Background
In January 1944, Lieutenant General George S. Patton was given command of the Third United States Army, a field army which was newly arrived in the United Kingdom and which was comprised largely of inexperienced troops. Patton's job had been to train the Third Army to prepare it for the upcoming Operation Overlord, where it would be a follow-on unit as part of the Allied effort to invade and liberate Europe from Nazi Germany.
By 1944, Patton had been established as a highly effective and successful leader, noted for his ability to inspire his men with charismatic speeches, which he delivered from memory because of a lifelong trouble with reading. Patton deliberately cultivated a flashy, distinctive image in the belief that this would inspire his troops. He carried flashy ivory-handled, Smith & Wesson Model 27 .357 Magnum. He was usually seen wearing a highly polished helmet, riding pants, and high cavalry boots. His jeep bore oversized rank placards on the front and back, as well as a klaxon horn which would loudly announce his approach from afar. Patton was an effective combat commander, having rehabilitated the U.S. II Corps during the North African Campaign and then led the Seventh United States Army through the Invasion of Sicily during 1943, at times personally appearing to his troops in the middle of battle in hopes of inspiring them. Patton's army had beaten British general Bernard Law Montgomery to Messina which gained him considerable fame, though a "slapping incident" sidelined his career for several months thereafter.
At the time of the speeches, Patton was attempting to keep a low profile among the press, as he had been ordered to by General Dwight Eisenhower. Patton was made a central figure in an elaborate phantom army deception scheme, and the Germans believed he was in Dover preparing the First United States Army Group for an invasion of Pas de Calais. On each occasion, Patton would wear his polished helmet, full dress uniform, polished riding boots, and a riding crop to snap for effect. Patton frequently kept his face in a scowl he referred to as his "war face". Patton would arrive in a Mercedes and deliver the speech on a raised platform surrounded by a very large audience seated around the platform and on surrounding hills. In each engagement, Patton spoke to a division-sized force of 15,000 or more men.
Read more about this topic: Patton's Speech To The Third Army
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