Further comment on Patton. He was criticized for sending a column many miles behind enemy lines to a POW camp where his son-in-law was held. The mission failed and he was heavily criticized. Let me give you a different perspective.
In December 1944, he had his army ready to invade Germany. One day before the kickoff, he was called to march his troops north to meet the Germans. If he had been given the go-ahead, the war would have been shortened. Such was why he was able to move his entire army in three days.
You need to understand why he sent a column to the POW camp. He was duplicating a risky, but successful raid by Mosby during the Civil War which resulted in a Union General being captured and the defenses around Washington to be changed. If his sprint to the POW camp had been successful, it would have altered German plans.