turn, attached to a larger frame (larger frame size 25 x 21 ½”). This letter is framed with an English language translation (Balck wrote his letter with the first paragraph in English, the remainder in German): “Dear Mr. Crowe, I’ll answer your letter of the 6th of July in German because it is easier to form the necessary expressions in my own language. Patton: He was the best American General, superior to even the British. Maybe MacArthur was better, I can’t say. In the conduct of war, the Americans set their hope on superior materiel and underestimated the possibilities of skillful operations. This may go back to the Civil War, where the superior materiel potential of the Northern States caused the defeat of Lee, who was a skillful strategist. China, and perhaps Vietnam, proved that to be wrong. Patton was an exception. He was a skillful and decisive strategist. Like lightning, his army attacked our flank in the Ardennes offensive. However, he was not able to fully display his skill, since the American Army had a tendency for excesses, and did not understand him. Without tactics, the materiel is of no value. Even Eisenhower did not recognize that. Had Patton been in Eisenhower’s place, the war would have been decided much sooner. Patton had good political sense, more so than the American hierarchy. Just like MacArthur, Patton had tremendous civil courage. I rate Patton as one of the great American generals. Worthy to go down in history. With hearty regards, Yours, Balck”. A SUPERB LETTER BY ONE OF THE SUPERIOR GERMAN GENERALS - WITH EXCELLENT ANALYSIS OF HIS AMERICAN COUNTERPARTS, NAMELY PATTON, MACARTHUR, AND EISENHOWER.