My previous statement may have lead some to believe that I didn't respect General Patton ability as a commander. So, I want to redeem myself by submitting some of his quotes. These are directly from him or those in his command. Maybe someone can learn a little about his personality from these quotes.
All quotes are taken from Atkinson's book "An Army at Dawn".
American soldiers "must have a superiority complex". Patton's instructions to his troops to take the initiative just before the landing on Vichy French Algiers.
"I guess I must be God's most favorite person." Comment made when the dawn revealed the sea conditions for their landing was the calmest it had been in 86 years.
"G--D---it! I hope you have a spare toothbrush with you I can use to clean
my foul mouth. I don't have a thing left in the world, thanks to the United States
Navy". Spoken just after the concussion from the flagship's guns blew out the bottom of Patton's landing craft, dropping his personal kit into the sea. Luckily he was wearing his ivory-handled revolvers.
"I wish I were a second lieutenant again". Spoken while sitting out the battle on
the bridge of Hewitt's flagship.
Patton appeared on the beach with a mission "to flay the idol, rebuke the incompetent, and drive the timid".
"The beach was a mess and the officers were doing nothing". Spotting a soldier cowering on the beach; "I kicked him in the arse with all my might....Some way to boost morale. As a whole the men were poor, the officers worse. No drive. It is very sad." quote from diary.
"pieces of bacon" - Patton's description of the badly burned sailor and soldiers
picked up after a U-Boat attack off N. Africa coast.
"they were a nasty blue color" - Patton's description of the corpses on the beaches.
"God favors the bold, victory is to the audacious." quote from diary.
"Ike is more British than the British". quote from diary amid the British/American squabbles.
Quote from President Roosevelt's diary after a ride with Gen. Patton to Cassablanca: he told me "at least five times that he hoped to die with his boots on".
Quote from a soldier's diary: "He sure scares the s### out of me."
Robinett's description of Patton as II Corps commander: "Bedizened with stars and loaded with guns, he came with Marsian speech and a song of hate."
When General Allen pointed to a slit trench outside his tent, Patton unzipped his fly and urinated in it, signaling his contempt for passive defenses.
"When he wanted advice from a colonel he d### well would ask for it and otherwise he d### well didn't want it."