George S Patton Quotes
224 George S Patton Quotes
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I want you men to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other dumb bastard die for his country.
George S Patton
All this stuff you’ve heard about America not wanting to fight, wanting to stay out of this war, is a lot of horsesh*t. Americans love to fight. All real Americans love the sting of battle.
George S Patton
Americans love to fight.
George S Patton
Attack weakness.
George S Patton
Make up your mind on course and direction of action, and stick to it.
George S Patton
When in doubt attack.
George S Patton
I assume command of the I Armored Corps! At ease!
George S Patton
We are in a long war against a tough enemy. We must train millions of men to be soldiers! We must make them tough in mind and body, and they must be trained to kill.
George S Patton
As officers we will give leadership in becoming tough physically and mentally. Every man in this command will be able to run a mile in fifteen minutes with a full military pack including a rifle!
George S Patton
Damn it! I mean every man of this command! Every officer and enlisted man – staff and command; every man will run a mile! We will start running from this point in exactly thirty minutes! I will lead!
George S Patton
Every soldier is a four-star army.
George S Patton
[Senior commanders had a] Habit of commanding too far down.
George S Patton
A General should command one echelon [level] down, and know the position of units two echelons down. …It has been my observation that any general officer who violates this rule and at, let us say, the Army level, shows the location of battalions, starts commanding them and loses his efficiency.
George S Patton
I want every member of this staff to get up front at least once every day. You will never know what is going on unless you can hear the whistle of the bullets. You must lead the men. It is easier to lead than to push. Besides, having you senior colonels up front is a great incentive and temptation for the younger officers. Nothing like creating a vacancy to get a promotion!
George S Patton
Trying to lead men from behind makes you a driver and not a leader. It is easier to lead men just as it is easier to pull a log chain. You cannot push a log chain and you cannot push troops. The troops will keep running back to you for instructions – really from fear. A leader has to be ahead of his men. You’ve got to know what is going on all the time. You cannot swim without being in the water! You cannot ice skate without being on the ice. No one ever learned to skate on a map board. Take the map with you and get up front!
George S Patton
[On a senior colonel wanting to do a further detailed feasibility before taking action on a river crossing, being told to ‘We will cross where I made the mark!’ and asking ‘How can you be sure, General?’] Take a look at my pants! That’s how shallow the water is. I walked across without collecting any enemy fire!
George S Patton
[On General John J Pershing] Under the personal supervision of the General every unit… every horse and every man was fit; weaklings had gone; baggage was still at the minimum, and discipline was perfect. When I speak of supervision, I do not mean the nebulous staff control so frequently connected with the work… General Pershing knew to the minutest detail each of the subjects in which he demanded practice and by his physical presence and personal example and explanation insured himself that they were correctly carried out.
George S Patton
A leader is a man who can adapt principles to circumstances.
George S Patton
Goddammit, I’m not running for Shah of Persia. There are no practice games in life. It’s eat or be eaten, kill or be killed. I want my bunch to get in there first, to be the ‘fustest with the mostest.’ They won’t do it if I ask them kindly. That was the only mistake Robert E Lee ever made. He gave suggestions instead of orders and it cost him the war.
George S Patton
When I have a promotion to make, I line up all of the candidates and give them a problem I want them to solve. I say ‘Men, I want a trench dug behind a warehouse. Make this trench eight feet long, three feet wide, and six inches deep.’ That’s all I tell them. I use some warehouse that has windows or a large knot hole. While the candidates are checking out the tools they want to use, I get inside the building and watch through the window or knot hole. The men will drop all of the spades and picks on the ground behind the warehouse as I watch. After resting for several minutes, they will start talking about why I want such a shallow trench. They will argue that six inches is not deep enough for a gun placement. Others will argue that such a trench should be dug with power equipment. Others will say it is too hot or too cold to dig. If the men are officers there will be complaints that they should not be doing such lowly labor as digging a trench. Finally, one man will give an order to the others, ‘Let’s get this trench dug and get out of here. Doesn’t make any difference what that old SOB wants to do with the trench.’ …That man get’s the promotion.
George S Patton
A general who had been relieved came in at his own request and tried to explain why he was no good. I offered him a lesser command in another division, but he told me he needed forty-eight hours to consider it. I did not tell him so, but I realized that any man who could not make up his mind in less than forty-eight hours was not fit to command troops in battle.
George S Patton
In my experience, all very successful commanders are prima donnas, and must be so treated. Some officers require urging, others require suggestions, very few have to be restrained.
George S Patton
Generals must never show doubt, discouragement, or fatigue.
George S Patton
In cold weather, General Officers must be careful not to appear to dress more warmly than the men.
George S Patton
I can tell a commander by the way he speaks. He does not have to swear as much as I do, but he has to speak so that no one will refuse to follow his order. Certain words will make you sound like a staff officer and not a commander.
George S Patton
A good commander will never express an opinion!
George S Patton
A good commander knows!
George S Patton
No one cares what your opinion is!
George S Patton
Never use the words, ‘In my opinion, I believe, I think or I guess,’ and never say ‘I don’t think!’
George S Patton
Every man who hears you speak must know what you want. You can be wrong, but never be in doubt when you speak! Any doubt or fear in your voice and the troops can feel it.
Never give a command in a sitting position unless you are on a horse or on top of a tank!
George S Patton
I crossed the bridge over the [Saar] River under alleged fire. It was purely a motion on my part to show the soldiers that generals could get shot at. I was not shot at very much.
George S Patton
I believe that a good deal of my success and a great deal of my unpopularity is due to the fact that I fought every order to take troops away from me, and frequently succeeded in holding on to them or in getting others to replace them.
George S Patton
[Requoted from Napoleon] To command an army well a general must think of nothing else.
George S Patton
Always Attack. Never Surrender.
George S Patton
Americans love to fight. All real Americans love the sting of battle.
George S Patton
We are going to move and move fast!
George S Patton
We are not going to dig any foxholes and wait for the enemy to come shootin’ at us. We will be shootin’ at them first!
George S Patton
We will be where the enemy never expects us to be!
George S Patton
[I am a] Profound student of history.
George S Patton
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