An Orgy of Disorder
The Operation Torch landings were the first large-scale amphibious operations conducted at night. The confusion and resulting disarray were beyond anyone’s expectations. Gen. George Patton went ashore at Red Beach 1, near Fedala, to a scene of complete chaos. Instead of a four-mile beachhead, troops and equipment were scattered over forty miles of Moroccan coastline. Only five of seventy tanks had reached shore. To direct naval gunfire, nine fire control parties had landed, but only two were able to communicate with the ships providing support. Local civilians were out on the beaches pilfering supplies and discarded equipment.
Gen. George Patton (Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library)
Patton had once described combat as “an orgy of disorder.”129 What he found in his first actual exposure fully confirmed this view. Once ashore he had little information on what was happening anywhere other than on his own beach. He said, “My theory is that an army commander does what is necessary to accomplish his mission and that nearly 80 percent of his mission is to arouse morale in his men.”130 He did motivate those around him as he worked through the confusion to gain control of his units and to coordinate the advance.
George Patton had many great qualities as a military leader. Demonstrated here is the ability to live with ambiguity, or “the fog of war,” as it is called, and to function in spite of it. This is the norm in combat. In our daily lives we also experience confusing situations where the way ahead is not clear. Our best strategy is to constantly strive to deepen our relationship with the One who cares most for us. As we become more intimate with God, we will be better able to discern the difference between our own thoughts and his voice. When we understand and act on his will, the ambiguity in our lives will disappear.
For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
—1 Corinthians 13:12 (KJV)