Patton's Daring Move That Almost RUINED His Career Forever

Описание: In August 1943, General George S. Patton slapped two hospitalized soldiers suffering from combat fatigue during the Sicily campaign. The incidents were witnessed by dozens of medical staff, reported to Eisenhower, and then suppressed by sixty war correspondents for three months. When columnist Drew Pearson broke the story on national radio, Congress demanded Patton's dismissal. Instead, Eisenhower's decision to protect his most aggressive general accidentally created the perfect decoy for Operation Fortitude, the deception that helped protect the Normandy landings on D-Day.

This video covers the full story: what happened in those hospital tents, Eisenhower's secret letter, the unprecedented media blackout, Patton's forced apology tour, and how eleven months of exile made Patton more valuable than he had ever been in combat.

SOURCES

Books:
Rick Atkinson, "The Day of Battle: The War in Sicily and Italy, 1943-1944" (Henry Holt, 2007)
Carlo D'Este, "Patton: A Genius for War" (HarperCollins, 1995)
Martin Blumenson, "The Patton Papers: 1940-1945" (Houghton Mifflin, 1974)
Ladislas Farago, "Patton: Ordeal and Triumph" (Ivan Obolensky, 1963)
Harry C. Butcher, "My Three Years with Eisenhower" (Simon & Schuster, 1946)

Primary Documents:
Lieutenant Colonel Perrin H. Long, "Mistreatment of Patients in Receiving Tents of the 15th and 93rd Evacuation Hospitals" (August 1943)
Eisenhower's letter to Patton, August 17, 1943 (Personal and Secret)
Patton's diary entries, August 3 and August 10, 1943
Secretary of War Stimson's report to Congress, November 1943

Articles and Papers:
"Slap Heard around the World: George Patton and Shell Shock," US Army War College, Parameters
Drew Pearson, Washington Merry-Go-Round broadcast, November 21, 1943 (Blue Network)