George Smith Patton Zitate und Sprüche
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“It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.”
Speech at the Copley Plaza Hotel, Boston, Massachusetts (7 June 1945), quoted in Patton : Ordeal and Triumph (1970) by Ladislas Farago
War As I Knew It (1947) "Reflections and Suggestions"
“Fixed fortifications are a monument to the stupidity of man.”
Quoted in 50 Military Leaders Who Changed the World (2007) by William Weir, p. 173
Unsourced variant: Fixed fortifications are a monument to the stupidity of man. Anything built by man, can be destroyed by him.
“Accept the challenges, so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory.”
As quoted in Textbook of Phacoemulsification (1988) by William F. Maloney and Lincoln Grindle, p. 79
“Fatigue makes cowards of all of us.”
War as I knew it (1947), as cited in Oxford Dictionary of American Quotations, By Hugh Rawson, Margaret Miner, p. 258 https://books.google.com/books?id=whg05Z4Nwo0C&pg=PA258(via books.google.com).
Mike Province, founder and president of The Patton Society http://www.pattonhq.com/ calls this an urban legend and in the Texas A&M Battalion (2 October 2006) http://media.www.thebatt.com/media/storage/paper657/news/2006/10/02/Aggielife/Traditionally.Speaking-2319058.shtml?sourcedomain=www.thebatt.com&MIIHost=media.collegepublisher.com is quoted as saying "I've gotten e-mails and questions regarding that quote for several years... People will use it with Texas Aggies, The Citadel, Virginia Military Institute and even Clemson. All of these schools want to be linked to Patton... Anything is possible... I honestly don't believe he said it, because I've heard too many people say that he said it about their school. But if anyone out there can find proof that he said it, I'd love to hear about it and get it out there." If any school has a claim, it is the Virginia Military Institute; Patton's grandfather, grand-uncles, and his father all were VMI graduates. Patton himself spent a year at VMI before going to West Point. VMI has many George Patton relics donated by his family in its museum. Please also note that the photo of Patton as a cadet has him wearing a VMI coatee and cap. <br class="br">Misattributed
As quoted in After the Holocaust: Rebuilding Jewish Lives in Post War Germany (1997) by Michael Brenner
“Rommel, you magnificent bastard! I read your book!”
Spoken by George C. Scott in the film Patton, portraying his defeat of what he thought were forces under the command of Erwin Rommel; however, the book portrayed in that film is purely fictional — Rommel never finished the book he was writing on tank warfare, but did write a book on his experiences in WW I. It was widely read, regarded a classic of modern military tactics, and published in abbreviated form for study by US army officers.
Misattributed
“My men can eat their belts, but my tanks have gotta have gas.”
On the gasoline supplies for his tanks, as quoted in The Struggle for Europe (1972) by Chester Wilmot, p. 473
Letter to Beatrice (29 September 1945), published in The Patton Papers (1996), edited by Martin Blumenson Vol. 2 , p. 786 https://books.google.com/books?id=XGP_AgAAQBAJ&pg=PA786
“I finished the Koran – a good book and interesting.”
Diary, October 30, 1942, published in The Patton Papers 1940-1945 https://books.google.com/books?id=zaRKDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT79 (1996), p. 79.
Letter to Dwight D. Eisenhower (May 1942), as quoted in Eisenhower : A Soldier's Life (2003) by Carlo D'Este, p. 301
As quoted in The Unknown Patton (1983) by Charles M. Province, p. 100
Speech at the Hatch Memorial Shell, Boston, Massachusetts (7 June 1945), quoted in The Last Days of Patton (1981), p. 85, by Ladislas Farago and The Patton Papers: 1940-1945 (1974), p. 721, edited by Martin Blumenson.
“Always do everything you ask of those you command.”
As quoted in I Remember General Patton's Principles (1984) by Porter B. Williamson, p. 174
Through A Glass, Darkly (1918)
Quoted in How We Are Changed by War: A Study of Letters and Diaries from Colonial Conflicts to Operation Iraqi Freedom (2010) http://books.google.com/books?id=h-Fens34378C&pg=PA70 by D.C. Gill, p. 70
This is actually a translation of a statement by Lao Zi from the Tao Te Ching (Daodejing). Patton may have used a similar or identical expression, perhaps quoting the book.
Misattributed
notes on combat written by General Patton were published in Tactical and Technical Trends, No. 30, July 29, 1943. http://www.lonesentry.com/articles/ttt09/patton-notes-on-combat.html
Spoken by George C. Scott in the film Patton.
Variants:
No man ever won a war by dying for his country. Wars were won by making the other poor bastard die for his.
You don't win a war by dying for your country. You win a war by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his.
War is not meant to be you dying for your country-it is by making the other bastard die for his.
Misattributed
Letter to Frederick Ayers (5 May 1943), published in The Patton Papers 1940-1945 (1996) edited by Martin Blumenson, p. 243
“Don't fight a battle if you don't gain anything by winning.”
This is cited to Patton in Patton's Principles : A Handbook for Managers Who Mean It! (1982) by Porter B. Williamson as well as Leadership (1990) by William Safire and Leonard Safir, p. 47, but is also cited to Erwin Rommel from his Infanterie Greift An [Infantry Attacks] (1937) in World War II : The Definitive Visual History (2009) by Richard Holmes, p. 128, and Timelines of History (2011) by DK Publishing, p. 392
Disputed
During a March 1945 meeting with Bill Mauldin, complaining about his "Willy and Joe" cartoons; as quoted in The Brass Ring (1971) by Bill Mauldin
“I'd rather have a German division in front of me, than a French one behind.”
Misattributed by former Defense Secretary James Schlesinger on Fox News. Patton commanded French troops, the 2nd Armored Division commanded by Philippe Leclerc, integrated in the Third Army, and had rocky but friendly relations with the French general. For instance, on August, 15 1944 Patton wrote in his diary: "Leclerc came in very much excited. He said, among other things, that if he were not allowed to advance on Paris, he would resign. I told him in my best French that he was a baby and said I had left him in the most dangerous place on the front. We parted friends"
Misattributed
Letter to Beatrice (29 September 1945), published in The Patton Papers (1996), edited by Martin Blumenson, Vol. 2 , p. 787
Though Patton commissioned this prayer and ordered 250,000 copies of it printed with his signature, it was actually composed by Chief Chaplain James H. O'Neill http://www.pattonhq.com/prayer.html Review of the News (6 October 1971) <br class="br">Misattributed
