Patton became famous during this time for his tough motivating speeches to his troupes and earned the nickname "old blood and guts." Invasion of Italy After Pearl Harbor, the U.S. entered World War II. July 24 Patton served as Commanding Officer, 5th Cavalry, Fort Clark, Texas. He was laid next to a Third Army soldier who had been killed in combat during the Battle of the Bulge. It brings out all that is best; it removes all that is base. But he was only as good as the company in which he fought. In his many trials, Patton turned to God and found remarkable serenity. His Will Be Done. Confident in his own religious convictions and his knowledge of the Bible, Patton did not hesitate publicly to contradict a chaplains sermon, as this diary entry for Armistice Day, 1943, reveals: We went to a Memorial Service at the cemetery at 1100. November 14 Discharged from the hospital, sick in quarters. June 6, 1944 - Led by Eisenhower, over a million troops (the largest invasion force in history) stormed the beaches at Normandy and began the process of re-taking France. By God, I do! Men this stuff that some sources sling around aboutAmerica wanting out of this war, not wanting to fight,is a crock of bullshit. Despite his many successes, his aggressive, colorful personal style and his temper often caused issues with his superiors. And when we get to Berlin,I am personally going to shoot that paper hanging sonof a bitch Hitler, just like Id shoot a snake! I pray that I will fall forward when I amshot. 1946 March 19 Pattons remains were moved to a different gravesite within the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial in Hamm, Luxembourg. Children of a free and sheltered people who have lived a generous life, we have not the pugnacious disposition of those oppressed beasts our enemies, who must fight or starve. As they visited, Patton told his wife, I guess I wasnt good enough. She knew he was referring to his desire to die in battle, as his ancestors had done. May 1 Served as Control Officer, Maneuvers, Fort Beauregard, Louisiana. Patton was as much an actor as he was a fine general. But we are not stopping at the Siegfried Line. George S. Patton: On Guts, Glory, and Winning relies on the writings, speeches, and poems of George Patton, and includes his prayer to stop the rain during the battle of northern Europe. He was dying; but he had no fear of death. This quote is a good encapsulation of their friendship that began in the late 1910s. Death must not be feared. I wouldnt give a hoot in hell for aman who lost and laughed. Many elements of the speech were recycled over and over. Pattons exploits in World War II, and his quotable phrases, are legendary. Occupation Zone after World War II. He soon learned that hewas to lead the Third Army and that his first responsibility was toclear the Brest peninsula of Germans. He was ecumenical in his beliefs, writing that God was probably indifferent in the way he was approached, but he opposed his daughters marriage to a Roman Catholic. Remember that these enemies, whom we shall have the honor to destroy, are good soldiers and stark fighters. Ed - December 21, 2016. Book by Ladislas Farago, 1963. . As the protective shield of fog lifted, Patton and his troops were subjected to withering fire from all directions. November 10 Detailed to the Tank Service. Patton was number three. that they should attack by surprise and mass . July 7 Patton participated in Modern Pentathlon, Olympic Games. The League of Nations, which emerged from the war to end all wars, embodying President Woodrow Wilsons idealistic hopes for international understanding, would peacefully settle future disputes among nations. . 1940 April 1 Served as Umpire, Spring Maneuvers, Fort Benning, Georgia. George S. Patton. . Polo was his substitute. Part of our passion was our belief in tanksa belief derided at the time by others.The two men shared a detailed knowledge of the mechanical workings of tanks and an appreciation of their potential strategic uses beyond mere assistance to the infantry. "Patton" (1970) General George Smith Patton, Jr. We have had no quitters; and our leadership has been masterful. The best is the enemy of the good was one of his favorite maxims. Why, by God, Iactually pity those poor sons of bitches were going upagainst. I hope that too stops. . . Once the fighting in Europe ended in May 1945, Patton was denied a . There is nothing todo at the moment but be a secret weapon.. Addresses the 3rd Army. . That way I can keep firing my pistols! After lunching with the Commanding General, we drove back to the airfield and flew back to Cairo along the coast, passing over Gaza. The outcome of that battle, and possibly of the entire Allied war effort in Europe, would turn on the weather. In April 1941 Patton, who had been acting commander of theSecond Armored Division for six months, was given permanentcommand and promoted to major general. In some ways the immediate future will demand of you more fortitude than has the past because, without the inspiration of combat, you must maintainby your dress, deportment, and efficiencynot only the prestige of the Third Army but also the honor of the United States. While I was in this chapel, I secured a rosary for Mary Scally [his childhood nurse] and had it blessed at the altar. Patton next prepared for the breakthrough to the River Rhine, a formidable natural obstacle to the invasion of Germany by the Allies. Every single man in this Army plays a vitalrole . An armored divisionis that element of the team which carries out therunning plays. Patton joined the Second Armored Division at Fort Benning, Georgia in 1940. But the time is now to intensify our faith in prayer, not alone with ourselves, but with every believing man, Protestant, Catholic, Jew, or Christian in the ranks of the Third United States Army. We had about 486 chaplains in the Third Army at that time, representing 32 denominations. He inspired his troops. The sudden transition from the highly-charged experience of combat, where one is com-manding men in life-or-death situations, to domestic tranquility can be jarring and difficult. The quickest way to get it over with is to go get thebastards who started it. He was zealous in his duties and got the action he sought. Now lets cut the guts out of those Krauts and get the hell on to Berlin. Patton wanted combat and knew he couldnt find it as a staff officer to Pershing; to see action he had to either lead infantry or train to become a tank officer. Though he had been sidelined from the invasion, he played an important role in it by his absence. . He staggeredforward a few steps before collapsing. Thats why Americans havenever lost and will never lose a war; for the very idea oflosing is hateful to an American. This is reflected in his many speeches but particularly his famous "Blood and Guts" speech where he addresses the men of the Third Army Division. Find out more about George S. Patton below! Privately, he noted to his father, There will be hundred[s] of Majors of Infantry but only one of Light T[anks]. He had his progress mapped out: 1st. This third-person account of the speech comes from The Unknown Patton by Charles M. Province, who compiled it from innumerable sources. The Chaplain came up the next day. Upon completing his crossing over a pontoon bridge, he took some dirt on the far bank, emulating his favorite historical figure William the Conqueror. In 1941, on the day the menof the Second Armored Division completed their orientation at FortBenning, Patton appeared wearing a new uniform, which, characteristically,he had designed himself. You have made your Army a fighting force that is not excelled in effectiveness by any other of equal size in the world, and I am very proud of the fact that you, as one of the fighting commanders who has been with me from the beginning of the African campaign, have performed so brilliantly throughout. Patton similarly arose, clutching two handfuls of German earth in his fingers, and exclaimed, Thus, William the Conqueror!That evening Patton sent a communiqu to General Eisenhower: Dear SHAEF [Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force], I have just pissed into the Rhine River. On Christmas Eve, General Patton and Omar Bradley attended a candle-light church service in Luxembourg City, sitting in a box once used by Kaiser Wilhelm II. Thirty years from now, when youare sitting around the fireside with your grandson onyour knee and he asks what you did in the great WorldWar II, you wont have to say, I shoveled shit in Louisiana.. . . There are three ways that men get what they want; by planning, by working, and by Praying. . Patton pointed out that there was not enough ammunition, food, or gasoline to support all the armies. Patton headed backout into the enemy fire, certain of meeting death. He liked the men, considered his commanding officer a true gentleman, but had doubts about some of the other officers, especially those who had come up from the ranks. Pattons speeches typically included humor, almost always profaneand often self-deprecatory: I do not know of a better way to die than to be facingthe enemy. Of the hundred andfifty soldiers, only six followed him, one of whom was his orderly,Private Joseph Angelo. The Allies were really fighting three enemies, Patton told Bradleythe Germans, time, and the weather. The general was as affected by the Crusader sights as he was the Biblical locations. Chaplain, I am a strong believer in Prayer. In union there is strength! George S. Patton, America's greatest combat general of the Second World War, was assassinated after the conflict with the connivance of US leaders, according to a new book. 1941 April 4 Patton was promoted to the temporary rank of major general. Contains Profanity. Born in 1885, Patton attended the Virginia Military Institute and the United States Military . The author/ speaker 2. Grant us fair weather for Battle. If the band played a piece first with the piccolo, then withthe brass horn, then with the clarinet, and then withthe trumpet, there would be a hell of a lot of noise butno music. Patton seemed to understand instinctively that the faces werebeckoning him to his destiny. He was dying, but he had nofear of death. There is one great thing you men will be able to saywhen you go home. Patton and his men returned to camp with the corpses of the Villaists strapped over the hoods of their cars. Each treated of a variety of subjects of corrective or training value to a chaplain working with troops in the field. . Throughout the speech (Appendix 1) General Patton emphasises certain themes (Appendices 2 and 3 . They believe what they wish may occur not what history teaches will happen. Were not just going to shoot the sons of bitches, weregoing to rip out their living goddamned guts and usethem to grease the treads of our tanks. The General rose, came from behind his desk with hand out-stretched and said, Chaplain, youre the most popular man in this Headquarters. Our bravery is too negative. All day the 9th of July 1943, there was a storm but it cleared at dark. . Whenat last the men got five tanks across the breach, Patton exhorted themto advance again, yelling and cursing and waving his walking stick. Yet he still viewed the Holy Land as a general, viewingthe Exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt and into the Promised Land in terms of logistics, supply chains, and provisions. I know how you feel, but there is nothing to be done.4 Patton, like a young Napoleon, had ambitiously hoped to be a brigadier general by twenty-seven. But they also shared an intricate web of relationships going back decades. If youre not alert, some time a German son of abitch is going to sneak up behind you and beat you todeath with a sockful of shit! A break in the weather on June 6 allowed the amphibious assault on Normandy to proceed. He graduated at twenty-four, accepting a commission in the cavalry and duty at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. There was no glory in it and no chance for him to achieve the greatness he sought. The two men once took a tank completely apart, down to the nuts and bolts, and reassembled it, apparently to satisfy their curiosity and to understand every detail of its intricate assembly. We wanted speed, reliability and firepower.. He gave us a British priest, who had lived a long time in Jerusalem, as a guide to see the sights. Patton, not wanting to compromise his armys success with publicity, telephoned Omar Bradley the following morning and uncharacteristically told him to keep it a secret. is plain. People must try to use their imagination and whenorders fail to come, must act on their own best judgment. Patton arrived in Europe in 1917 as a captain. Americans love to fight. The vivid and profane inspirational speeches garnered muchattention and some detractors, but Patton also gave countless speechesintended to educate his officers and troops on the topics of strategy,tactics, discipline,and how to conduct the new deadly form of armoredwarfare: You men and officers are, in my opinion, magnificentlydisciplined.You cannotbe disciplinedin great thingsand undisciplined in small things . That way I can keep firing my pistols! The short story is that hesustained spinal cord and neck injuries in an automobile accident near Neckarstadt, Germany. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for . At twenty-nine, he was not yet a first lieutenant. General Patton knew his entrance into German-occupied territory was of monumental historical importance. You mean across the Rhine? Sure am, Patton replied, I sneaked a division over last night. April 14 Patton was promoted to the permanent rank of general. You've got to spill their blood, or they will spill yours. Heservedin numerous staff positions throughout the country. A common GI saying about Patton was, "our blood, his guts." The general's low point came in August 1943 when he slapped two shell-shocked soldiers under his command for crying. . Famed World War Two general George S. Patton commanded theU.S. Were going tomurder those lousy Hun bastards by the bushel-f***ingbasket. In early December 1944, the headquarters of the Third Army was in the Caserne Molifor, an old French military barracks in Nancy in the region of Lorraine, a ninety-minute train ride from Paris. Our glorious march from the Normandy Beach across France to where we stand, before and beyond the Siegfried Line, with the wreckage of the German Army behind us should convince the most skeptical soldier that God has ridden with our banner. Behind Patton's blood and guts personality was an absolute professional, one of the most competent army commanders our side put into the field; the Germans were painstaking in their analysis of the leaders who faced . General Patton's "Blood and Guts" Speech the Troops (Warning Language) General Patton Posted on 3/17/2003, 5:26:05 AM by The Magical Mischief Tour The Speech Given somewhere in England on June 5th, 1944 "Be seated." Men, this stuff that some sources sling around about America wanting out of this war, not wanting to fight, is a crock of bullshit. If hesays hes not, hes a liar. October 2 Patton was promoted to the temporary rank of brigadier general. When there is fighting, everyone prays, but now with this constant rainwhen things are quiet, dangerously quiet, men just sit and wait for things to happen. What do you think he wants? It was perfectly clear to me. Pray for our Army, and Pray for Peace. He chose the latter, thinking it the quickest way to combat and further promotion. General Patton: Be seated. He sought topresent the striking image of a leader, an image that demanded attention and inspired his troops by its swagger. The way profanity was used Rugged Brave Unique Inspiring Determined Speech to the 3rd Army Quotes: "We're not going to just shoot the sons-of-b******s, we're going to rip out their living Goddamned guts and use In February 1944, Overlord planners at Supreme Allied Headquarters had formulated a planOperation Fortitude Southto deceive the Nazi commanders intothinking that the Norman landings were merely a feint to draw German defenders away from a main Allied invasion at Pas de Calais. . . Those who knew both men at this early stage of their military careers had the feeling that George Patton would achieve greatness. I dont want to get any messages saying, I am holdingmy position. We are not holding a goddamned thing. Thisdeception caused the Germans to delay a counter-attack that mighthave crushed or seriously set back the Allied invasion. . He followed his tanks into combat, even helping to dig a path for them through two trenches (and whacking a recalcitrant soldier over the head with a shovel). Men this stuff that some sources sling around aboutAmerica wanting out of this war, not wanting to fight,is a crock of bullshit. . We believed . Big generals and little soldiers were there, as were the royalty and the commoners of this tiny country from which General Patton drove the Germans in that crucial battle last Christmastide. . The Famous Patton Speech By Charles M. Province . The film concerns Patton as he leads the American forces during World War II. As a young officerin World War One, George S. Pattonwas part of thenewly formedUnited States Tank Corpsof theAmerican Expeditionary Forces. . In the days of chivalry, the golden age of our profession, knights (officers) were noted as well for courtesy and being gentle benefactors of the weak and oppressed. George Campbell Scott, portraying Patton, standing in front of an immensely huge American flag, delivers his version of Patton's "Speech to the Third Army" on June 5th, 1944, the eve of the Allied invasion of France, code-named "Overlord". 1923 December 24 Pattons son, George Patton IV, was born. Leading an expedition of three cars and ten men whose mission was to buy corn for the soldiers in camp, he organized an impromptu raid that netted him one of Pancho Villas officers and two banditos shot down in a gunfightPatton armed with revolver and rifle. With prayer, we cannot fail. In the autumn of 1919, he was introduced toEisenhower, known to his friends as Ike. Many elements of the speech were recycled over and over. He made his way halfway across the bridge before suddenly halting. it is the call of ones [sic] ancestors and the glory of combat. . He valued these machines, ordering that no U.S. be surrendered. . . Heblinked, then squinted his eyes, but the faces remained. George C. Scott, portraying Patton, standing in front of an immensely huge American flag, delivers his version of Patton's "Speech to the Third Army" on June 5th, 1944, the eve of the Allied invasion . Pray for the defeat of our wicked enemy whose banner is injustice and whose good is oppression. . It is the reaction of the actors to the ordeal when it actually comes. Americans love to fight. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre covers both the Tomb of Christ and also the place where the Cross stood. I believe that prayer completes that circuit. For Patton, God was not a distant and impersonal being but a companion with whom he had a personal relationship. HistoryOnTheNet 2000-2019. 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