After WWII in Europe ended, Gen. George Patton’s main motivation was to continue his war in the Pacific. But Gen. MacArthur did not want to share the spotlight, so Patton’s fighting days were over. He did not fit peacetime and got into a lot of trouble. He was appointed Military Governor of Bavaria by Eisenhower. Patton was ill-suited for politics. He would have much preferred to go to war with the Soviets. He openly proclaimed that we should push the Soviets out of Europe. He also got in trouble because of his lukewarm implementation of denazification. The Allied policy was to remove all Nazis from government positions. Patton left many in place because he believed these Nazis were best able to put Germany back on its feet. He stuck his foot in his mouth when he told reporters that the Nazi civil servants were basically like Republicans and Democrats. His anti-semitism came out when he excused conditions in prison camps as being due to Jewish internees “pissing and crapping” all over the place. He suggested that concentration camps be created for the Jewish detainees! Some suggested he was mentally unstable. Maybe, but for sure he was depressed over the end of the war. It got so bad that Ike’s chief of staff Bedell Smith (who hated Patton) had Patton’s phones wiretapped! The tapes caught Patton talking about attacking the Soviets and using German troops. He said he would set up a situation where the Soviets would fire the first shot. Ike finally had enough and Patton was transferred to command of the 5th Army which was in charge of writing a history of the U.S. Army in WWII. It had no troops to command. His depression increased.
On Dec. 8, a pheasant hunt was suggested to perk up his feelings. On Dec. 9, he set off in his 1939 Model 75 Cadillac. PFC Horace Woodring, Patton’s usual driver, was at the wheel. After a few minutes, Patton noticed a hunting dog shivering in a jeep ahead. He had the vehicles stop and the dog took Patton’s place in the front seat. This act of compassion cost Patton his life. The trip continued and suddenly a truck cut across the Cadillac’s path. The Cadillac crashed into the side of the truck, damaging the front. No one was hurt, except Patton. He had been thrown forward into the metal frame of the glass that separated the front and back seats. There were no seat belts back then. Patton was bleeding a lot and seriously injured and he knew it. “I think I’m paralyzed. This is a helluva way to die.” At the hospital, it was determined that his neck was broken and apparently he had a broken spine. He was in severe traumatic shock. He was paralyzed from the neck down. Put in traction, he was in a lot of pain. His wife Beatrice rushed to his side. He died on Dec. 21, 1945. He was 60 years old. It was the worst kind of death because he did not have his boots on. But he did die after fulfilling his dream of leading an army in battle.
Since his death, there have been conspiracy theories about his death. Books have been written about it. This was ridiculous as any examination of the crash proves. Is that how you would have assassinated someone? Did they use a shivering dog? Give me a break. And why would anyone want him dead? He commanded an army with no men. Not exactly a force to start a war with the Soviets. Sometimes an unlucky accident is just an unlucky accident.
https://warfarehistorynetwork.com/real-story-general-george-patton-jr-death-final-days/
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/old-blood-and-guts-dies
https://www.motorious.com/articles/features-3/general-pattons-car-accident/
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