# Why was George Patton such a jerk? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 28, 2023, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-george-patton-such-a-jerk/995285 "2023-12-28T16:17:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2023, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-george-patton-such-a-jerk/995285/41 "2023-12-29T18:51:24Z")
Bradley got his fifth star in 1950. As a brand new 2LT at Ft Bliss in 1980 one was expected to make a pilgrimage to his quarters, never saw him but I did go by to see his house. ---
**Author:** ![themapleleaf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/themapleleaf/32/14349_2.png) [@themapleleaf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/themapleleaf)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2023, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-george-patton-such-a-jerk/995285/42 "2023-12-29T19:00:29Z")
Patton was also a rabid anti-Semitist; [the views he expressed about Jews sound straight out of Mein Kampf or another Nazi textbook](https://www.jewishpress.com/indepth/gen-pattons-appalling-anti-semitism/2017/12/20/). Heck, he _was_ a Nazi sympathizer of sorts - he opposed the Nurnberg trials for war crimes, and put ex-Nazi soldiers in charge of liberated concentration camp survivors (!!!), in effect continuing their incarceration under their former captors. He may have served his country well as a military commander, but I really, really, _really_ don’t like this guy and would not have wanted to serve under him. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2023, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-george-patton-such-a-jerk/995285/43 "2023-12-29T19:00:37Z")
Patton was an asshole because he was an asshole. Some people are just assholes. He might have had narcissistic personality disorder. Like a lot of people in history, Patton was a flawed person who would have been horribly incompetent if put in a slightly different role, but he was excellent at the job is is most famous for - leading armored formations in offensive corps and army-level operations. He could never have done Eisenhower’s job, or Nimitz’s job, or any number of other military jobs, but he was in precisely the right role for his temperament and skillset. He was in that regard similar to Ulysses S. Grant, who was an extremely different PERSON - he was quiet, unassuming, and unlike Patton didn’t like war or being a soldier - but who found his calling in the Civil War, though he was inept at any civilian job he ever did. Winston Churchill failed at a great many things and was a walking catalogue of emotional disorders but was precisely the correct man for his job in mid 1940. Not every great person is like that - Abraham Lincoln would have been a terrific President in any age, for instance. ---
**Author:** ![Horatius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horatius/32/3572_2.png) [@Horatius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatius)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2023, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-george-patton-such-a-jerk/995285/44 "2023-12-29T19:16:25Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I sort of suspect that Marshall and Eisenhower recognized Bradley’s competence as an administrator as well as a general, and after D-Day, put him in charge of the 12th Army Group, and kept Patton where he would be at his best- in command of 3rd Army. Yes, it’s all about playing to people’s strengths. What’s of more value, an outstanding three-star general, or a mediocre-to-bad four-star general? ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2023, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-george-patton-such-a-jerk/995285/45 "2023-12-29T20:09:56Z")
Zhukov is a General who also took a lot of risks, took a TON of casualties, and yet is probably the best General of World War 2. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2023, 5:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-george-patton-such-a-jerk/995285/46 "2023-12-30T05:27:23Z")
Patton was something we don’t see very much anymore, the scion of a wealthy family in the military. Many wealthy families prior to WWII had military traditions. Not so much anymore. He also married rich. Maybe he had narcissistic personality disorder. He certainly thought of himself as American aristocracy descended from European aristocracy. He competed in the Pentathlon in the Olympics. The story is the officials missed a double hit on the pistol target or he would have won gold. It makes sense that he felt superior to the peasants under him. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2023, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-george-patton-such-a-jerk/995285/47 "2023-12-30T07:30:52Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > For the record, my grandfather fought und MacArthur in the South Pacific, and he worshipped the man until the day he died. He claimed that he was the only general who cared about his soldiers’ lives. Obviously he wasn’t one of the ones in Bataan who was abandoned by Doug, taking his family, incluing his maid, and $500,000 in cash ($9.7 million dollars in current value), a gift from the Philippine Commonweath by President Manuel Quezon. While the US troops waited to die, they sang the following song to the tune of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic:” > [@](#): > > Dugout Doug MacArthur lies ashaking on the Rock > Safe from all the bombers and from any sudden shock > Dugout Doug is eating of the best food on Bataan > And his troops go starving on. > > Dugout Doug’s not timid, he’s just cautious, not afraid > He’s protecting carefully the stars that Franklin made > Four-star generals are rare as good food on Bataan > And his troops go starving on. > > Dugout Doug is ready in his Kris Craft for the flee > Over bounding billows and the wildly raging sea > For the Japs are pounding on the gates of Old Bataan > And his troops go starving on… ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2023, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-george-patton-such-a-jerk/995285/48 "2023-12-30T09:03:16Z")
> [@TokyoBayer](#): > > Obviously he wasn’t one of the ones in Bataan who was abandoned by Doug, taking his family, incluing his maid, and $500,000 in cash ($9.7 million dollars in current value), a gift from the Philippine Commonweath by President Manuel Quezon. No, he signed up after Pearl Harbor, along with 3 of his brothers and one of his nephews (my great-grandmother could have put 5 stars in her window, but didn’t want to seem prideful). Bataan was a debacle, and MacArthur made some mistakes that he learned from later. But blaming him for not fighting in the trenches in Bataan is absurd. He was theater commander - did anyone expect Eisenhauer to land on D-Day? I also don’t understand the accusations against him for retreating. Ignoring the fact that FDR ordered him to retreat, what good would it been to anyone if he had been captured? And who the hell criticizes someone for rescuing civilians from a war zone? ---
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2023, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-george-patton-such-a-jerk/995285/49 "2023-12-30T09:54:15Z")
my dad said the first thing his commanding officer said to the group when they arrived in vietnam was "im not here to be liked or loved im here to send them to hell dead and you home alive … hopefully both at the same time " ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2023, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-george-patton-such-a-jerk/995285/50 "2023-12-30T15:27:22Z")
Agreed, MacArthur didn’t deserve accusations of cowardice for “abandoning” Bataan, when he was ordered to leave. The reason he gets a mixed historical verdict - on the one hand being a superb tactician, on the other hand failing to act for many hours after getting news of the Pearl Harbor bombing, taking personal credit for the valor of his officers and troops, insisting on a destructive and costly Philippines campaign to validate his “honor” and meddling in politics during a war, is apparent. He’s a good example of a brilliant military jerk. ---
**Author:** ![John\_DiFool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_difool/32/19543_2.png) [@John\_DiFool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_DiFool)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2023, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-george-patton-such-a-jerk/995285/51 "2023-12-30T15:38:22Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > The bitter joke in the Third Army was “Our blood. His glory.” As the movie had it, I believe it was “There goes ol’ Blood and Guts.” “Yeah. Our blood. His guts.” > [@bump](#): > > I sort of suspect that Marshall and Eisenhower recognized Bradley’s competence as an administrator as well as a general, and after D-Day, put him in charge of the 12th Army Group, and kept Patton where he would be at his best- in command of 3rd Army. Bradley lost his nerve at the Falaise Pocket and told Patton to halt when he could have snipped the neck thru which many Germans were escaping. For once Patton did as he was told, and a lot of Germans got out, only to garrison the Siegfried Line in the fall As the book I am reading indicates (Rick Atkinson’s _The Guns At Last Light_), Bradley likely got promoted Peter Principle style beyond his comfort level. > [@Loach](#): > > The story is the officials missed a double hit on the pistol target or he would have won gold. To clarify, he felt one shot went thru an earlier hole from a previous shot. The officials on duty disagreed. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2023, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-george-patton-such-a-jerk/995285/52 "2023-12-30T17:09:26Z")
Good analysis. I’d say Patton was born into the wrong century, the wrong culture for his personality and tactical skills. In an aristocratic warrior society he’d have been a brilliant and honored cavalry commander. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2023, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-george-patton-such-a-jerk/995285/53 "2023-12-30T17:29:49Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > Bradley lost his nerve at the Falaise Pocket and told Patton to halt when he could have snipped the neck thru which many Germans were escaping. For once Patton did as he was told, and a lot of Germans got out, only to garrison the Siegfried Line in the fall > > As the book I am reading indicates (Rick Atkinson’s _The Guns At Last Light_), Bradley likely got promoted Peter Principle style beyond his comfort level. I’m not sure that was necessarily Peter Principle in action, as much as it was a recognition that Patton was a superb field commander- Army level and below. He’s the guy you wanted directing your troops to crush the enemy. Bradley wasn’t _bad_ at this- he’d been requested specifically by Patton in N. Africa, and got glowing reviews for his performance. What I suspect happened was that at some point, they (Marshall, Eisenhower and whoever else made those decisions) realized that Patton was better left where he was- in charge of a single Army, while Bradley could be better utitlized in higher command, as he was a better administrator and diplomat than Patton, and those were the skills most needed for Army Group command. So Patton got screwed by the Peter Principle’s close cousin- being too good where you’re at to be promoted. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2023, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-george-patton-such-a-jerk/995285/54 "2023-12-30T20:29:22Z")
That whole _“Boinking your Neice”_ thing was kinda skeevy. I don’t remember _that_ in the movie! ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2024, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-george-patton-such-a-jerk/995285/55 "2024-01-01T17:59:26Z")
it must have really irked him to have Ike train under him and then become his boss ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2024, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-george-patton-such-a-jerk/995285/56 "2024-01-02T19:16:45Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > That whole _“Boinking your Neice”_ thing was kinda skeevy. I don’t remember _that_ in the movie! Her mother was the half-sister of Patton’s wife. So she was his adult niece by marriage. Skeevy but not as skeevy as it could have been. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-was-george-patton-such-a-jerk/995285.md?page=2)