Eisenhower and Patton Clashed for Years — After Patton Died, Eisenhower Finally Opened Up
War Soldier Ledger
138,466 views
#ww2 #ww2history #warstories #militaryhistory #worldwar2
December 21, 1945.
George S. Patton lies paralyzed in a hospital bed in Heidelberg.
Twelve days earlier, he had still been one of the most famous American generals alive.
Now he is dying.
Thousands of miles away, Dwight D. Eisenhower receives the news.
For the entire war, Eisenhower had been forced to measure every public word he said about Patton.
He had punished him after the Sicily slapping incidents.
Protected him from being completely removed.
Used his reputation as the centerpiece of the FUSAG deception before D-Day.
Given him command of Third Army.
Restrained him when coalition politics demanded it.
And relied on him when the battlefield demanded something almost nobody else could deliver.
The relationship had begun decades earlier.
At Camp Meade in 1919, Patton and Eisenhower were two young tank officers imagining a future of fast mechanized warfare long before the U.S. Army was ready to accept it.
By World War II, their roles had reversed.
Eisenhower had become Supreme Commander.
Patton had become his most brilliant — and most difficult — battlefield subordinate.
From Kasserine to Sicily, Normandy and Bastogne, Eisenhower repeatedly learned what Patton could do with a broken or rapidly changing battlefield. At Bastogne, Patton pivoted Third Army north and attacked within roughly seventy-two hours.
Only after Patton's death did Eisenhower begin speaking more openly about what he had known all along.
In later books, letters and interviews, Ike repeatedly returned to the same conclusion:
Patton had been uniquely suited to mechanized war.
Managing him had been extraordinarily difficult.
But in moments of chaos, speed and crisis, few American commanders could do what Patton could do.
By the end of Eisenhower's life, the message had become clear.
George Patton had been irreplaceable.
And when Bastogne needed a commander capable of doing the seemingly impossible, Eisenhower knew exactly who to call.
World War II was filled with moments that seemed impossible until the soldiers who lived through them told their stories.
In this episode of War Soldier Ledger, we explore one of the most remarkable stories from the Second World War — the soldiers, commanders, weapons, decisions, and battlefield events that helped shape history.
From desperate frontline battles to unexpected military decisions, these stories reveal what really happened when ordinary men were placed in extraordinary circumstances.
If you enjoy dramatic World War II stories, forgotten battles, military history, legendary commanders, aircraft, tanks, warships, and untold battlefield moments, subscribe to War Soldier Ledger for more stories from the war that changed the world.
20 Comments
And WW II and dies from an automobile accident!!!!!!!
Eisenhower and Patton Clashed for Years — After Patton Died, Eisenhower Finally Opened Up
War Soldier Ledger
138,466 views
#ww2 #ww2history #warstories #militaryhistory #worldwar2
December 21, 1945.
George S. Patton lies paralyzed in a hospital bed in Heidelberg.
Twelve days earlier, he had still been one of the most famous American generals alive.
Now he is dying.
Thousands of miles away, Dwight D. Eisenhower receives the news.
For the entire war, Eisenhower had been forced to measure every public word he said about Patton.
He had punished him after the Sicily slapping incidents.
Protected him from being completely removed.
Used his reputation as the centerpiece of the FUSAG deception before D-Day.
Given him command of Third Army.
Restrained him when coalition politics demanded it.
And relied on him when the battlefield demanded something almost nobody else could deliver.
The relationship had begun decades earlier.
At Camp Meade in 1919, Patton and Eisenhower were two young tank officers imagining a future of fast mechanized warfare long before the U.S. Army was ready to accept it.
By World War II, their roles had reversed.
Eisenhower had become Supreme Commander.
Patton had become his most brilliant — and most difficult — battlefield subordinate.
From Kasserine to Sicily, Normandy and Bastogne, Eisenhower repeatedly learned what Patton could do with a broken or rapidly changing battlefield. At Bastogne, Patton pivoted Third Army north and attacked within roughly seventy-two hours.
Only after Patton's death did Eisenhower begin speaking more openly about what he had known all along.
In later books, letters and interviews, Ike repeatedly returned to the same conclusion:
Patton had been uniquely suited to mechanized war.
Managing him had been extraordinarily difficult.
But in moments of chaos, speed and crisis, few American commanders could do what Patton could do.
By the end of Eisenhower's life, the message had become clear.
George Patton had been irreplaceable.
And when Bastogne needed a commander capable of doing the seemingly impossible, Eisenhower knew exactly who to call.
World War II was filled with moments that seemed impossible until the soldiers who lived through them told their stories.
In this episode of War Soldier Ledger, we explore one of the most remarkable stories from the Second World War — the soldiers, commanders, weapons, decisions, and battlefield events that helped shape history.
From desperate frontline battles to unexpected military decisions, these stories reveal what really happened when ordinary men were placed in extraordinary circumstances.
If you enjoy dramatic World War II stories, forgotten battles, military history, legendary commanders, aircraft, tanks, warships, and untold battlefield moments, subscribe to War Soldier Ledger for more stories from the war that changed the world.
— War Soldier Ledger