"Patton was convinced that a confrontation with the Soviet Union was bound to come to a head, and he knew the American army was at present superior- his Third Army alone contained nearly half a million combat veterans. "We could beat hell out of them," Patton announced. To a visiting undersecretary of war Patton strongly recommended that the administration not break up the American army at the conclusion of the war in Europe but leave it in place in case the Communists threatened to overrun all of Europe. When the horrified diplomat responded, "You don't realize the strength of these people," Patton scoffed that with the kind of fighting he could give them the Russians might be able to defend themselves up to five days or a week. "After that... if you wanted Moscow, I could give it to you.""
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Military leaders from the United StatesLegion of Honour recipientsSilver Star Medal recipientsUnited States Army peopleDistinguished Service Cross recipients
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Winston Groom, The Generals: Patton, MacArthur, Marshall, and the Winning of World War II (2015), p. 394-395
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_S._Patton
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
George S. Patton
George Smith Patton, Jr. (11 November 1885 – 21 December 1945) was a General in the United States Army, who commanded the U.S. Seventh Army in the Mediterranean and European Theaters of World War II, but is best known for his leadership of the U.S. Third Army in France and Germany following the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1
123 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by George S. Patton →
Related Quotes
"Toma las cosas como vienen."
"Man muß die Dinge nehmen, wie sie kommen."
"Čeho nelze předělati, darmo na to žehrati."
"On the other hand, Patton, whose eccentricities were as marked as MacArthur's or Montgomery's and far more flamboyant…"
"Several weeks before General Patton died in a command car accident in 1945, he visited my headquarters at Ingolstadt.…"
"Successful leaders must be highly visible, if for no other reason than to share the hardships of their men. I am thin…"
"I frequently had dinner with Patton and his staff. Over a little wine or other stimulant he always became a most inte…"
"The decision to weigh Lieut. Gen. Patton's great services to his country, in World War I and World War II, from these…"
"At the 9th Division headquarters at El Guettar, Tunisia, enemy planes bombed and strafed incessantly, so that the sec…"
"I first met George S. Patton, Jr., before World War II when he was a lieutenant colonel at Fort Sill, and in North Af…"