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WWII history buffs, is this quote by General Patton true?

Posted on 12/17/25 at 9:11 am
Posted by Sassafrasology
Member since Nov 2025
1071 posts
Posted on 12/17/25 at 9:11 am
And if it is true, why did he change is mind? What the heck?



I do however understand that there is no good choice between fascists and communists. Maybe Switzerland had the proper stance during WWII:

Posted by Timeoday
Easter Island
Member since Aug 2020
17939 posts
Posted on 12/17/25 at 9:15 am to
Which is why General Patton was "killed" in Germany. They did not want General George S. Patton coming home to tell the TRUTH to the American people.

Posted by jp4lsu
Member since Sep 2016
6345 posts
Posted on 12/17/25 at 9:16 am to
I can't say if it is accurate. But I know he wanted to continue on and push the Russians out of east Germany and Europe.
Posted by VOR
Member since Apr 2009
67564 posts
Posted on 12/17/25 at 9:19 am to
Holy crap, is the board now going to go full on Nazi apologist?

Patton was just frustrated at the time because he thought that we’d have to fight the Soviets sooner or later. He despised Hitler and the Wermacht
This post was edited on 12/17/25 at 9:21 am
Posted by Sassafrasology
Member since Nov 2025
1071 posts
Posted on 12/17/25 at 9:20 am to
quote:

But I know he wanted to continue on and push the Russians out of east Germany and Europe.


So conquer the fascists by first leveraging the communists then turn around and conquer the communists. Darn it, I can see where Patton had the right idea.
Posted by Night Vision
Member since Feb 2018
19418 posts
Posted on 12/17/25 at 9:21 am to
quote:

he thought that wez’fvhsve to fight


What dialect is this?
Posted by m2pro
Member since Nov 2008
29694 posts
Posted on 12/17/25 at 9:22 am to
He was damn sure right.
Posted by Sassafrasology
Member since Nov 2025
1071 posts
Posted on 12/17/25 at 9:23 am to
quote:


Holy crap, is the board now going to go full on Nazi apologist?


I pretty much think both the fascists and communists suck.
Posted by doubleb
Baton Rouge
Member since Aug 2006
41833 posts
Posted on 12/17/25 at 9:27 am to
Germany took Austria, Czecheoslovokia, Poland, the Los Countries, Norway, and Denmark.

All were taken after Germany and Russia agreed to partition Eastern Europe. The two were allied in a sense.

Exactly when were we supposed to help Germany defeat Russia? And how? What would the result have been with a much stronger Germany?
Posted by Fat Bastard
2024 NFL pick'em champion
Member since Mar 2009
89297 posts
Posted on 12/17/25 at 9:28 am to
this has been discussed ad infinitum kid. long story short is the nazis woulda beat the commies had they pulled all forces from the western front and put with the east. then operation barbarosa most likely woulda been successful even tho it was a bad winter. i mean they were beating the russians anyway until they had issues at stalingrad. then the attrition to the nazis woulda made it much easier for the allies to beat them after they beat the commies.

a message should been sent from us saying we are staying out of europe...get hitler to do that (all forces on eastern front)then invade once he beat stalin.
Posted by alphaandomega
Tuscaloosa-Here to Serve
Member since Aug 2012
16724 posts
Posted on 12/17/25 at 9:30 am to
quote:

Patton was just frustrated at the time because he thought that we’d have to fight the Soviets sooner or later. He despised Hitler and the Wermacht


I cant believe I am agreeing with VOR but this is true. Patton wanted to kill the Germans and then while everything was already over there attack the Russians. Our manufacturing was building unbelievable amounts of equipment and there was nobody on the planet that could out produce us. He felt that we would have to fight them someday and we might as well do it while our war machine was already there and humming.

Posted by Tantal
Member since Sep 2012
19209 posts
Posted on 12/17/25 at 9:31 am to
quote:

Holy crap, is the board now going to go full on Nazi apologist?

Not defending the Nazis, but their murder numbers were rookie numbers compared to the Bolsheviks.
This post was edited on 12/17/25 at 9:41 am
Posted by Sassafrasology
Member since Nov 2025
1071 posts
Posted on 12/17/25 at 9:31 am to
I asked Grok and it said it was a fabricated quote. But take this explanation with a little bit of a grain of salt because Grok pulls from mainstream sources:



quote:

General George S. Patton** did not say the quoted statement. This appears to be a fabricated or heavily distorted quote that circulates widely online, particularly in far-right, anti-communist, or conspiratorial contexts.

### Why It's Fabricated
- Reliable historical sources, including Patton's own diaries, letters (collected in *The Patton Papers*), biographies (e.g., by Martin Blumenson, Alan Axelrod, or Winston Groom), and Wikiquote, contain no record of this exact quote or anything closely matching it.
- The specific phrasing—addressing "Gentlemen" with an "inexcusable conclusion," advocating fighting "with the fascists against the communists," and predicting America's moral decline in "fifty years"—only appears in unsourced memes, videos (e.g., on Bitchute), blog posts, and fringe publications dating back no earlier than the internet era.
- Fact-checking discussions on sites like Skeptics Stack Exchange and Reddit's r/AskHistorians (drawing from primary sources) label extended versions like this as false or invented for propaganda purposes.

### Patton's Actual Views
Patton was fiercely anti-communist and critical of the Soviets toward the end of World War II. He believed an inevitable conflict with the USSR was coming and privately suggested the Allies should prepare to fight them immediately rather than demobilize (e.g., telling a U.S. official he could take Moscow if ordered). He also made racist remarks about Russians (calling them "Mongolian savages") and expressed admiration for German soldiers/military efficiency while opposing denazification policies.

A shorter, disputed paraphrase—"We defeated/fought the wrong enemy"—is sometimes attributed to him (referring to the Soviets, not allying with Nazis). Even this is not directly sourced in his verified writings and is considered unreliable or exaggerated third-hand accounts. Patton never expressed regret for fighting Nazi Germany or suggested allying with "fascists" against communists—he was a loyal U.S. commander who fought aggressively against the Axis.

The added part about America becoming a "land of corruption and degenerate morals" in fifty years has no basis in Patton's documented statements and seems like a modern embellishment to tie it to contemporary cultural debates.

In summary, while Patton held strong anti-Soviet views that got him in trouble (leading to his relief from command in 1945), this elaborate quote is not authentic. It's a common example of misattributed or invented historical quotes used to support ideological narratives.
Posted by Penrod
Member since Jan 2011
52334 posts
Posted on 12/17/25 at 9:35 am to
quote:

Which is why General Patton was "killed" in Germany.
Posted by SallysHuman
Lady Palmetto Bug
Member since Jan 2025
14940 posts
Posted on 12/17/25 at 9:38 am to
quote:

He also made racist remarks about Russians (calling them "Mongolian savages")


Posted by tigeraddict
Baton Rouge
Member since Mar 2007
14422 posts
Posted on 12/17/25 at 9:39 am to
Last I checked, the Germans declared war on the US a few days after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor. We didn’t have a choice. War was brought to us in both the Pacific and Atlantic.

The question is, should we have supplied USSR with arms and supplies. The US needed all of ‘42 and part of ‘43 to get on a full war economy to where we were ready for war. The thought process was we needed Germany to still be fighting The Soviets when we were ready. Otherwise, trying to invade Europe with Germany fighting on one front was suicide.

The other question is would we have declared war on Germany after Pearl Harbor and if we did, then when. Would we have focused on Japan 1st instead of Germany 1st.

I believe FDR would have pushed to declare against the full Axis but would he have the full support with Congress…..

Regardless, Germany took that decision away when they declared on us first.
Posted by BHS78
Member since May 2017
3449 posts
Posted on 12/17/25 at 9:40 am to
Well Hitler is dead so I guess we should say nice things about him. Ala Meathead
Posted by Sassafrasology
Member since Nov 2025
1071 posts
Posted on 12/17/25 at 9:41 am to
Apparently that's the woke part of Grok.
Posted by LB84
Member since May 2016
4369 posts
Posted on 12/17/25 at 9:41 am to
He was only off by 20 years.
Posted by H newman
Member since Oct 2021
1980 posts
Posted on 12/17/25 at 9:44 am to
If it wasn't for Pearl harbor we'd all be speaking German.
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