George S. Patton slapping incidents

The George S. Patton slapping incidents refer to two events that involved U.S. General George S. Patton and happened during the  Allied campaign in Sicily during World War II. Patton slapped two soldiers who he thought were cowards in hospitals for battle fatigue. The general lost his command. He was sent back to England and played no part in the D-Day landings in Normandy.

 Background 

George S. Patton believed it was part of a general's work to visit his wounded soldiers in hospitals.Agostino von Hassell; Ed Breslin, Patton: The Pursuit of Destiny (Nashville: Nelson, 2010), p. 119 He did so more than other generals even though he personally found it hard to do. His usual visit included talking to the soldiers and telling them how much he appreciated their courage. His aides followed him, pinning medals on soldiers as they went. General Omar Bradley, who knew Patton well, said that when it came to his men Patton was softhearted in spite of his gruff manner. 

Growing up, Patton had serious doubts about himself. He came from a long line of military heroes, and one of his greatest fears was that he might be a coward in battle.Agostino von Hassell; Ed Breslin, Patton: The Pursuit of Destiny (Nashville: Nelson, 2010), p. xviii Through his own strength of will, he conquered his fear.Barney Sneiderman, Warriors Seven: Seven American Commanders, Seven Wars, and the Irony of Battle (New York : Savas Beatie, 2006), p. 263 He expected the same from all men he commanded. Any display of fear reminded him of his own earlier problems with fear.

 Incidents 

On 3 August 1943, Patton was visiting the 15th Evacuation Hospital. D. A. Lande,  I Was With Patton: First-Person Accounts of WWII In George S. Patton's Command (St. Paul, MN: MBI, 2002), p. 88 He found a soldier sitting on a supply box. Patton asked him why he was there. The soldier, Private Charles H. Kuhl, answered, "I guess I just can't take it."  Patton was immediately angry, swore at the soldier, and slapped him with his gloves. The soldier had malaria and dysentery. 

A week later, at the 93rd Evacuation Hospital, Patton came upon Private Paul G. Bennet lying on a bed.  In reply to Patton's usual question of what was wrong with him, the soldier replied, "It's my nerves."  The general yelled "What did you say?" Bennet repeated himself. Patton then angrily swore at the soldier, called him a coward, hit the soldier. and told him that he had to return to the front lines. He even reached for his pistol. Patton was still yelling when he left the hospital tent.

 Effects 

When Patton and his army entered Messina (16 August 1943), General Dwight D. Eisenhower wrote him that he had received word of the slapping incidents.Barney Sneiderman, Warriors Seven: Seven American Commanders, Seven Wars, and the Irony of Battle (New York: Savas Beatie, 2006), p. 217  Eisenhower told Patton that there was no excuse for losing his temper in front of his soldiers and that there was no excuse for brutality of the sick and injured. He ordered Patton to apologize to their divisions publicly and to both men personally.

Patton wrote Eisenhower a note of apology and proceeded to address his troops as he had beenordered. On 30 August, he was giving his public apology for the third and last time to the 3rd Division:Martin Blumenson, The Patton Papers: 1940-1945
 (New York : Da Capo Press, 1996), p. 341 Patton was giving his short speech when his troops sensed he was about to apologize. They started chanting, "No general, no, no; General, no, no." They cut him off from his apology and would not let him give it. Overcome with emotion, Patton left the stage.

The incidents were considered handled by Eisenhower and Army Chief of Staff George Marshall,Barney Sneiderman, Warriors Seven: Seven American Commanders, Seven Wars, and the Irony of Battle (New York : Savas Beatie, 2006), p. 265 and news reporters were told not to file any stories on the incidents. In November 1943, however, one American columnist, Drew Pearson, filed the story anyway and accused the army of a cover-up. Most American people, however, still were behind Patton.

Nazi Germany was amused at the story and at the Americans and saw nothing wrong with a general slapping a soldier. However, Patton was too valuable to dismissTerry Brighton, Patton, Montgomery, Rommel: Masters of War (New York : Crown, 2008), p. 243 and so in early January 1944, Eisenhower sent him back to England  and placed him in command of the First United States Army Group. The army did not exist and was intended only to fool the Germans.Victor Brooks, The Normandy Campaign: From D-Day to the Liberation of Paris (Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 2002), p. 246 They thought that Patton would lead the invasion of Europe whenever it came. For the next six months, Patton was on his best behavior. After the D-Day landings, he was given command of the Third United States Army in Normandy.

 References 

 Other websites  
 On This Day: George S. Patton Slaps Hospitalized Soldier, ''Finding Dulcinea 

Category:World War II