Lesser Known Facts About World War II

1. Patton Did Worse Than Slap His Soldiers Around

The brown stuff hit the fan for General George S. Patton during the Sicilian Campaign, when he accused a PTSD-suffering soldier in a hospital of cowardice, slapped him around, and threatened to shoot him. He repeated the disgraceful performance a few days later in another hospital. When the scandal broke, it nearly got Patton cashiered. He survived, and went on to perform superbly a year later in France and Germany. However, towards war’s end, Patton had an even worse, but lesser-known scandal, in which he got dozens of GIs killed for personal reasons. It happened in late March of 1945, when Patton ordered Task Force Baum, comprised of 314 men, 16 tanks, and dozens of other vehicles, to penetrate 50 miles behind German lines. Their task: liberate a POW camp that housed Patton’s son-in-law.

Task Force Baum’s raid ended catastrophically: all tanks and vehicles were lost, and only 35 men made it back, with the rest being killed or captured. Eisenhower was furious at Patton’s misuse of military personnel and assets for personal reasons, and reprimanded him. In light of his valuable services, however, Eisenhower declined to punish Patton beyond the reprimand. A reporter got wind of the scandal, and when the story first broke in a major publication on April 12^th, 1945, it would have wrecked Patton under normal circumstances. However, FDR died that same day, and his demise eclipsed all other news. The scandal got little traction, and when Patton died a few months later, the story became a mere historic footnote.

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Where Did We Find This Stuff? Some Sources and Further Reading

Bronx Pinstripes – On This Day in History: Yogi Berra Takes Part in D-Day

Brown, Anthony Cave – Bodyguard of Lies (1975)

Combined Ops – Operation Chariot: St. Nazaire, 28^th March, 1942

Daily Beast – D-Day’s Forgotten African American Heroes: One

Daily Beast – These Black Soldier Fought For America. It Didn’t Protect Them From Jim Crow

Daily Beast – The Black Heroes Who Protected US Troops on D-Day

Defense Media Network – Decima Flottiglia Mas and Operazione EA3: The Raid on Alexandria

Hervieux, Linda – Forgotten: The Untold Story of D-Day’s Black Heroes, At Home and At War (2015)

Imperial War Museum – The Incredible Story of the Dambusters Raid

MacIntyre, Ben – Agent Zigzag: The True Wartime Story of Eddie Chapman, Lover, Betrayer, Hero, Spy (2007)