Welcome to our collection of quotes by George S. Patton.
Wikipedia Summary for George S. Patton
George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France and Germany after the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944.
Born in 1885, Patton attended the Virginia Military Institute and the United States Military Academy at West Point. He studied fencing and designed the M1913 Cavalry Saber, more commonly known as the "Patton Saber", and competed in modern pentathlon in the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden.
Patton first saw combat during 1916's Pancho Villa Expedition, America's first military action using motor vehicles. He saw action in World War I as part of the new United States Tank Corps of the American Expeditionary Forces: he commanded the U.S. tank school in France, then led tanks into combat and was wounded near the end of the war. In the interwar period, Patton became a central figure in the development of the army's armored warfare doctrine, serving in numerous staff positions throughout the country. At the American entry into World War II, he commanded the 2nd Armored Division.
Patton led U.S. troops into the Mediterranean theater with an invasion of Casablanca during Operation Torch in 1942, and soon established himself as an effective commander by rapidly rehabilitating the demoralized II United States Corps. He commanded the U.S. Seventh Army during the Allied invasion of Sicily, where he was the first Allied commander to reach Messina. There he was embroiled in controversy after he slapped two shell-shocked soldiers, and was temporarily removed from battlefield command.
He then was assigned a key role in Operation Fortitude, the Allies' military deception campaign for Operation Overlord. At the start of the Western Allied invasion of France, Patton was given command of the Third Army, which conducted a highly successful rapid armored drive across France. Under his decisive leadership, the Third Army took the lead in relieving beleaguered American troops at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, after which his forces drove deep into Nazi Germany by the end of the war.
During the Allied occupation of Germany, Patton was named military governor of Bavaria, but was relieved for making aggressive statements towards the Soviet Union and trivializing denazification. He commanded the United States Fifteenth Army for slightly more than two months. Severely injured in an auto accident, he died in Germany twelve days later, on December 21, 1945.
Patton's colorful image, hard-driving personality and success as a commander were at times overshadowed by his controversial public statements. His philosophy of leading from the front, and his ability to inspire troops with attention-getting, vulgarity-ridden speeches, such as his famous address to the Third Army, was met favorably by his troops, but much less so by a sharply divided Allied high command. His sending the doomed Task Force Baum to liberate his son-in-law, Lieutenant Colonel John K. Waters from a prisoner of war camp further damaged his standing with his superiors. His emphasis on rapid and aggressive offensive action nonetheless proved effective, and he was regarded highly by his opponents in the German High Command. An award-winning biographical film released in 1970, Patton, helped popularize his image.
A civil servant is sometimes like a broken cannon -- it won't work and you can't fire it.
The duties of an officer are the safety, honor, and welfare of your country first; the honor, welfare, and comfort of the men in your command second; and the officer's own ease, comfort, and safety last.
One does not plan and then try to make circumstances fit the plans. One tries to make plans fit the circumstances.
There is no proof nor yet any denial. We were, we are, and we will be.
Success is not getting to the top -- but how you bounce up from the bottom that counts.
In war the only sure defense is offense, and the efficiency of the offense depends on the warlike souls of those conducting it.
The fixed determination to have acquired the warrior soul, to either conquer or perish with honor, is the secret of victory.
I am sure that if every leader who goes into battle will promise himself that he will come out either a conqueror or a corpse, he is sure to win. There is no doubt of that. Defeat is not due to losses but to the destruction of the Soul of the leaders-the 'live to fight another day' doctrine.
Plans must be simple and flexible....They must be made by the people who execute them.
You just wait and see. The lily-livered bastards in Washington will demobilize. They'll say they've made the world safe for democracy again. The Russians are not such damned fools. They'll rebuild; and with modern weapons.
Tanks are new and special weapon-newer than, as special, and certainly as valuable as the airplane.
I do not have to tell you who won the war. You know, the artillery did.
Now in war we are confronted with conditions which are strange.
If we accept them we will never win.
Since being realistic, as in mundane combats fistic,
We will get a bloody nose and that's a sin.
It is the cold glitter of the attacker's eye not the point of the questing bayonet that breaks the line.
Often I have encountered in life that great disappointments have proved to be the road to future successes.
Good tactics can save even the worst strategy. Bad tactics will destroy even the best strategy.
I always believe in being prepared, even when I'm dressed in white tie and tails.
All men are timid on entering any fight. Whether it is the first or the last fight, all of us are timid. Cowards are those who let their timidity get the better of their manhood.
Wars are not won by fighting battles; wars are won by choosing battles.
I believe in the old and sound rule that an ounce of sweat will save a gallon of blood.
Many soldiers are led to faulty ideas of war by knowing too much about too little.
There is a time to take counsel of your fears, and there is a time to never listen to any fear.
Why is it that all battles are fought in the middle of the night, in downpouring rain, and at the corners of four different maps?
I'd rather have a German Division in front of me than a French one behind.
The obvious thing for the cavalryman to do is to accept the fighting machine as a partner, and prepare to meet more fully the demands of future warfare.
Prisoner of War guard companies, or an equivalent organization, should be as far forward as possible in action to take over prisoners of war, because troops heated with battle are not safe custodians. Any attempt to rob or loot prisoners of war by escorts must be dealt strictly with.
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.
In forty hours I shall be in battle, with little information, and on the spur of the moment will have to make the most momentous decisions. But I believe that one's spirit enlarges with responsibility and that, with God's help, I shall make them, and make them right.
War is a bloody, killing business. You've got to spill their blood, or they will spill yours. Rip them up the belly. Shoot them in the guts.
There is a great deal of talk about loyalty from the bottom to the top. Loyalty from the top down is even more necessary and much less prevalent. One of the most frequently noted characteristics of great men who have remained great is loyalty to their subordinates.
We must guard against becoming so engrossed in the specific nature of the roots and bark of the trees of knowledge as to miss the meaning and grandeur of the forest they compose.
In the space of two days I had evolved two plans, wholly distinct, both of which were equally feasible. The point I am trying to bring out is that one does not plan and then try to make circumstances fit those plans. One tries to make plans fit the circumstances.
There are three ways that men get what they want: by planning, by working, and by praying.
Longer Version:
There are three ways that men get what they want; by planning, by working, and by praying. Any great military operation takes careful planning, or thinking. Then you must have well-trained troops to carry it out: that's working. But between the plan and the operation there is always an unknown. That unknown spells defeat or victory, success or failure. It is the reaction of the actors to the ordeal when it actually comes. Some people call that getting the breaks; I call it God. God has His part, or margin in everything, That's where prayer comes in.
Do not try to make circumstances fit your plans. Make plans that fit the circumstances.
Discipline can only be obtained when all the officers are imbued with the sense of their awful obligation to their men and to their country that they cannot tolerate negligence. Officers who fail to correct errors or to praise excellence are valueless in peace and dangerous misfits in war.
Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men.
Longer Version:
Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of men who follow and of the man who leads that gains the victory.
Success demands a high level of logistical and organizational competence.
Compared to war, all other forms of human endeavor shrink to insignificance. God help me, I do love it so.
Don't fall victim to what I call the ready-aim-aim-aim-aim syndrome. You must be willing to fire.
To me it seems certain that the fatalistic teachings of Muhammad and the utter degradation of women is the outstanding cause for the arrested development of the Arab. He is exactly as he was around the year 700, while we have kept on developing.
I don't measure a man's success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom.
You shouldn't underestimate an enemy, but it is just as fatal to overestimate him.
Attack rapidly, ruthlessly, viciously, without rest, however tired and hungry you may be, the enemy will be more tired, more hungry. Keep punching.
Officers must be made to care for their men. That is the sole duty of all officers.
For years I have been accused of making snap judgments. Honestly, this is not the case because I am a profound military student and the thoughts I express, perhaps too flippantly, are the result of years of thought and study.
Many, who should know better, think that wars can be decided by soulless machines, rather than by the blood and anguish of brave men.
War is an art and as such is not susceptible of explanation by fixed formula.
A good solution applied with vigor now is better than a perfect solution applied ten minutes later.
No sane man is unafraid in battle, but discipline produces in him a form of vicarious courage.
It is absurd to believe that soldiers who cannot be made to wear the proper uniform can be induced to move forward in battle. Officers who fail to perform their duty by correcting small violations and in enforcing proper conduct are incapable of leading.
Sure, we want to go home. We want this war over with. The quickest way to get it over with is to go get the bastards who started it.
The test of success is not what you do when you are on top. Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.
A man must know his destiny.
Longer Version:
A man must know his destiny. if he does not recognize it, then he is lost.
Unless you do your best, the day will come when, tired and hungry, you will halt just short of the goal you were ordered to reach, and by halting you will make useless the efforts and deaths of thousands.
All of the real heroes are not storybook combat fighters either. Every single man in this Army plays a vital role. Don t ever let up. Don t ever think that your job is unimportant. Every man has a job to do and he must do it. Every man is a vital link in the great chain.
There is only one tactical principle which is not subject to change. It is to use the means at hand to inflict the maximum amount of wound, death, and destruction on the enemy in the minimum amount of time.
Give me an Army of West Point graduates and I'll win a battle... Give me a handful of Texas Aggies and I'll win a war.
A good battle plan that you act on today can be better than a perfect one tomorrow.
An imperfect plan implemented immediately and violently will always succeed better than a perfect plan.
When you have collected all the facts and fears and made your decision, turn off all your fears and go ahead!
If you can't get them to salute when they should salute and wear the clothes you tell them to wear, how are you going to get them to die for their country?
A real man will never let his fear of death overpower his honor, his sense of duty to his country, and his innate manhood.
The time to take counsel of your fears is before you make an important battle decision. That's the time to listen to every fear you can imagine! When you have collected all the facts and fears and made your decision, turn off all your fears and go ahead!
Prepare for the unknown by studying how others in the past have coped with the unforeseeable and the unpredictable.
Discipline must be a habit so ingrained that it is stronger than the excitement of battle.
The courageous man is the man who forces himself, in spite of his fear, to carry on.
A piece of spaghetti or a military unit can only be led from the front end.
You need to overcome the tug of people against you as you reach for high goals.
It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived.
All very successful commanders are prima donnas and must be so treated.
If you tell people where to go, but not how to get there, you'll be amazed at the results.
Watch what people are cynical about, and one can often discover what they lack.
Quotes by George S. Patton are featured in:
Courage Quotes
Perseverance Quotes
War Quotes
Man Quotes
You Yourself Quotes
Success Quotes