George S. Patton Jr. was one of the most revered Generals in all of American history. Historians speculate that Patton could have won the war against Germany a year sooner. Of course, he would have had to step on a lot of toes to do such a thing – but Old Blood and Guts didn’t give a damn. Several times he was considered insubordinate to commanding officers, accused of mistreating his soldiers, and generally used the “f-word” as though it were some kind of holy blessing.
Patton’s offensives in Africa, Sicily, and France earned him the love of the American people and the fear of the Nazis. Patton marched at the front of his troops, even in the decisive Battle of the Bulge, where he was on the front lines with his soldiers.
In German war councils, Patton was the only Allied General referred to by name, because of his ability to lead troops through overwhelming defenses to victory. Concentration camp inmates, even those who spoke no English, learned and sang a ditty, “Georgie Patton gonna set me free” to the consternation of their Nazi captors.
But Patton had enemies everywhere. When the war was over, thousands of US POWs were “liberated” by the Soviets, an allied country at the time. About 25,000 of these American soldiers vanished into the USSR. Patton wanted our men returned, and was willing to fight Russia over them. Patton encouraged the US Army to continue its efforts east into Russia to reclaim these troops (who were eventually written off and forgotten.) He had distrusted Stalin from the start. In fact, during the war the Army had cut off Patton’s fuel supply to stop him from taking more of Germany, leaving it to the USSR. Patton then commandeered enemy fuel and still pressed forward hundreds of miles farther than he was allowed by his orders. Patton later warned Secretary of War Robert Patterson about Russia, saying “Let’s keep our boots polished, bayonets sharpened, and present a picture of force and strength to the Red Army. This is the only language they understand and respect.” The Russians were in great dread of Patton, wondering whether he would continue to wage war and cross through their lines. They remained on “alert status” until his death.
Another problem was the Jewish question. Patton did not regard the Jews as a nation, but rather as a religion. He pointed out that Jews were citizens of many nations, like Catholics and Moslems. He opposed the idea of creating a homeland for what he considered to be a religion.
Although nowadays we see the Israelis as victims of terrorism, there were Zionist terrorists in those days who agitated for an Israeli homeland. Patton was in 1945 their most powerful enemy in the Allied camp, by virtue of the respect he had in the US and abroad. The Jewish people had faced horrible atrocities in the war, and claimed to be a nation without a homeland. Patton argued that the Jewish people hadn’t been a country for two thousand years and were not a nationality, but a religion. This view was also unpopular in Washington at the time.
General Eisenhower had instructed Patton to remove German citizens from their homes, and give their houses to displaced Jewish people. General Patton strongly opposed this practice as being in clear violation of the Geneva Conventions.
Meanwhile, President Truman was preparing two crucial documents: The first directive would give all displaced Jews property and homes – even at the expense of other displaced nationalities. The second directive would grant the Soviet Union control of much of Eastern Europe and other parts of the world. Patton continued to give warning against both of these directives, which were not officially enacted until the day after his death, December 22, 1945.
Supreme Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower was about to lose his job to Patton, after the war was officially declared over. Eisenhower had outranked Patton during war, after having been appointed Supreme Commander. However, at the end of the war Patton was in fact the highest ranking and senior officer in the US Military. In peacetime, the Armed Forces would fall under the authority of Patton. Eisenhower didn’t relish having Patton giving him orders. Eisenhower would become President of the US in the 50s, which would lead to the opening of the Cold War, the Korean Conflict, and Vietnam. Eisenhower, the O.S.S. (early CIA), and the Truman administration all saw General Patton as a powerful and inflexible adversary.
There was widespread talk at home of Patton running for President. This was bad news for the Democrats, because they had no comparable opponent. It was not good news for the Republicans though, because Patton was considered too stubborn and iron-willed to take orders from Wall Street and those who control professional politicians.
Patton wrote to his wife and others that when he returned to the US he was planning to retire from the Army and try his hand at politics as a Republican. No doubt he would have reported the Russian kidnapping of 25,000 American troops, and would have taken action. The full story of these lost men (and their deaths in the Soviet gulags) only started to emerge in the 1970s, and has been finally documented since the fall of the USSR.
Thus, many factions viewed Patton as a threat.
General George S. Patton was seriously injured on December 9th, 1945. He was riding in a jeep when it was apparently struck by another Army vehicle. The driver of the large truck that struck Patton and the details of the crash were never disclosed. Patton did survive the crash. On the way to the hospital, Patton’s vehicle was then struck again by a second two-ton US Army truck. This time he was injured much more seriously, but still clung to life.
Neither of these two truck drivers were arrested or even had their names disclosed.
In June 1998, an elderly veteran stepped forward and claimed that he had witnessed the second accident. The old soldier recalled that after the vehicles collided, Patton stumbled out. When the truck driver saw Patton still alive, he struck him several times with a 2 foot long pipe wrench.
In spite of the crashes and the beating, Patton survived and was taken to the military hospital.
Reportedly, he asked his wife to remove him from the hospital because “They’re going to kill me here.” He was reported to be recovering quickly, then suddenly died. The cause of his death was officially listed in Army medical records as embolism and heart failure.
A year later Patton’s wife Beatrice died one week after announcing she would release hundreds of Patton’s personal papers regarding the war. An accomplished rider, she reportedly fell from her horse and died of a broken neck. Patton remains buried in Germany. The remains of this American hero were never even brought back to the US, and no autopsy was ever performed.
Was he murdered? If he had only been hit by one truck, I might buy it. But that second truck is just too much of a coincidence. Somebody intentionally killed America’s greatest General.
