General Patton-The Man and the Movie

[Tuckerfan]

@OneCentStamp

Here is a biography of Patton I read last year. It was an outstanding read. It confirms many things you would pick up about Patton in the movie (prima donna, believed in reincarnation, wrote poetry, slapped enlisted men, etc.). It also touches on elements glossed over or left out of the movie – the womanizing, the Olympic medal (yep!), the civilian massacres that took place under his command in Italy and were arguably due to an interpretation of his orders, etc.

Another good one is this bio written by a man who served under Patton. He also states that Patton would have been quite happy with the way Scott portrayed him in the film.

(Oh yeah, Patton didn’t like painted on rank emblems on helmets, so he had metal ones welded on to everyone’s helmet.)

[Tully_Mars]

@The Punkyova

I remember reading that Omar Bradley and Patton despised each other. (Bradley was very straight laced and couldn’t stand profanity, and Patton thought that any soldier who wouldn’t swear was a total wimp.) However, most of the movie was based on Bradley’s autobiography. Bradley, ironically, ended up earning millions in royalties and various fees from a movie about a man he hated. (This was from the Carlo D’Este biography.)

I’ve read Bradley’s autobiography. I did not get the impression that Bradley disliked Patton. He disagreed with Patton methods somewhat in Africa and Sicily. He also realized that Patton got results. Bradley was genuinely impressed with Patton’s acceptance of the subordinate role when Bradley was given command of the (sorry, I’m too lazy to look it up) Army after D-Day.

Bradley was not so kind in his appraisal of Montgomery’s performance in Calais, but that’s another thread.

Another point about Patton: Isn’t it interesting how accurate his prediction (and Churchill’s) about the Russians following the war turned out.