George S. Patton & Third Army

As previously mentioned, after mid-May 1944 I lose track of where my Dad is and what he is doing because there are no letters for about a 4-month time period. However, the war is raging on in the South Pacific and in Europe.

While there are many battles and thousands of individuals engaged in various aspects of the war efforts, this blog is not dedicated to documenting the war as much as it is an effort to document my Dad’s involvement in the war.

But, since I can’t presently create any meaningful posts specifically about my Dad for this 4-month period of time, I will post some information about some activities that took place that will later become relevant to my Dad. So, at this point, I will focus a bit on General George S. Patton and just a couple of his exploits. 

General George S. Patton

Two high-profile incidents of Patton striking subordinates during the Sicily campaign attracted national controversy following the end of the campaign in Sicily. On August 3, 1943, Patton slapped and verbally abused Private Charles H. Kuhl at an evacuation hospital in Nicosia after he had been found to suffer from "battle fatigue". On August 10, Patton slapped Private Paul G. Bennett under similar circumstances. Ordering both soldiers back to the front lines, Patton railed against cowardice and issued orders to his commanders to discipline any soldier making similar complaints.

Word of the incident reached Eisenhower, who privately reprimanded Patton and insisted he apologize. Patton apologized to both soldiers individually, as well as to doctors who witnessed the incidents and later to all of the soldiers under his command in several speeches. Eisenhower suppressed the incident in the media, but in November journalist Drew Pearson revealed it on his radio program. Criticism of Patton in the United States was harsh and included members of Congress and former generals, Pershing among them. The views of the general public remained mixed on the matter, and eventually, Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson stated that Patton must be retained as a commander because of the need for his "aggressive, winning leadership in the bitter battles which are to come before the final victory."

General Omar Bradley

Patton did not command a force in combat for 11 months. In September, General Omar Bradley, who was Patton's junior in both rank and experience, was selected to command the First United States Army forming in England to prepare for Operation Overlord. This decision had been made before the slapping incidents were made public, but Patton blamed them for his being denied the command. Eisenhower felt the invasion of Europe was too important to risk any uncertainty, and that the slapping incidents had been an example of Patton's inability to exercise discipline and self-control. While Eisenhower and Marshall both considered Patton to be a skilled combat commander, they felt Bradley was less impulsive or prone to making mistakes.

On January 26, 1944, Patton was formally given command of the U.S. Third Army in England, a newly formed field Army, and he was assigned to prepare its inexperienced soldiers for combat in Europe. This duty kept Patton busy during the first half of 1944.