{"id":111447,"date":"2020-02-25T10:03:13","date_gmt":"2020-02-25T16:03:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.artofmanliness.com\/?p=111447"},"modified":"2021-09-25T07:26:41","modified_gmt":"2021-09-25T12:26:41","slug":"general-pattons-strategy-for-winning-in-war-and-life-keep-punching","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.artofmanliness.com\/character\/manhood\/general-pattons-strategy-for-winning-in-war-and-life-keep-punching\/","title":{"rendered":"General Patton’s Strategy for Winning in War and Life: Keep Punching"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"General<\/a><\/p>\n

The heart of General George S. Patton\u2019s martial strategy centered on aggressive, energetic advancement: a focus on ceaseless drive<\/em>; a belief that \u201cThere would be time to rest when the war was over.\u201d Not only was retreat out of the question, so was even staying in place. \u201cMy motto in battle,\u201d he said, \u201cis GO FORWARD!\u201d<\/p>\n

Patton had two main rationales for his \u201calways be audacious\u201d tactical philosophy. <\/p>\n

First, forward movement \u2014 making a big, relentless push until you achieved your objective \u2014 saved time and energy, and most importantly, reduced causalities. The more steadily you advanced, the more rapidly the enemy retreated, and the less fighting you had to do. The shorter the exposure to combat, the shorter the duration of action, the shorter the bloodshed. For Patton, taking measured steps, proceeding in fits and starts, would not win the battle; you had to go all in; there was no sense trying to save something for the way back<\/a>:<\/p>\n

I could see no reason for hoarding ammunition. You either use it or you don\u2019t. I would lose more men by shooting nine thousand rounds a day for three days than I would by shooting twenty thousand in one day\u2014and probably not get as far<\/em>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It wasn\u2019t just that pushing forward pushed the enemy back; it kept him from coming back. Once you had him on the ropes, it was time to finish him off. As Patton declared as he approached the Rhine River during WWII:<\/p>\n

Every day we save means saving hundreds of American lives. The enemy is in chaos on our front. But if we delay 72 hours, he will reorganize, and we\u2019ll have to fight to push him out of the way. We must not give him that chance, regardless of what political machinations are going on up above. I don\u2019t propose to give the Hun the opportunity to recover from the killing we\u2019ve just given him. We destroyed two armies in one week with a handful of losses to ourselves, and I don\u2019t propose to give the bastards the chance to reorganize on the east bank. I owe that to my men.<\/p>\n

We\u2019re going to make a crossing at once. I don\u2019t care how or where we get the necessary equipment, but it must be got. Steal it, beg it, or make it. But I want it, and it had better be where we need it, when we need it. We\u2019re going to cross the Rhine and we\u2019re going to do it before I\u2019m a day older.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To ensure control of the territory you were after, Patton thought it important to not only approach the finish line, but to make an extra push past it. During the war, a corps commander reported to Patton that he had achieved the objective of reaching the Selune River, but the general realized he had halted along its first bank. Patton ordered the commander to cross over its waters, explaining that \u201cthroughout history, many campaigns had been lost by stopping on the wrong side of the river.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The second reason Patton stayed on the offensive is that it boosted the morale of the men. Soldiers want to do something heroic and glorious, he believed, and such moments didn\u2019t come when you were waiting around for the other guy to attack. So too, becoming a moving target by firing on the march reduced the accuracy of the enemy\u2019s artillery, and increased the men\u2019s confidence. Constant advancement also kept himself and his commanders from getting too comfortable; he and his leaders stayed in trailers, rather than commandeering chateaus, so that they wouldn\u2019t be tempted to settle in and become reluctant to move on. Bodies that stay in motion, Patton understood, remain in motion.<\/p>\n

Patton not only prioritized offense, he was utterly uninterested \u2014 and in fact detested \u2014 its opposite, believing that \u201cNo form of defense is worth a damn.\u201d Surveying history, as well as the tactics of the contemporary Germans, proved, he said, \u201cthat people who build walls or ditches or pillboxes, or think that the ocean can defend them are gullible fools.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patton rarely allowed even his own troops to dig trenches, feeling they offered little real protection, wasted energy in their construction, and became a psychological morale sapper; burrowing underground sent the message to soldiers that the enemy was to be feared, thereby diminishing their courage during offensive assaults. \u201cAn army is defeated when it digs in<\/strong>,\u201d<\/strong> the general opined.<\/p>\n

When ordered to take a defensive position, Patton would ostensibly comply by adopting an \u201cactive defense\u201d or \u201ccreeping defense\u201d \u2014 continuing to move his troops forward, just at a slower pace. In disobeying orders, the general risked his career, but felt that his ultimate success would vindicate him.<\/p>\n

Patton not only scorned putting his troops on defense, he wouldn\u2019t even let them stand still. Before the Third Army was set to invade Europe, he declared:<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t want to get any messages saying, \u2018I am holding my position!\u2019 We\u2019re not holding anything. Let the Hun do that. We are advancing constantly and are not interested in holding anything, except onto the enemy. We\u2019re going to hold onto him and kick the hell out of him all the time.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Speed and aggression didn\u2019t mean recklessness, however. Patton did reconnaissance before moving ahead. He got the right support pieces in place first. He formulated a plan (and a back-up plan). It\u2019s just that he didn\u2019t let the sure knowledge that his plan would never unfold exactly as conceived, prevent him from putting it into action. He was prepared to adapt on the fly, saying, \u201cone does not plan and then try to make circumstances fit those plans. One tries to make plans fit the circumstances.\u201d<\/p>\n

Put another way: \u201ca good plan violently executed now <\/em>is better than a perfect plan next week.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patton\u2019s strategy of constant advancement is summed up well in the order of the day he issued for the Seventh Army on the eve of their invasion of Sicily:<\/p>\n

Remember that we as attackers have the initiative. We must retain this tremendous advantage by always attacking rapidly, ruthlessly, viscously, without rest. However tired and hungry you may be, the enemy will be more tired, more hungry. Keep punching<\/strong>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read more on General Patton:<\/strong><\/p>\n