patton quotes

Enjoy the George S. Patton Quotes/Quotations

"let them die for the country"

"No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country.
He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."
- Attributed to General George Patton Jr
(from "A Genius for War" by Carlo d'Este)
Click here to read the whole monologue
And here for the Patton Speech (Thanks to Mr. Scott Hann)

"An army is a team. It lives, eats, sleeps, fights as a team.
This individuality stuff is a bunch of bullshit."
- General George Patton Jr

"Prisoner of War guard companies, or an equivalent organization, should be as far forward as possible in action to take over prisoners of war, because troops heated with battle are not safe custodians. Any attempt to rob or loot prisoners of war by escorts must be dealt strictly with."
- General George S. Patton. ("War as I knew it" 1947)

“It is absurd to believe that soldiers who cannot be made to wear the proper uniform can be induced to move forward in battle. Officers who fail to perform their duty by correcting small violations and in enforcing proper conduct are incapable of leading.”
- General George S. Patton Jr., April 1943

“You cannot be disciplined in great things and indiscipline in small things. Brave undisciplined men have no chance against the discipline and valour of other men. Have you ever seen a few policemen handle a crowd?”
- General George S. Patton Jr, May 1941,
in an address to officers and men of the Second Armored Division.

"War is an art and as such is not susceptible of explanation by fixed formula"
- General George Patton Jr

"If a man does his best, what else is there?"
- General George Patton Jr

"If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn't thinking."
- General George Patton Jr

"Infantry must move forward to close with the enemy. It must shoot in order to move…. To halt under fire is folly. To halt under fire and not fire back is suicide. Officers must set the example"
- General George Patton Jr "War as I knew it" 1947

"Few men are killed by the bayonet, many are scared by it. Bayonets should be fixed when the fire fight starts"
- General George Patton Jr, "War as I knew it" 1947

"All men are timid on entering any fight. Whether it is the first or the last fight, all of us are timid. Cowards are those who let their timidity get the better of their manhood."
- General George Patton Jr, "War as I knew it" 1947

Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory.
- General George Patton Jr

Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom.
- General George Patton Jr

Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way.
- General George Patton Jr

Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.
- General George Patton Jr

Pressure makes diamonds.
- General George Patton Jr

May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won't.
- General George Patton Jr

If you can't get them to salute when they should salute and wear the clothes you tell them to wear, how are you going to get them to die for their country?
- General George Patton Jr

Never tell people how to do things.
Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.
- General George Patton Jr

Watch what people are cynical about, and one can often discover what they lack.
- General George Patton Jr

Do your damnedest in an ostentatious manner all the time.
- General George Patton Jr

Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men.
- General George Patton Jr

I am a soldier, I fight where I am told, and I win where I fight.
- General George Patton Jr

"We want to get the hell over there. The quicker we clean up this Goddamned mess, the quicker we can take a little jaunt against the purple pissing Japs and clean out their nest, too. Before the Goddamned Marines get all of the credit."
- General George S. Patton, Jr
(addressing to his troops before Operation Overlord, June 5, 1944)

"Sure, we want to go home. We want this war over with. The quickest way to get it over with is to go get the bastards who started it. The quicker they are whipped, the quicker we can go home. The shortest way home is through Berlin and Tokyo. And when we get to Berlin, I am personally going to shoot that paper hanging son-of-a-bitch Hitler. Just like I'd shoot a snake!"
- General George S. Patton, Jr
(addressing his troops before Operation Overlord, June 5, 1944)

"Make your plans to fit the circumstances."
- General George S. Patton, Jr

"Moral courage is the most valuable and usually the most absent characteristic in men."
- General George S. Patton, Jr

"Take calculated risks."
- General George S. Patton, Jr

"There's a great deal of talk about loyalty from the bottom to the top. Loyalty from the top down is even more necessary and is much less prevalent. One of the most frequently noted characteristics of great men who have remained great is loyalty to their subordinates."
- General George S. Patton, Jr

"You're never beaten until you admit it."
- General George S. Patton, Jr

"It is only by doing things others have not that one can advance."
- General George S. Patton, Jr

"A pint of sweat will save a gallon of blood."
- General George S. Patton, Jr

"All glory is fleeting."
- General George S. Patton, Jr

"A leader is a man who can adapt principles to circumstances."
- General George S. Patton, Jr

"Success demands a high level of logistical and organizational competence."
- General George S. Patton, Jr

"Perpetual peace is a futile dream."
- General George S. Patton, Jr

"It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived."
- General George S. Patton, Jr

"The test of success is not what you do when your on top. Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom."
- General George S. Patton, Jr

"If I win I can't be stopped! If I lose I shall be dead."
- General George S. Patton, Jr

"Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity."
- General George S. Patton, Jr

"Audacity, audacity, always audacity."
(English translation of the French Proverb)
- General George Patton Jr's Favorite Saying

"Magnificent! Compared to war all other forms of human endeavor shrink to insignificance.
God help me, I do love it so!"
- General George Patton Jr

"A good plan executed today is better than a perfect plan executed at some indefinite point in the future."
- General George Patton Jr

There is only one tactical principle which is not subject to change. It is to use the means at hand to inflict the maximum amount of wound, death, and destruction on the enemy in the minimum amount of time."
- General George Patton Jr

"Go forward until the last round is fired and the last drop of gas is expended...then go forward on foot!"
- General George Patton Jr

"It is the unconquerable nature of man and not the nature of the weapon he uses that ensures victory."
- General George Patton Jr

"Fixed fortifications are monuments to the stupidity of man."
- General George Patton Jr

"If you are going to win any battle, you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do... the body is never tired if the mind is not tired."
-General George S. Patton

"I dont give a damn about the color of your skin,
just kill as many sons of bitches wearing green as you can."
- Attributed to Patton

"Just drive down that road, until you get blown up"
- General George Patton, about reconnaissance troops

"You must do your damdest and win."