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George S. Patton

War As I Knew It Kindle Edition

by George S. Patton (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

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General George S. Patton, Jr., was one of the most brilliant military strategists in history. War As I Knew It is the personal and candid account of his celebrated, relentless crusade across western Europe during World War II. The Book is an absorbing narrative that draws from Patton's vivid memories of battle and his detailed diaries, covering the moment the Third Army exploded onto the Brittany Peninsula to the final Allied casualty report. The result is not only a grueling, human account of daily combat and heroic feats—including a riveting look at the Battle of the Bulge—but a valuable chronicle by one of the most brilliant military strategists in history. In these fascinating and frank memoirs, Patton speaks out with intense personal feelings about the Second World War, the art of war, and the soldier’s life. He gives us an unforgettable self-portrait of an American professional soldier caught in the toils of war.

Print length

342 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Sanage Publishing House
Publication date

August 12, 2020
File size

3986 KB
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Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

First published in 1947, War As I Knew It is the captivating memoir of George S. Patton, Jr., the legendary American general, incendiary warrior, and unparalleled military tactician of World War II. Drawing on his vivid memories of battle and detailed diaries, Patton dramatically recounts his celebrated Third Army's sweeping campaign across Western Europe right up to the final Allied casualty report. The result is a remarkable frontline view of daily strategies and heroic drivesincluding the rescue of the Battle of the Bulge from Allied infamy and the triumphant Palatinate Campaign - revealing a fascinating portrait of the full-of-vinegar, controversial commander. With selected prefatory letters from Patton's earlier ventures in North Africa and Sicily and a powerful concluding retrospective, War As I Knew It is a classic of American military history. --This text refers to the paperback edition.

About the Author

Rick Atkinson is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Long Gray Line, about West Point's class of 1966, and Crusade: The Untold Story of the Persian Gulf War. He is currently the Berlin Bureau chief for the Washington Post.

George Smith Patton, Jr., 1885-1945, served as Pershing's aide in Mexico in 1916, rose from captain to major general between the world wars, and headed the illustrious Third Army in World War II. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08FRQNV1H
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Sanage Publishing House; 1st edition (August 12, 2020)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 12, 2020
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 3986 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Print length ‏ : ‎ 342 pages
Lending ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #55,837 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #88 in Military & Spies Biographies
- #109 in Military & War Biographies (Kindle Store)
- #559 in Military Leader Biographies

Customer Reviews:
626 ratings

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Top reviews from the United States

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freedeep

We are very lucky Patton was on our side, and not a 2nd Montgomery.

Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2017

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General Patton's book is excellent, with the one wish that more maps be included which would help the reader follow the military maneuvers more clearly. The other downfall of this "new" printing of the book is the "new" introduction by R. Atkinson. His mindset and writings are an insult to General Patton. The General goes into great detail explaining his viewpoint on numerous subjects (part of what make the book great reading), but in the introduction Atkinson says Patton is wrong, and goes further disagreeing with the opinion and pride Patton had for U.S. fighting forces. R.Atk evidently cannot comprehend the difference between a war of necessity and a political war 20 years later. I would suggest that readers buy an older version of Patton's book, with the original introduction. This older version is available thru Amazon.

53 people found this helpful

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William J. Bahr

War as Patton told it!

Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2020

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Patton’s “War As I Knew It” is an impressive, posthumously published book (first published in 1947 after Patton's death in 1945). It's well worth the price just for Rick Atkinson’s insightful introduction (in the print book; Kindle intro by Douglas Southall Freeman) and Patton’s Letters of Instruction at the end. What follows are some quotes and commentary I gleaned from the book:

Just as Lee had Stonewall Jackson, a strategist like Eisenhower had his work supplemented by a superb tactician like General George S. Patton. Patton had been a personal aide to General Pershing during WWI and had gone on to champion the use of tanks. During WWII, he was successful in the North Africa and Sicily campaigns, becoming much feared by the Germans. The Allies used Patton’s reputation to advantage during the Normandy invasion. They put Patton in charge of what amounted to a phantom army stationed near Dover, England, prompting the Germans to believe that the invasion was to come at Calais, the closest city on the other side of the Channel. This deception spread the German defense thinner at Normandy, the real target, than it otherwise would have been.

Patton’s 3rd Army under General Bradley’s 12 US Army Group, became operational in Normandy on 1 August 1944 and simultaneously attacked west, east, and north, quickly trapping several hundred thousand German soldiers in an area called the Falaise (Normandy) Pocket. Aggressively employing speed, effective reconnaissance, and tactical air support, Patton’s Army moved east until it ran out of gas and halted in place. In December, the Germans took the offense with Battle of the Bulge. Resupplied and in response, Patton wheeled one part of his army north, relieved the 101st Airborne Division trapped at Bastogne, and then ran east through the frozen Ardennes, hitting the Germans in the flank. The other part of his army attacked east, with the two parts meeting to trap 60K German soldiers and 10K square miles of territory. By the time the war ended, Patton was camped in Czechoslovakia, requesting to attack Prague.

Patton believed that, while there is no approved solution to any tactical situation, there is one, but only one, tactical principle which is not subject to change: “To so use the means at hand to inflict the maximum amount of wounds, death, and destruction on the enemy in the minimum time.” In battle, casualties are directly proportional to the time exposed to effective fire. One’s fire reduces the effectiveness of the enemy’s, while quickness of attack shortens the time of exposure. Battles are won by frightening the enemy, and this is best done by inflicting him with death and wounds. Fire from the rear is more deadly and three times more effective than fire from the front. To get fire behind the enemy, one must hold him by frontal fire and race around his flank. Frontal attacks against prepared positions should be avoided. One can never be too strong: one should get every man and gun possible, provided it does not unduly delay one’s attack. The larger the force and the more violence one uses in the attack, the smaller will be one’s losses. Never yield ground. Mortars and artillery are superb weapons when they are firing; when silent, they are junk – see that they keep firing! In mountain country or when forcing a pass, secure the heights first. In battle, small forces can do one of three things: go forward, halt, or run. Halting or running makes them an even easier target. There is a universal failure to repeat verbal orders back. This failure can result in grave errors. There is a tendency to overload junior officers by excessive and non-essential training and report requirements, which can be alleviated by eliminating non-essential demands.

“While infantry must move to close with the enemy, it must shoot to move. When targets are not visible, infantry weapon fire must search enemy-occupied areas. Use marching fire to reduce the accuracy of enemy fire and increase one’s confidence. Shoot short. Ricochets make nastier sounds and wounds. The bayonet kills few men, but many are scared by it. Construct dummy batteries. In choosing sites for them, avoid places where fire directed at them will adversely affect other arms. The primary mission of armored units is attacking infantry and artillery. The enemy’s rear is the happy hunting ground for armor. Use every means to get it there. Against counter-attacks, the offensive use of armor striking the flank is decisive. Forward observers provide sixty-five to seventy-five percent of all artillery targets. Junior reconnaissance officers must be very inquisitive, setting an example, producing accurate reports, and not losing contact while on mission. An officer must be the last man to take shelter from fire, and the first to move forward. Similarly, he must be the last man to look after his comfort at the close of a march.”

Letters of Instruction: There is only one sort of discipline – perfect discipline. Discipline can only be obtained when all officers are so imbued with the sense of their awful obligation to their men and their country that they cannot tolerate negligence. Officers who fail to correct errors or to praise excellence are valueless in peace and dangerous misfits in war. Officers must assert themselves by example and by voice. They must be pre-eminent in courage, deportment, and dress. One of the primary purposes of discipline is to produce alertness. ...ceremonies are a great help to give them that perfect discipline. Officers must possess self-confidence and the confidence of their men. Two of the best ways of producing this are meticulously conducted close-order drill, led by officers, and platoon marches...during which the platoon is wholly on its own.

Combat principles: A pint of sweat will save a gallon of blood! “Catch the enemy by the nose with fire and kick him in the pants with fire emplaced through movement.” Hit hard soon; you can never be too strong. Get every man and gun you can secure, provided it does not unduly delay your attack. Officers must possess self-confidence and the confidence of their men. German prisoners over forty talk more quickly than the younger ones. To halt under fire is folly. To halt under fire and not fire back is suicide. Move forward out of fire. Officers must set an example. If you cannot see the enemy, you can at least shoot at the place where he is apt to be.
Bottom line, a fascinating read from the pen of one of history’s great captains!

Check out some of William J. Bahr’s books: Strategy Pure and Simple: Essential Moves for Winning in Competition and Cooperation and
George Washington's Liberty Key: Mount Vernon's Bastille Key – the Mystery and Magic of Its Body, Mind, and Soul , a best-seller at Mount Vernon. “Character is Key for Liberty!”

11 people found this helpful

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SBW Beaverton

A smirky, arrogant piece of writing

Reviewed in the United States on June 11, 2020

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Patton was of course one of the more successful generals of his time, and his Third Army was powerfully effective following the Normandy invasion. Don't read this book expecting a true autobiography. There is very little content about North Africa, and the ETO material, although detailed in terms of which units were assigned to which places, which divisions did a good job, those that needed better leadership, etc., lacks any sort of truly useful perspective. This diary-like rendition of Patton's part of the war was written with an arrogant, smirky attitude. The only general Patton truly approves of is himself and many of those who reported to him. Otherwise, as he sees it, just about every general, at just about every level, is described in extraordinarily judgmental terms. Patton didn't like the way that Eisenhower, Bradley and Montgomery conducted their work, and while a great deal of what he has to say about these people reads as accurate, it all is filtered through Patton's own narrow point f view. That POV, simply described, was "give me all the necessary resources, and I'll end the war, and any other use of those resources is a waste of time." After a while, that sort of analysis gets very old.

5 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

RR Waller

Old "Blood 'n' Guts" - the Memoirs

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 11, 2011

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I discovered this slightly battered, yellowing and a little musty smelling copy in one of this second-hand bookshops it is possible to while hours away just wandering.

From the outset, I must admit Patton is one of my heroes - a man in the right place, at the right time and just right for what he had to do. Never far from trouble, usually caused by his mouth rather than his armies, he was a warrior from a warrior family, one who was completely unafraid to take decisions and send men into battle. Controversial and vain, highly intelligent, well-read and erudite, he had many faults but he also knew how to inspire men and how to win battles - battles rather than wars, perhaps.

To have achieved what he did and kept a daily journal is amazing. He was a "hands-on" general, one unafraid to get down and dirty. Complete with maps, drawings, plans and other illustrations, e.g. a detailed plan of the army positions at the Battle of the Bulge early on 22nd December 1944 and another showing positions late on 22nd December, 1 January and 31st January, it is a rare insight into how he went about his war. One poignant feature for readers but essential logistics for Patton are the regular tables, e.g. 24th October - "Third Army - Killed-4,541, Wounded-22,718, Missing-4,548, Non-battle casualties-13,323 - Grand Total-45,130, Replacements-43,566 / Enemy - Killed-30,900, Wounded-89,600, Prisoners-95,600 - Total-216,100" (P 131). Reading these types and scales of figures requires a certain type of man.

"I complacently remembered that I had always 'Demanded the impossible,' that I had 'Dared extreme occasions' and that I had 'Not taken counsel of my fears'." P 158)

The north African and Sicily campaigns are detailed in the early chapter and make fascinating reading, as does his view of the Bulge and sweep eastwards at the end of the war.

He quotes poetry, his own and others and begins with the following dedication:

"My sword I give to him that shall succeed me in my pilgrimage, and my skill and courage to him that cab get it. My works and scars I carry with me, to be my witness for me that I have fought His battle who know will be my rewarder." "Pilgrim's Progress.

Worth a read for anyone interested in Patton, military history or the Second World War.

One person found this helpful

Judith Moore

the greatest hero.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 4, 2014

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This man was indeed a genius in war!! His courage and strength and vitality to win campaigns were amazing, and his outspokenness were what made him so strong in opinion. He was America' s finest.

One person found this helpful

Thomas Rennie

Five Stars

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 31, 2015

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Arrived in good time and good condition. Great read and insight into a fascinating man.

Angela Akers

Man of his times.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 6, 2016

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Good historic read.

Gary