George Patton was known as the "God of War" during World War II. Although he was only a four-star army general, he was able to gallop across the battlefield of nine deaths, invincible, and achieved great success with his indomitable courage and excellent command ability.
In his military career, Patton made great achievements, far surpassing some five-star generals. In particular, his outstanding performance in the North African battlefield and the landing in Sicily made him one of the famous generals of World War II.
Patton once said to his wife Beatrice: "I think the best way to die is to let the last bullet at the end of the war hit me in the head." However, his final result was not to die on the battlefield as he wished, but inexplicably died in a bizarre car accident.
Since Barton's death, as the details of the crash have been made public, it has become increasingly felt that his death is unusual.
(General Patton's old photo)
So what's so intriguing about Patton's death? Let's go back to the day of the crash and see what really happened that day?
On An ordinary Sunday, December 9, 1945, Barton was in a very depressed mood. Due to recent disagreements with Allied commander Eisenhower over the implementation of post-war European policy, he had been relieved of his post as Military Governor of Bavaria. Patton decided to return to the United States for Christmas, and his guards were already working on packing him up for his homecoming.
So Patton decided to go out hunting one last time with his assistant Hobart Guy, including the driver Woodlyn. Patton sat in the back seat of the Cadillac sedan, while Guy sat in the co-pilot seat in the front row, followed by a jeep carrying hunting tools, driven by another soldier.
The weather was clear and cold that day, there were few vehicles on the whole road, the road was straight, and the line of sight was very good. As the trio's sedan passed a train crossing, Woodring stopped and waited for the train to pass, then continued on its way. Not far from the train crossing, on the right, there is a munitions depot, and military trucks often come and go, but the driver, Woodring, does not seem to notice.
As Patton's car drove to the side of the munitions depot, a military truck suddenly turned left in front of his car in an attempt to drive into the munitions depot, and although Woodlyn took emergency braking measures, the two cars inevitably slammed into each other.
The huge truck knocked the car out a few meters away, and the huge impact force caused Barton to bounce off the back seat, crashing headlong into the sharp bulge of the diamond-shaped lamp on the top of the car, and then crashing into the partition glass of the driver and passengers twice, causing his scalp to be cut, a large wound above the brow bone, blood flowing, and a broken cervical spine.
Curiously, the other two people in the car were fine, just had some minor scratches. The time at this time is 11:45.
(Patton on the Battlefield)
When the 290th Engineer Battalion, stationed nearby, received the news, it quickly dispatched medical soldiers to the rescue and then sent Barton to the 130th Resident Hospital in Heidelberg. At 12:45, Patton, who had undergone emergency treatment, lay in a hospital bed. Although his limbs were paralyzed and he lost consciousness from the neck down, he was very conscious.
His wife Beatrice also rushed from Boston after learning that her husband had been in a car accident. After a week, Patton gradually recovered under the meticulous care of his wife and doctors, and not only became stronger in one arm, but also regained some consciousness in his left leg. All the symptoms indicate that Patton is not only dead, but also quickly discharged from the hospital.
However, on the afternoon of December 20, Patton suddenly appeared without warning a blood clot, leaving the doctors helpless. After some emergency rescue, the doctors still failed to save the life of the "God of War". At 17:50, Barton stopped breathing due to a heart attack.
Around Barton's bizarre car accident, many people believe that he was deliberately murdered because there are many doubts that cannot be explained.
First, the driver of the truck that caused the accident will mysteriously disappear under the eyes of the investigators, and there is no clue to follow.
Second, of the three people in the car, only Patton was seriously injured, while the other two were unharmed.
Third, although the military police investigating the car accident arrived at the scene in time, the investigation process was very hasty, and no official investigation records were left afterwards, including witness testimony, on-site investigation reports, and so on.
Fourth, Patton had suffered several car accidents before this, but all of them survived.
So, was Patton murdered?
In 2008, American writer Robert Wilcox released a new book, Titled "Goal: Patton: The Mystery of the Death of the Predatory General", which revealed some details of Patton's car accident to the public, causing an uproar.
In his book, Wilcox writes that he interviewed a painter named Douglas Bazatta, who was an Allied agent and a sharpshooter during World War II. Bazatta has told people on different occasions that he was the informant of The Barton's car accident. In his later years, Bazatta even bluntly stated that he was one of the direct participants in Patton's murder.
During the interview, Bazatta revealed to Wilcox that he had been tasked by Donovan, the director of the U.S. Strategic Intelligence Agency, to plan Patton's assassination, and also explained in detail how he deliberately caused the car accident and how he slipped away after the accident. At the same time, Bazatta also showed Wilcox some confidential documents related to the case, including some letters and diaries he kept.
So, if Patton was murdered, who was behind it?
One, the Germans. But Nazi Germany had surrendered, and they were no longer capable enough to assassinate Patton.
Second, Eisenhower. You know, Patton is a big mouth, not only repeatedly publicly accusing Eisenhower of his command mistakes, but also blatantly disobeying Eisenhower's orders on the battlefield, and the two are well known for their feud. And more critically, Eisenhower is intent on entering the White House, and if Patton, the influential "god of war," obstructs it, it will inevitably undermine Eisenhower's presidential campaign plan.
Third, the Soviets. Patton spoke to the Soviets more than once, and at the celebration of the german surrender, Patton did not forget to humiliate Zhukov and even threatened to go to war against the Soviet Union. In the minds of the Soviets, Patton had long since been condemned as an undesirable person.
Perhaps, Patton's death is the result of the tacit cooperation of all parties. So far, however, there is no conclusive evidence that Patton died of murder. As the famous American host John Butler said: "Although it is not certain that Patton was assassinated, it is not certain that he was not murdered." ”
(References: General Patton, Goal: Patton – The Mystery of the Death of the Iron-Blooded General, etc.)