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Gen. George Patton: Six not-so-gentle father-to-son tips

The new book, 'Growing Up Patton: Reflections on Heroes, History, and Family Wisdom,' shares letters written by Gen. George Patton to his his son. Here are six pieces of advice from these letters.

6. On leadership: be a conqueror or a corpse

  • By Anna Mulrine Staff writer

"Decide what will hurt the enemy most within the limits of your capabilities to harm him and then do it. Take calculated risks. That is quite different from being rash. My personal belief is that if you have a 50 percent chance, take it because the superior fighting qualities of American soldiers led by me will surely give you the extra 1 percent necessary.

"In Sicily, I decided as a result of my information, observations, and a sixth sense that I have, that the enemy did not have another large-scale attack in his system. I bet my shirt on that and I was right. You cannot make war safely, but no dead general has ever been criticized, so you have that way out always.

"I am sure that if every leader who goes into battle will promise himself that he will come out either a conqueror or a corpse, he is sure to win. There is no doubt of that. Defeat is not due to losses but to the destruction of the soul of the leaders."

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

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