A good leader, as Patton knew, tells his or her subordinates what is expected, or what the overall goal is. Marking the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, The National WWII Museum connects two instances of remorse for Nazi criminality by leading German politicians. Adcocks civilian deputy, Walter Dorn, was a history professor on leave from Ohio State University. Courtesy of the National Archives and Records Administration. General Patton was once of the greatest military generals who ever walked the earth. I got nothing for Tunisia, nothing for Sicily and nothing for the Bulge. Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content. Of German origin, he was determined to rid Germany of all vestiges of Nazism. As the Third Army approached the German border, the advance was slowed because of supply shortages, but it was not stopped until it met the strong German defenses at Nancy and Metz in November. Been reading a book about Patton and ran across this. Another was Sean Flynn, Erroll Flynns son, who was a combat photograher at the same time and who almost certainly would have photographed someone as significant as a Patton descendant in combat. I dont know if you ever visit Luxemburg or did see part of Germany and retraced his voyage, but I wish I could because I always loved your Grandma tremendously and cant read or see a film or documentary without crying Pattons supporters claim that the Cold War may have unfolded differently had the West taken the capital, but this largely ignores the military situation on the ground in eastern Europe. Patton was commanding general of the western task force during the successful U.S. landings at Casablanca in November 1942. There he will have an honored place. Gordon made a play for the general, DEste wrote, and after Patton and Gordon returned from an unchaperoned trip to another island, Beatrice realized that they were having an affair, he wrote. On the evening of December 8, Gay suggested to Patton that they should spend the following day pheasant shooting in an area known to be rich in game about 100 miles southwest of the headquarters. Patton had wanted to push on to Berlin, but Eisenhower rejected the idea, deeming the cost too high for a city already allotted to the Soviets by the terms of the Yalta agreement. World War II made George Patton a hero, but the Great War made him a commander. May the Great Worm gnaw your vitals, Beatrice pronounced, uttering what DEste said was a feared curse she had learned in Hawaii years before. I will ALWAYS say and think that he was the greatest General that the 20th century ever seen and I wished they could have unleashed him because the world would look quite different if they did. Death: October 01, 1871 (89) Lincoln County, Kentucky, USA . He was obviously in a post which he was unsuited by temperament, training or experience to fill. In the opening strokes of the Battle of the Bulge, platoon leader Vernon McGarity distinguished himself in combat, inspired his men, and saved lives while delaying the onslaught of German forces. George S. Patton, who was the son of the famous World War II General and who became a Major General in the Army himself, died June 27, 2004, at his home in Hamilton, Mass., at age 80. Along with the faux pas committed during his Boston speech, Pattons past indiscretions continued to dog him. When his wife asked about birthday plans he curiously responded: 'No Glenice. George passed away on the 23 rd of September 2018, aged 72. The complaint landed on the desk of Ikes civil affairs officer, Brig. Prior to the Normandy Invasion, he was publicly placed in command of the First U.S. Army Group (FUSAG), a fictitious army whose supposed marshaling in eastern England helped to deceive German commanders into thinking that the invasion would take place in the Pas-de-Calais region of France. For decades since General George S. Patton's untimely death in December 1945 there have arisen all manner of conspiracy theories regarding it. George Patton was also the great-grandfather of Major General George Patton IV, who died in 2004. Patton was educated at The Hill School. Patton was rushed to the 130th Station Hospital in Heidelberg, 12 miles away. What exactly he meant is unclear, but needless to say this remark enraged those who had lost relatives in the war and telegrams and letters soon began to flood into the War Department demanding an apology. Seventh Army into Sicily, employing his armour in a rapid drive that captured Palermo in July and Messina in August. This is the only language they understand and respect. The French government, grateful for Pattons role in liberating their country, offered to bury him in Napoleons tomb, where a number of great marshals were laid to rest. Patton was just an average general, nothing more. While he was without a combat command at the time of his death, the occasion was nonetheless significant given his . On May 26, 1910, he married Beatrice Banning Ayer, the daughter of Boston industrial tycoon Frederick Ayer. Patton renamed the barracks Flint Kaserne, after Colonel Paddy Flint, an old friend and one of his regimental commanders who had been killed in Sicily. The bugler played the soft, sad notes of Taps.. Dead from injuries sustained in a car crash after the close of WWII, General George S. Patton, Jr. left in his wake a tremendous legacy. General Hobart Hap Gay, a loyal friend and his chief of staff, and other members of the staff noticed that he became withdrawn, often taking long drives by himself, having little to say during meals and going home early. He recorded that the supreme commander made a speech which had to me the symptoms of political aspirations, on cooperation with the British, Russians and the Chinese, but particularly with the British. The day after his return Patton and his wife flew to Denver and then on to Los Angeles and Pasadena. On September 12, 1918, Patton, ignoring orders to stay in radio contact, personally led the first U.S. tank units into battle during the Saint-Mihiel offensive. He led a series of wildly successful offensive operations in Europe during World War II, but his controversial and erratic behaviour off the battlefield damaged his reputation and hampered his own career advancement. His normal cavalry breeches, swagger stick, and pistols had been left behind. Forces European Theater (USFET). On December 22, an Army ambulance brought Pattons body to Villa Renier, where it would lie in state to be visited by friends, soldiers, and the general public. I dont like the Nazis any more than you do. None of todays generals could ever come close. On April 4, 1941, he was promoted to temporary major general, and a week later he was made commander of the 2nd Armored Division. In the aftermath of the Battle of Kasserine Pass, US II Corps passed to the command of General Harold Alexanders 18th Army Group. Patton had taken so little interest in the new administration that he did not even recall meeting its Minister President, a Dr. Fritz Schaeffer. The other issue is that I got Eisenhower and gave Mark Clark a pass in Italy. When Alexander took command on February 20, 1943, one of his first tasks was to assess II Corps combat readiness after its setbacks during its early engagements around Kasserine Pass. When asked why Nazis were being retained in governmental positions in Bavaria, he replied, I despise and abhor Nazis and Hitlerism as much as anyone. Too bad he died. Tolbukhin, a Soviet Army Group commander, who tried to get him drunk and whom he described as a very inferior man who sweated profusely. He did admit that the Russian soldiers put on a tremendous show [they] passed in review with a very good imitation of the goose step. He was promoted to the temporary rank of colonel and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for bravery under fire. At 5:55 p.m. on December 21, 1945, General George S. Patton, Jr. passed away in his sleep. Was he any relation to you by any chance and, if so, what ever happened to him? Today's blog was written by David Langbart, Archivist at the National Archives at College Park. Patton knew he was in trouble. He had learned fencing at West Point and continued his study of swordsmanship while in Europe. Horace Woodring. After satisfying himself about the correctness of the complaints, Patton immediately ordered action to rectify the situation and then went further, ordering that the starvation diet, which was described by one former senior German officer as not enough to live on, but too much to die on, should be supplemented by American Army rations. But the end of the war with Japan only added to his low morale; on August 10 he wrote in his diary, Another war has ended and with it my usefulness to the world. Wikipedia Advertisement 11. I am inclined to think he over-cooperated.. Patton enjoyed military history in particular, especially books about the American Civil War, a conflict in which his grandfather and great-uncle had been killed while fighting for the Confederacy. YOUR GUESS IS AS GOOD AS MINE. During his first speech that morning he had told his audience that the fact that a soldier was killed in action often made him a fool rather than a hero. Showing a few signs of recovery, his doctors put him in a body cast to prepare him for a flight home to the United States. On September 30,1953 at Hamilton, Massachusetts, while horse riding she suffered a ruptured aortic aneurysm which took her life instantly causing her to fall from the animal. I was born and raised in Brussels (Bxls), Belgium until I got remarried for the 2nd time to an Air Force aircraft mechanic from Spangdahlem, Germany. The U.S. joined the Great War 100 years ago. When Patton eventually met him on September 28, he described him as a smooth, smart-ass academic type. Academic or not, Dorn soon focused his attention on the success or otherwise of the denazification program in Bavaria. Pershing, commanding the 8th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Bliss, Texas, had recently lost his wife and three of his four children in a tragic fire. He told them, while his wife was out of the room, that he believed his luck had run out. He should be reinterred in Arlington National Cemetery, in the country he loved so dearly. He had little patience with the thousands of displaced persons (DPs), whom he described as too worthless to even cut wood to keep themselves warm, and his growing anti-Semitism coupled with despair over the fate of Germany led him to the depths of melancholia. At the first, in Frankfurt on August 27, he spoke out against the Russians and signed a letter proposing the release of some Nazi internees. This apparently so angered Eisenhower that he is said to have demanded that Patton carry out the denazification program as ordered instead of mollycoddling the goddamn Nazis. But Patton was not going to change; two days later he wrote in his diary, The Germans are the only decent people left in Europe. Though the mission failed to apprehend Villa, Patton was responsible for leading a raid that killed three of Villas men. A New Jersey husband and wife are behind bars after a routine traffic stop turned into a demolition derby that resulted in charges of attempted murder of a police officer and aggravated assault. He was buried in Luxembourg. [4] Pattons armoured units were not operational until August 1, almost two months after D-Day, but by the end of the month, they had captured Mayenne, Laval, Le Mans, Reims, and Chlons. Salute to a great general! Fortunately, Pattons condition began to stabilize. In September, Patton returned to Berlin for a military review hosted by the legendary Marshal Georgi Zhukov. Do you want me to give it back? Over the next 10 days, they cleared the entire region north of the Moselle River, trapping thousands of Germans. The ceremony lasted 25 minutes. This article was published more than6 years ago. Yet, all his laurels could not protect the General from a simple car accident eight months into the peace. This is one of them.. The ambulance, which eventually arrived at the scene with two medical officers, took Patton to the 130th Station Hospital in Heidelberg, 15 miles away, where he was admitted at 1245 hours. Patton's final resting place is in Luxembourg American Cemetery in Luxembourg. The officers with few exceptions gave the appearance of recently civilized Mongolian bandits., The most notorious incident allegedly happened toward the end of May when an English-speaking Russian brigadier general arrived at Pattons headquarters to demand that some river boats on the Danube that had contained Germans who had surrendered to the Third Army be returned to the Russians. They range from the improbable plot of Brass Target, a 1978 film starring George Kennedy as an overweight Patton who was allegedly assassinated in order to stop his investigation of a gold heist by . In September things began to go terribly wrong for him. With the Generals passing, Beatrice had to decide where his remains would reside. Ike found not only appalling conditions but German guards, some of whom were former SS men. His task was to keep a group of disparate actors on the same page while still planning a strategy to win a war. She was the wife of Brig. For the years that are left to me I am determined to be free to live as I want and say what I want. This inevitably worried Gay, who surmised, almost certainly correctly, that Patton planned to speak out against Eisenhowers handling of the campaign in Europe and against other senior officers, like Bedell Smith, Hodges, and even Bradley. Patton was a great war time general and a bad choice for an administrator. General George Patton once remarked that World War II undoubtedly would have lasted a lot longer were it not for his soldiers and his wife. And then, two weeks later, he was again thrilled to receive an invitation to go to Sweden to address the Swedish-American Society. Some pages of the narrative are almost verbatim the text of the diary, with personal references toned down or eliminated., Although perhaps mentally satisfying, such activities did little for Pattons morale and he soon became moody and tense. The only jobs in which he was interested were commandant of the Army War College or commanding general of the Army ground forces. Courtesy of The National Archives and Records Administration. The weather was too bad to fly, and when Patton arrived on the 28th, after a seven-hour car journey in heavy rain, he was uncharacteristically dressed in an ordinary khaki jacket and GI trousers. Eisenhowers response is unrecorded. On May 7, 1945, he had pleaded with visiting Undersecretary of War Robert Patterson: Lets keep our boots polished, bayonets sharpened and present a picture of force and strength to these people [the Russians]. As far as the test of time goes, there has never, since the death of Charlemagne, been a settled Europe for more than a few decades. One of Pattons last acts before handing over command was to award a Silver Star to his driver of more than four years, Master Sergeant John Mims. It was accompanied by a cover letter saying Smith thought Patton was out of control in Bavaria and that Ike ought to come back and take the matter in hand before any further damage was done. Patton did not remain in his plot for long. This was, of course, completely contrary to the political direction he had received from Eisenhower for the denazification of the American zone of Germany. During his final minutes before he died, he asked a fellow soldier, Davy Crockett, to deliver his . Patton's wife Beatrice died on September 30, 1953, from a ruptured aneurysm . This is the offical version of the accident and death. In August this year, I was at American cemetery in Luxembourg where General Patton is buried. Lieutenant General Geoffrey Keyes escorts Mrs. Beatrice Patton to her husbands funeral in Hamm, Luxembourg. He did his job and did it well. He died from his injuries on December 21, 1945. Why didnt I think of it? Patton was left paralyzed and died of a heart attack or embolism on December 21, 1945 at the military hospital in Heidelberg. Needless to say, the press ran with this story, particularly the Democrat versus Republican analogy. He acknowledged that he was a terrible politician. The apogee of Pattons career came with the dramatic sweep of his Third Army across northern France in the summer of 1944 in a campaign marked by great initiative, ruthless drive, and disregard of classic military rules. We had no alternative but to turn to the people who knew what to do and how to do it. Sadly, generals have no say in the world when a war comes to an end. Patton tried to explain that the camp had been fine before the arrival of the present Jewish occupants who were pissing and crapping all over the place. Despite being told to Shut up, George, he apparently went on to say that there was an empty village nearby which he was planning to turn into a concentration camp for them. When Patton was a young adult, he was kicked by a horse, who broke his leg in three places. Girish Thakar (412)901-0039. Other than a handful of men on his personal staff, no one even knew where Patton would be, what route he would follow, or what time he would arrive at his destination.. Very Warm story. Death 6 Oct 1928 (aged 67) San Gabriel, Los Angeles County, California, USA. Bradleys reputation is always polished by Ernie Pyle. My record on that is clear and unchallengeable. (I doubt it would have been possible standing up to that juggernaut, even with our Air Force, to push them back to their borders, though. I have been a student of General George s. Patton for some 40-45 years and this is a well written article, very accurate. Walter T. Patton met his end during the infamous ill-fated attack known as Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg. A doctor summoned her at about 1800 hours, but it was too late. And so it went on throughout his leaveadulation from family, friends, and the vast majority of the public. Twelve days before his death, on December 9, 1945, Patton was sitting in the back of his limousine when his driver, PFC Horace Woodring, sped too fast over a railroad crossing in Manheim, Germany, and plowed into the passenger-side of a left-turning Army truck headed into a depot. I am afraid that our foolish and utterly stupid policy will certainly cause them to join the Russians and thereby ensure a communistic state throughout Western Europe. George S. Patton (son) George S. Patton (grandson) Colonel George Patton Sr. (June 26, 1833 - September 25, 1864) was a Confederate colonel during the American Civil War. Corrections? I feel they would have fought anyone, even us, as fiercely as they fought the German Heer and the SS.) Was General George S. Patton, America's most famous WWII general, murdered in December 1945? He also breakfasted with Count Bernadotte and was able to enjoy a specially staged ice carnival and hockey game in the Olympic stadium. Mother of World War II General George S. Patton, Jr. . Carlo DEste dismisses this idea succinctly: Those who suggest that Patton was somehow murdered have failed to provide the slightest evidence of how anyone could have planned such a caper or ensured that Pattons Cadillac would be momentarily stopped for the passage of a train at the crossing just down the street from the scene of the accident. Pattons biographer, Carlo DEste, has suggested that his melancholy and increasingly extraordinary behavior may have been due to brain damage that resulted from a series of head injuries caused by a lifetime of falls from horses and road accidentsthe most serious being an accident in Hawaii in 1936 that had resulted in a two-day blackout. Of course, she declared, he should be buried here. American Generals Omar Bradley (1893 - 1981) and George Patton (1885 - 1945) with Secretary of War Henry Stimson (1867 - 1950) It wasn't until 1993 that the first non-fiction book solely on this topic appeared: Death - The Murder of General Patton, privately published by Stephen J. Skubik. Professor of Adolescent Health at the University of Melbourne and the Director of the CAH, as well as Patton's wife. Crazy maybe but a hero nonetheless. Best personal history of Patton. No one was hurt except Patton, who, despite a nasty gash on his head, immediately realized he had been paralyzed. The next day, people lined Heidelbergs streets (and some roofs) to watch Pattons funeral procession on its way to the Episcopalian Christ Church. Alexander Lovelace holds a masters degree in military and American history from George Washington University, where he was awarded the Charles Herber Teaching Prize for best Graduate Teaching Assistant Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. If ever dog was suited to master this one was. He wrote in his diary, It gave me a very warm feeling in my heart to be back among soldiers. Even so, Patton was pessimistic about the future of Europe, reluctant to get involved in the complexities of military government, and, perhaps more importantly, reluctant to purge the Nazis. One news service said pictures of the general were strewn around her. The Real Story of General George Patton, Jr's Death & Final Days Following his campaign in Western Europe, George S. Patton had difficulty adjusting to peacetime and was fatally injured in an automobile accident. During the U.S. occupation of Germany, George Patton was commanding the U.S. Fifteenth Army, a paper army gathering historical information about the war. After nearly two weeks in the hospital, Patton died on this day in 1945. On the 69th anniversary of General Patton's death, . When Gay did so, Patton barked, Go ahead Hap, work my fingers.. Patton was offered command of the Fifteenth Army an army in name only since its sole mission was to prepare a history of the war in Europe! His plane, escorted by a formation of fighters and Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers, touched down at an airfield near Boston on June 7, where an honor guard, a 17-gun salute, and the governor of Massachusetts greeted him. In December 1944 the Germans launched a massive surprise counterattack in the Ardennes Forest, encircling the U.S. 101st Airborne Division at Bastogne, Belgium. He could think of no better way to spend his last Sunday in Europe than hunting with an old and trusted friend. Out in the rain, an honor guard fired volleys. That limousine we know from pictures and records was a 1938 Series 75 Cadillac sedan, a rare type. Tommy Howard/South Strand. Nobody would have thought anything unusual about it, and even would have thought it to be proper. My soldiers are fighting men and if I dismiss the sewer cleaners and the clerks my soldiers will have to take over those jobs, he reasoned. At least, I have done my best as God gave me the chance.. His swift conquest of Sicily, his race across France, his relief of Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, and his drive into Germany destroyed German armies, saved American lives, and captured the collective imagination of the American public. I wish I were young enough to fight in the next one [war]. Neither he nor Gordon knew the purpose. Ike was playing politics and Bradley did not act on the intelligence he was given at the Ardennes. This photo shows Gen. Patton's dog Willie after the general's death. The route from Luxembourg City station to the U.S. cemetery was lined by troops from the United States, Belgium, France, and Luxembourg, and the cortge was followed by Prince Felix of Luxembourg, two French, one Italian, and numerous American generals, including Gay and Truscott. Patton Museum: Death Car. The fake news that haunted George Washington. It told him he was to assume his new appointment on October 8. The 60-year-old general had led a life of adventure, fighting in almost every major American twentieth century conflict. No battle of the Bulge and probably a million plus lives saved, military and civilian. He was an exceptional warrior and leader. A blood clot in his paralyzed body had worked its way to his heart, stopping it and ending the life of one of America's greatest battlefield commanders. In the past three years I did my utmost to kill as many of them as possible. Patton opened a drawer, pulled out a pistol, slammed it down on his desk, and raged, Goddamnit! Wholly ill-suited for the administrative position, Patton was on a hunting trip when he was critically injured in a low-speed car accident. What a gripping story and a great General, Its no wonder where Donald trump gets his leadership from. The Pattons were then stationed in Hawaii, and Gordon was passing through, headed for Asia. His bitterness is very evident: General Clay [Ikes deputy] and General McNarney have never commanded anything, including their own self-respect. This picture of Willie, Patton's dog, was taken a few days after the General's death as preparations were made to send home his effects. When it became clear to Eisenhower that the press reports were basically accurate, he was aghast and ordered Patton to report to him in Frankfurt. Omissions? You seem to have forgotten that you lost the war! However, Hubert Meyer, the ex-Chief of Staff of the Hitlerjugend, recalled that on the occasion of Pattons visit things had been very different. Updates? The Augusta had been the flagship of the Western Task Force in the invasion of Morocco. His grandfather, Gen. George S. Patton commanded the U.S. II . He graduated with distinction from the Army War College in 1932, and he remained a vigorous proponent of tank warfare throughout the interwar years. By now Bedell Smith, Adcock, and others had come to the conclusion that Patton was mentally unbalanced. He was, indeed, the consummate warrior, steeped in military and well trained for the terrible combat which followed. It was too late by 1945, the US had made the USSR a superpower. One could perhaps be forgiven for suspecting that Patton saw this as an award to himself the Silver Star was after all conspicuous by its absence among his many decorations. Too bad it should have been the future President who really did do as much as Patton but got the credit. This has been a proud and wonderful day. But, in fact, Patton had put his foot in it again. He was no fan of the Atomic Bomb -or perhaps that it was largely a creation of Jewish minds His idea of what war was supposed to be was forever changed by atomic weapons.. His attack based agenda worked.. and yes had he been given sufficient resources, the war would have been much shorter and many lives would have been spared as a result The history of Europe since WWII would have been very different. Her mother was his wife's half-sister. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. I am extremely proud of our General Patton and Im pretty sure you are too! They did, however, discuss Ikes successor. I especially liked the excerpts from his diary which shows Patton NOT to be the person that many have said, to have had too many bumps to the head, but a man of common sense who was derailed by political academists. When Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa led an attack on the border town of Columbus, New Mexico, in 1916, Patton joined the staff of Brig. United States History - Biography of George S. Patton Jr. Library of Congress - George S. Patton Papers: Diaries, 1910 to 1945 - Timeline, George Patton - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), George S. Patton, Omar Bradley, and Bernard Montgomery, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, and George Patton, Eisenhower, Dwight D.; Patton, George; Bradley, Omar.
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