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Army Generals Re: Patton Slapping Incident and More! fantastic Content
Army Generals Re: Patton Slapping Incident and More! fantastic Content
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Description:

Army Generals Reminisce about General George S. Patton during World War II

These two letters from officers in the U.S. Army in Europe during World War II provide fascinating glimpses of the character of General George S. Patton Jr. late in the war.

One of the letters specifically mentions Patton's infamous slapping incidents. In early August 1943 during the Sicily campaign, Patton slapped and berated two soldiers under his command who were patients at evacuation hospitals without apparent physical injuries. Patton did not believe in combat stress reaction, known then as battle fatigue or shell shock. When General Dwight D. Eisenhower learned of the incidents, he ordered Patton to apologize to the men, but he and Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall did not dismiss Patton.

[GEORGE S. PATTON JR.] Kenneth G. Wickham, Autograph Letter Signed, to Schuyler E. Tallman, April 10, 1992, Los Altos, California. 3 pp. + envelope, 8.5" x 11". Excellent.
With: Otto L. Nelson Jr., Autograph Letter Signed, to Schuyler E. Tallman, December 2, 1982, Alexandria, Virginia. 2 pp. + envelope, 5.75" x 7.75". Excellent.

Excerpts
[Wickham:]
"At war's end the 45th, in its staff and its supporting artillery and service units had any men who had entered combat in Sicily in 1943. In 511 days of combat it had suffered about 65,000 casualties and few riflemen remained in May 1945 who had entered combat with it in Sicily."

"In Sicily the 45th, reportedly by the old timers, had fought to the outskirts of Palermo, the prize city, and was about to capture it. Gen. Patton ordered the infantry to halt outside the city and let the armor charge through and have the glory of taking the city. This they did to the denial of credit to the 45th. The old timers in the 45th never forgave Gen. Patton."

"In late May or early June 1945 the 45th was directed to move to Le Havre, France to await shipment through the USA to the Pacific. Gen. Patton announced that he wished to come to Furstenfeldbruck to address a representative division group of troops before their departure. No one in the 45th was overjoyed at this prospect. Gen. Frederick realized he would have to comply and, after Gen. Patton's speech, would have to entertain him. However, Gen. Frederick told me he would not have 'the – –' in his house; in consequence he arranged a garden party outside the house with bar, band, tent fly for VIP's, etc and invited the 45th's officers and the Third Army party to it.
"The 45th offered to send guides for Gen. Patton to Furstenfeldbruck but he declined. On the appointed day we had the troops drawn up in an open park before a high speaker's platform and awaited Gen. Patton. He was 30 minutes late; in his phaeton, with motorcycles fore, aft, and aside he had dashed by the proper road junction and become lost—thus his delay and embarrassment, which the old times in the 45th relished. Gen. Patton finally arrived, clad in gleaming helmet and pearl-handled pistols, mounted the platform, apologized for holding the troops in formation while he was lost, then delivered a 20-min 'blood and guts' speech designed to charge us up for the Japanese assault. Afterward Gen. Patton and party and the 45th's officers withdrew to Gen. Fredericks gardens nearby for the lawn party. Gen. Patton got a drink and went to sit in an easy chair in the VIP tent fly. I personally had never seen him before but knew of his exceptional history and record and was interested in seeing him. All the other 45th's officers steered clear of Gen. Patton so I went into the tent fly and sat beside him while we both had our drinks—no one else joined us for 15-20 minutes so I had his sole attention. He was, of course, a striking figure and a handsome man. I was at the time a 32 yr old colonel and must have appeared young and inexperienced to him. However, he was very gracious as we engaged in small talk about the war and the 45th. He told me 'the 45th wasn't worth a damn until it had lost 3000 men.' I understood his meaning about the need for a unit to become 'battle wise' but he was immediately apologetic for his remark. Incidentally he had just before that been to the US on a hero's tour and had gotten in trouble for some of his candid remarks, which I knew. Anyway, we had a pleasant chat then I suggested we leave the tent and mingle with the other officers which we did. The remainder of the party was without incident and I never saw him again."

[Nelson:]
"I did know Gen Patton but not intimately. While in Gen Marshalls and Gen McNarney's office, I made a trek to North Africa and Italy with Gen White then G-1 (Personnel) of the General Staff.
"We visited Gen Patton while he was royally ensconced in the palace of the King of Italy in Palermo. It was just after the famous slapping incident and after Gen Eisenhower had told us when we were in Algiers that he wished he could put George Patton in moth balls with mouth shut on the shelf between battles. Miller White and I spent all of the evening listening to Gen Patton expound on his philosophy of leadership and just why he had slapped the soldier who claimed psychological problems and what he had the peasant and his donkey pushed off the road so that military traffic would not be impeded.

"Some of Pattons narrative—of course was so that we would go back to the Pentagon and carry his story to Mr. Stimson Sec of War and Gen Marshal. Some of the conversation which lasted far into the night I conveyed to Frank McCarthy who was then a 1st Lt and Aide to Gen Marshall. Frank included many of the incidents Patton related in the movie Patton which Frank either directed or was the producer."
"Keep up your interest in and support of the military. They need it now."

George S. Patton Jr. (1885-1945) was born in California and educated at the Virginia Military Institute and United States Military Academy, from which he graduated in 1909. An avid horseback rider, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the cavalry. In 1910, he married Beatrice Banning Ayer (1886-1953), the daughter of a wealthy Boston businessman. He competed in the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, in the modern pentathlon, where he finished fifth behind four Swedes. He then traveled to France, where he learned fencing techniques. Returning to the United States, he redesigned cavalry saber combat doctrine and designed a new sword. In 1915 and 1916, Patton participated in the Pancho Villa Expedition in Mexico as Commander John J. Pershing's aide. In the spring of 1917, he accompanied Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force in World War I, to Europe. Patton took an interest in tanks and was soon training crews to operate them. By 1918, he was in command of a tank brigade. After World War I, he served in various army posts and began to develop the methods of mechanized warfare. At the beginning of World War II, Patton worked to develop and train armored divisions in the army. In the summer of 1942, he commanded the Western Task Force in the Allied invasion of French North Africa. He commanded the Seventh U.S. Army in the successful invasion of Sicily in July 1943. After the Normandy invasion of June 1944, Patton's Third Army sailed to France and formed on the extreme right of Allied land forces. Through speed and aggressive offensive action, the Third Army continuously pressed retreating German forces until it ran out of fuel near Metz in northeastern France at the end of August. When the German army counterattacked in the battle of the Bulge in mid-December 1944, Patton's ability to reposition six full divisions to relieve besieged Allied forces in Bastogne was one of the most remarkable achievements of the war. As the Germans retreated, Patton's Third Army advanced, killing, wounding, or capturing 240,000 German soldiers in seven weeks before crossing the Rhine on March 22. After the end of the war in Europe, Patton hoped for a command in the Pacific but after a visit to the United States returned to Europe for occupation duty in Bavaria. In December 1945, the car in which he was riding collided with an American army truck at low speed, but Patton hit his head on a glass partition, breaking his neck and paralyzing him. He died twelve days later at a hospital in Germany. He was buried among some of his men of the Third Army in an American cemetery in Luxembourg.

Kenneth G. Wickham (1913-2004) was born in Missouri and attended the University of Missouri before entering the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1934. He graduated in 1938 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the coast artillery. In July 1941, he assumed command of an artillery battery in Rhode Island. After additional training with the 1st Special Service Force for combat in snowy conditions, he participated in a mission in the Aleutian Islands. He then joined U.S. forces in Italy, where he became the executive officer of the 1st Special Service Force, which participated in the liberation of Rome in June 1944. Wickham was assigned to the 1st Airborne Task Force in July 1944 and entered southern France in August. In November 1944, he became the chief of staff of the 45th Infantry Division in northern France, with which he participated in several battles, the capture of Munich, and the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp. He returned to the United States with the division in November 1945, and after the war rejoined the coast artillery. After serving in a series of executive positions, he became adjutant general of the Eighth Army in Korea in 1954. He returned in 1955, gained additional training at the Army War College, and in 1959 became commandant of the Adjutant General's School. From 1961 to 1971, he served at the Pentagon in Washington, reaching the rank of major general before retiring.

Otto L. Nelson Jr. (1902-1985) was born in Nebraska and graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1924. He was commissioned in the Infantry and completed a master's degree from Columbia University in 1932, graduated from the Command and General Staff School in 1938, and received a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1939. He served as a member of the Army General Staff during World War II. He contributed to the reorganizations of the Army command structure at both the beginning and end of World War II and documented those reorganizations and the history of the Army General Staff in National Security and the General Staff (1946). He served as a major general from November 1944 to May 1946. After the war, he was an insurance company executive.

Schuyler E. Tallman (1927-2011) was born in Amsterdam, New York, and enlisted in the U.S. Navy, serving during World War II. He joined the Army National Guard and served from 1974 to 1980 as a staff sergeant. He worked for an insurance agency before retiring in 1992. He was an avid student of military history and collected war memorabilia.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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