Details
PATTON, George S. Typed letter signed ("G. S. Patton, Jr.") to Brig. Gen. Albert Kenner, Headquarters Seventh Army, 30 September 1943. 1 page, 4to, matted and framed with a photograph of Patton.
PATTON SPECULATES ON "WHO WILL EVENTUALLY COMMAND THE BIG PARADE" OF OPERATION OVERLORD AND FAULTS HIMSELF FOR DOING "TOO WELL"
Patton's signature arrogance is prominently on display in this letter, written after the close of the Sicilian campaign, as he anticipates being passed over for the command of Operation Overlord. "There is here, and probably in Washington, a great deal of conversation and conjecture as to who will eventually command the big parade. I sometimes think that it is disadvantageous to do too well, and my present lack of occupation may be traceable to this cause. On the other hand, I have been extremely lucky. This is the fourth time when I seem to have worked myself out of a job and in every case, without any activity on my part, I got a better one. You know perfectly well that any time I am in a position to use you, all you have to do is to let me know. I did collect some bets on Messina, but my betting average for Palermo was so good that I had few takers."
He didn't get the Overlord command, of course, and he did get another (if not a "better") job, leading the Third Army into Germany in 1945. However, it was not an abundance of success that cost him the top spot. Aside from the two infamous slapping incidents, his blood thirsty pre-landing speech to the troops bound for Sicily was later cited as justification by two GIs hauled up on charges of killing scores of German and Italian POWs (the Biscari massacres). They thought they were following orders. Patton did, however, play a crucial deceptive role in Overlord, as the head of a mythical force the Germans thought was bound for Calais. It pinned German divisions in Calais for weeks after the Normandy landings.
PATTON SPECULATES ON "WHO WILL EVENTUALLY COMMAND THE BIG PARADE" OF OPERATION OVERLORD AND FAULTS HIMSELF FOR DOING "TOO WELL"
Patton's signature arrogance is prominently on display in this letter, written after the close of the Sicilian campaign, as he anticipates being passed over for the command of Operation Overlord. "There is here, and probably in Washington, a great deal of conversation and conjecture as to who will eventually command the big parade. I sometimes think that it is disadvantageous to do too well, and my present lack of occupation may be traceable to this cause. On the other hand, I have been extremely lucky. This is the fourth time when I seem to have worked myself out of a job and in every case, without any activity on my part, I got a better one. You know perfectly well that any time I am in a position to use you, all you have to do is to let me know. I did collect some bets on Messina, but my betting average for Palermo was so good that I had few takers."
He didn't get the Overlord command, of course, and he did get another (if not a "better") job, leading the Third Army into Germany in 1945. However, it was not an abundance of success that cost him the top spot. Aside from the two infamous slapping incidents, his blood thirsty pre-landing speech to the troops bound for Sicily was later cited as justification by two GIs hauled up on charges of killing scores of German and Italian POWs (the Biscari massacres). They thought they were following orders. Patton did, however, play a crucial deceptive role in Overlord, as the head of a mythical force the Germans thought was bound for Calais. It pinned German divisions in Calais for weeks after the Normandy landings.