General Patton's Death - Accident or Murder?

It is no exaggeration to say that George Patton was one of the few World War II

general

s whose celebrity has endured for more than 70 years. He was probably the most famous American

general

of the war or certainly one of the three most well-known names next to the general. dwight d eisenhower and general douglas macarthur

patton

led armies to victory in north africa, sicily and france, germany, and in the last campaign, broke into the race to the east, ending world war ii, just inside czechoslovakia, honored and destined by all the allied nations, many do not know it.

His final months were marked by depression, anger and controversy. His untimely

death

in December 1945, at the age of just 60, has become the subject of intense speculation: was it an

accident

or was he

murder

ed by a shadowy conspiracy of Allied leaders fed up with the anti-Patton struggle? Soviet rhetoric and the embarrassing misstep if George Patton had become a liability instead of the asset he had been during the fighting in northwestern Europe Patton was a brilliant if difficult man who was quick to express his opinions on many topics and whose behavior often caused problems with the allied authorities the first four hours we spent on a completely destroyed destroyed land those who have not seen it do not know what hell looks like from above this is what germany looks like that austria this is what any country looks like place where the Eighth Air Force and the Third Army worked on, it seems that you must remember this, from the chest to several cities and the south of Germany and Austria, whose names I cannot pronounce but whose places I have eliminated the trace of the Third army in the 19th tactical air.

Command in the Eighth Air Force is marked by more than 40,000 white crosses. He first commanded American troops in action during World War II, during Operation Torch, the Allied landings in French North Africa in November 1942 and then in the Anglo-American invasion of Sicily in July 1933, although his command style, extravagant dress and spicy language, he was one of many fanatics among the divisions he commanded and in the allied press and public, some of his decisions and orders provoked censure from the high command. An early example was the illegal order he gave to his army. In a public speech given on June 27, 1943, just before the invasion of Sicily, in which he said that they should not take prisoners, as expected, some American soldiers executed 73 Italian prisoners of war in cold blood after the Biscari's capture, two soldiers were tried for this war crime, but Patton's order created an awkward situation for allies eager to sweep the whole matter under the rug to prevent the reputation of the most famous general in the United States and the United States.

U.S. military was tarnished Patton's investigation was dropped by order of US Army General Omar Bradley Patton's behavior was often just one step away from a serious scandal just weeks after the Bhiskari

murder

s, Patton physically slapped a U.S. soldier in the face inside an evacuation hospital. The man was suffering from combat fatigue, something Patton did not tolerate. That was August 3rd. 1943, Patton lost his cool again with a soldier suffering from combat fatigue a few days later, at another evacuation hospital he was visiting, when the soldier told Patton the reason he was there. Patton lost his temper calling the soldier a coward and a disgrace. "Be lined up against a wall and shot," Patton yelled.

There were more incidents, most famously towards the end of the war, when Patton ordered a task force of tanks and infantry to go 50 miles behind German lines to liberate an officers' prison camp at Hamelberg in Germany. Force Baum, which I made a video about some time ago, the link on the final screen was a complete dud. 314 men, 16 Sherman tanks and many other vehicles left and only 35 men and no tanks or vehicles returned, the rest were killed or captured in March. 1945. It was later learned that Patton's son-in-law, Colonel John Waters, was a prisoner at the camp. The press attention was very unpleasant for General Eisenhower and the Allied cause and it seemed as if Patton had used his power to send a half-thought. rescue mission to rescue his daughter's husband without regard to the cost in American lives and equipment was an abuse of power but so successful was Patton's handling of his third American army to advance through Germany the episode was hushed up another Problematic issue was Patton's increasingly antagonistic attitude toward America's ally the Soviet Union, Patton did not want to stop his army on the Czech-Bavarian border and allowed some units to advance into what would become Soviet territory in April 1945. .He famously quoted the Russians: I have no particular desire to understand them except to determine how much lead or iron it takes to kill them unquote, his fellow generals and Allied leaders did not much like Patton for a variety of reasons, some thought. that he was overrated as a general, an accusation also leveled at another flamboyant World War II leader. british field marshal sir bernard montgomery interestingly montgomery got along very well with

patton

and admired him general eisenhower knew patton's courage saying after his

death

quote it is no exaggeration to say that patton's name struck terror into the hearts of the enemy quote unquote general Bradley however did not like Patton in every possible way and General Sir Alan Brook, the British Chief of Staff, called Patton, summoned a handsome, brave, wild and unbalanced leader, good for operations requiring drive and thrust, but lost in any operation requiring skill and judgment, President Harry S Truman did not.

Rate Patton in comparison to the glowing praise heaped upon him by his predecessor, President Roosevelt. Truman compared Patton to two other egoists, General Macarthur in the Pacific and General George Armstrong Custer, who died at Little Bighorn in 1876. We could continue with all this. Today it is enough to say that Patton had many admirers and detractors in the Allied camp, but it is difficult to say enough of the latter to wish him harm, what is certain is that the forces managed to keep Patton out of the Pacific war as soon as Germany was defeated in early May 1945, Patton demanded a move to the Pacific and an army to lead it.

It seems strange that a general as famous and capable as Aspartan was denied such a prominent role in the final fighting of World War II. Patton was waiting to find out if he would do it. obtained such command he flew home to Bedford Massachusetts via Paris and London arriving on June 7, 1945. He spent time with his family and gave a speech to an audience of 000 people at the Hatch Memorial Shell, an open-air concert hall in Boston. Again exhibiting a serious lack of judgment by saying that a man who dies in battle is, quote, a fool, which considering the number of bereaved mothers and wives in his audience was somewhat appalling, Patton then made more speeches before great hearings in Denver, Los Angeles and Washington.

D.C., meanwhile, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson had decided that Patton would not be sent to the Pacific theater but was instead ordered to return to Germany as military governor of Bavaria. Bored and restless, the appointment was poorly chosen. Patton He saw the denalcification process that the Germans were undergoing as not very important He remained concerned about the Soviet threat to Europe as the early stages of the Cold War began to unfold in occupied Germany In his opinion forcefully expressed to the Secretary of War of the United States, Robert Patterson, the United States Army in Germany He had to be held at full strength and he bitterly regretted having to return the territory his Third Army had liberated in Europe to the Soviets.

Quote: "We have had a victory over the Germans and disarmed them, but we have failed to liberate Europe. lost the war, in quotes, Patton's attitude toward the defeated Germans was another source of shame for Eisenhower and Truman. He said that , in quotes, ss means no more in Germany than being a Democrat in the United States, in quotes, this private comment was published creating another storm in the press that his reputation was not good at all and required a solution Patton was also very expressive in. his resistance to U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau Jr.'s plan for postwar Germany, believing that Americans would be seen as too harsh if it were fully implemented that Patton had made many comments that bordered on anti-Semitism, irritating. certain sections of the American press against him, writing about the destruction of Berlin, which he visited in late July 1945.

Patton said: "Berlin made me sad, we have destroyed what could have been a good race and we are On the verge of replacing them with savages Mongols and all of Europe will be quote-unquote communist, Patton became increasingly obsessed with the Soviet threat and became angry because, in his opinion, the United States was unnecessarily punishing the Germans instead of protecting Europe from the Soviets. , little wonder. that some people would have preferred that a leader as famous as patton be silenced. Elements of the press in America, as I have already said, had become rather anti-Patton and Eisenhower relieved him of his position as military governor of Bavaria and gave him command of a The 15th paper army in Germany, Patton accepted the Job happily relieved to be out of the denazification business, but his continued vocal criticism of American policy in Germany and, of course, enunciation of the Soviets continued.

Patton, the four-star general, the most famous American of the war, was a huge liability to the American occupation of Germany and the government in Washington DC. It was later learned that the Americans and the Soviets tapped Patton's phone, so concerned were they by his behavior and his pronouncements that they perhaps killed him on December 9, 1945, Patton was invited by his chief of staff, Major General gay, on a pheasant hunting trip near the city of mannheim in germany. The veteran with Patton was generally gay and in front of the Cadillac was a jeep driven by Sergeant Joseph Skruce who carried the weapons for game food and a hunting dog on the road.

Patton called a stop at the Roman ruins at Zalberg and then resumed the trip sitting in the front passenger seat to warm his feet by the heater, since it was cold and snowing outside, at a military police checkpoint, the Cadillac stopped so the frozen hunting dog could be transferred to Patton's car and Patton resumed his usual right rear seat with Gay sitting on his left with the Jeep in front, the Cadillac followed Highway N38 towards the northern outskirts. From Mannheim at a railroad grade crossing, the Jeep passed over it, but the Cadillac was stopped by a passing train.

After the train passed, Woodring drove away and noticed two American army trucks pulling up to the side of The road a half mile ahead, one began moving toward the Cadillac. The truck was a two-and-a-half-ton GMC six-by-six, and as it was about to pass the Cadillac, it suddenly veered left directly into the path of the car. Woodring did not have time to take evasive action. The Cadillac collided with the truck at 20 miles per hour. Patton was thrown forward into a guardrail behind the driver's seat, injuring his head and neck, bleeding profusely from a laceration that extended from the bridge.

Nose to the top of his scalp, Patton collapsed into Gay's lap, unable to move. A wooden ring beckoned. The first vehicle he saw turned out to be an army ambulance. Medical Sergeant Leroy Ogden managed to stop the bleeding and Patton was then taken to Station 130 Hospital. In Heidelberg, arriving an hour after the

accident

, military police arrived at the scene to investigate the accident. The driver of the truck, Technical Sergeant 5th Class Robert Thompson, was acting rather strangely. He seemed unconcerned about the accident. He smiled constantly and Woodring felt that Thompson and two unnamed companions might have done it. been under the influence of alcohol, certainly Thompson was 50 miles from where he was supposed to be and on some type of unauthorized travel at the time of the accident, two officers from the 8th 18th Military Police Company interviewed all involved.

No charges were brought against anyone. In the accident, considered a routine fender bender, the hospital found that Patton was paralyzed from the neck to the vertebrae, severely dislocated specialists were airlifted, as was his wife from the United States; However, about a week after the accident, the patterns began to improve some muscle movementsrespiratory. Upon returning and preparations were made to take him to the US for further treatment, but on December 20, 1945, Patton suddenly deteriorated again and the next day he died of pulmonary edema and congestive heart failure on December 24, 1945. , according to your wishes. He was buried among the fallen third armies at the Ham American Cemetery in Luxembourg, so what about the conspiracy to kill Patton?

In reality, nothing was said about a conspiracy for 30 years after Patton's death. Such an idea only emerged in 1974 with the publication of a novel called The Algonquin Project by British writer Frederick Nolan, the book was a repeated fictional story that was loosely contrasted with the real death of Patton, which was about an assassination plot to kill Patton. a famous general; was made into a pretty bad movie called Brass Target in 1978. and from these two fictions arose the Patton murder conspiracy theory. In 1979, a former World War II OSS agent named Douglas Bazata came out of nowhere with a made-up story that many believed was asked by OSS Director General William Donovan. killing Patton in December 1945 to silence him, as he had become an embarrassment to American authorities on the surface.

Basata, who had earned a hat full of high decorations for his daring in World War II, seemed impressive, but any superficial comparison of events. of patton's last day, as recorded by general gay patton's driver, woodring, and many other witnesses, is at odds with bersata's rather ridiculous story, basically, bazata claimed to have opened the window next to patton four inches when the general was touring the Roman ruins shortly before his accident so he could shoot him later, just before the accident, using a special rock-shooting gun made by a country he couldn't remember and which looked like Patton had suffered a non-gunshot wound. in the head caused by the accident, which was also an organized course when Patton survived the shooting and after the accident he was finished off in the hospital with a poison that emulated natural death the press lapped up the fictional story of Bersata, fusing it with the novel and the film which expressed rumors of a murder plot What also fueled the mystery was the fact that no autopsy was performed on Patton, so no poison could be discovered, of course, as it was considered a routine accident and not a murder case, an autopsy was not necessary and it would also be revealed that records related to Patton's accident are missing from the national archives.

These points made their way into Patton biographer Ladislas Ferrago's 1981 book, The Last Days of Patton. Since then, three more books have been published explaining the alleged plot to assassinate Patton, as well as introducing a new theory that he was murdered by the Soviet precursor to the NKVD. However, the kgb has not presented concrete evidence that disagrees with the original witness statements, but the idea that Patton was murdered has entered the American national consciousness fueled, of course, by the Internet. Ultimately, it seems likely that George Patton died due to a chain of unfortunate circumstances rather than a complex conspiracy; he was simply unlucky.

When great people die in such ordinary ways, people often seek out the fantastic because they can't accept the mundane. the conspiracy to kill patton is simply a fictional book and movie plot that has taken on a life of its own until some real evidence of foul play is presented patton's death should remain what it was an accident thanks for watching please subscribe and share and also visit my war stories audiobook channel with mark Felton, you can also help support My two channels on Paypal and Patreon are detailed in the description box below.