April 1944, George S Patton's participation in D-Day hangs in the balance after this reprimand from the Supreme Allied Commander, Dwight D Eisenhower. From the movie Ike: Countdown to D-Day, filmed in NZ
This is a terrific war movie, a war movie about what happened behind the front. And this is without a doubt the best performance in Tom Selek's career.
Never got enough heavy dramatic roles before he became famous for Magnum PI which has shaddowed him ever since - great show but would understand if he resented it as wll a bit hence the Jessie Stone movies he does occasionally. If he was emerging today he would have been a great choice for Jack Reacher?
Everyone is going to have their own opinion on which movie was his best. It's hard to argue with those who would say, _Monty Walsh_ is at the top of their list. 😀
We needed both types of men to win the war. We needed a grizzled, hardened, combat commander who understood the realities of war. And we needed a brilliant logistician and more kindhearted man to keep the other in balance. Ike and Patton filled those rolls perfectly. The brains and the brawn. I mean, all due respect to Ike. He did trade shots with Mexican rebels a few times from what I have read and didn't flinch. So if he were sent to France, I am sure he would have been every bit the combat man that his piers were. But his main strength was in organization and tempering his more bull-headed generals. Two absolute legends. Two heroes. I just hope that despite their differences they learned to appreciate each other by the end of it all.
Ike was not top of his class in military school, was not the first in line for being the supreme commander but FDR knew he would be a stern Marshall. He could demand discipline, earn respect from politicians in every allied and occupied country and was very savvy diplomatically and administratively, and could handle the immense job he had in organizing the whole western offensive. Patton was a fine field commander and tactician and brave as hell, a real soldier. But Ike was indispensable.
Ike didn't trust the Russians, either. However, the one thing the US and its allies could afford was having the Soviet Union sign a separate peace treaty with the Germans, similar to what they did in WWI, which would have allowed the Germans to move troops from the Eastern Front westward to bulk up their defenses. That's why he was sensitive, maybe oversensitive, to any comments like ones Patton often made.
@@gregford2103 i think it was the other way around with Joe worried the germans would sue for peace with the americans and brits and the western allies being too naive to see beyond their noses when it came to comunism and the violence it would continue to ignite worldwide. Anyway history is history and if it wasnt for the events of the of pre and postwar i wouldnt have been born, i will continue to live a decent life for those who saw theirs cut short.
@@captain0080 There was incredible distrust on both sides. The simple fact is the British, US, Russian alliance was a fragile one, but it held together long enough to defeat Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. The world is a better place because the Allies prevailed.
Oh right! Joe Stalin could have run his army all the way to Gibraltar if he would have wanted to, and kicked off ANY American British or French army. The fact he didn't says a lot that people like you apparently can't hear. The reason for the Cold war was simply American nuclear development, and their running nuclear bombsbring up to Soviet borders with bombers and later with missiles and submarines. And when America reneged on every single deal they made with the Russians for post-war development and such,the American financial class effectively made enemies of the Russians into the foreseeable future. This was to as they said contain communism, and also to provide unending trillions of dollars into the development of these idiotic weapons. The Soviet Union is gone now but Russia is still an enemy, and China stands out now to the Pentagon for reduction. Like Patton these people will never be out of wars because they don't yet possess everything. And to say that they are psychotic is very valid imo
This is such an underrated movie. A war movie without a single battle....without a single shot. But, it showed the real drama of the event. From the butting of heads of the generals with different opinions that Ike had to manage, to the suffocating pressure Ike felt to get it right, and, most interesting of all (and almost completely unknown), the unbelievable importance of getting the weather forecast right, and the role Stagg played. Stagg and his people managed to peg the forecast for the day exactly right....when even now, with all the radar and tools the weather still ends up confounding meteorologists. Almost as much as all the combined tactics of Fortitude combined, it was the Allies detecting the brief lull, when the Germans did not (and thus felt an invasion would be impossible) that created such surprise on D-Day. Rommel was so convinced the lousy weather would mean no invasion, that he actually left Germany and went home to visit his family.
Ike is a great case-in-point of how it’s not the best guy that should take the lead, but the right one. Ike could manage effectively all the megalomaniacs among his colleagues
@John Cornell True. The Real Patton was massively anti-semitic, was racist, misogynistic and incredibly arrogant. And as for his general skills? I think they are overrated. He never had to lead with anything but a huge advantage and almost total air superiority in almost every battle he fought in. Any idiot can win a battle when he is holding all the cards.
You're right. Seeing both without their mustaches is weird. Simon & Simon was also on CBS and Gerald McRaney and Jameson Parker did a guest starring role on Magnum PI once so it wasn't the first time they'd worked together.
My English professor in college served under Patton. He described him as having a rather mousy voice, narrow shoulders with a holster that draped loosely over his hips. He further elaborated that George C. Scott made a much better Patton.
Patton *hated* to hear himself! He would've applauded George C. Scott's performance, as he had the look and the attitude _so_ down pat, but with the vocal _gravitas_ that Patton thought his own words deserved. 🧐
Scott played Patton the way Patton himself would have wanted himself to be portrayed. But mark my words, there’s going to be some smart kid who will re-dub Patton’s dialogue with a computerized re-creation of his actual voice and it’s going to shock everyone. For what its worth, McRaney is oddly closer in voice to the real Patton.
What's really funny is how different Patton sounded than George C. Scott. You expect to hear Scott's loud, gravely voice and instead you hear a high pitched, soft voice from Old Blood & Guts himself.
McRaney does a fantastic job portraying a man who thinks he's right, think's he's smarter than his superior, and think's his superior is wrong, but also, in a moment realizes he has underestimated his superior's intellect, and just as suddenly realizes he's in deep kimshee.
@@nicoangel690 you tell a dude who just saw his buddy as a turret gunner getting mangled in half after their vehicle getting flipped over by an ied to get over it
@@nicoangel690 combat vet here. you NEVER hit a shell shelked soilder. NEVER that is your bother, whos mind has been torn apart by the enemy. if you think hitting him is going to help him put himself back toghter, your to stupid to even look at a gun
@@nicoangel690 EVERYONE has a breaking point. Some faster then other's. Some it comes out in other ways. It all depends on the person. I would try not to judge them. Because You never know where yours just might be. One of the toughest men I met was in Special Forces. Green Berets he never showed any sign of thing's bothering him. One day he saw a little kid he would talk to and play soccer with and give candy to get shot and die. He cried like a baby and had to be sent out because he was in such a state of grief. He couldn't function.
This scene is a dramatization. In reality, Eisenhower reprimanded Patton in writing, not in person. But it is worth knowing a few things about the slapping incident. First, there were actually two incidents. Both of the two men Patton slapped had initially refused to leave their units to seek medical attention, and had to be ordered to do so. Also, they were both running fevers when they arrived at the field hospitals to which they reported, and had other physical symptoms, although, in the case of the first man, it turned out that he had malaria and dysentery, which probably explained his 102 degree fever. So Patton almost certainly overreacted, and the reprimand was justified.
Patton bailed Eisenhower out of trouble more than once. This "movie" is nothing more than Hollywood propaganda! Fabricating dialogue and putting a Leftist bias to the scene! Patton saw the New World Order coming and didn't approve of it , so they tarnished his image.
I love this scene: Patton may have been the pitbull general of the US Army, but Eisenhower was the Top Dog of the Allies in Europe, a master military coordinator of even arch-rivals of Patton and Montgomery to make sure there is victory in Europe.
Ike wasn't a tenth of the soldier as Patton. A pencil pusher, never saw a battlefield. And his criminal negligence and revenge tactics he pulled on a defeated Germany Army, and the citizens of that country were nothing less than murder and genocide. He just sat back and let USSR take too much of Europe, while Patton was ready attack and send their asses back to Moscow. He Knew they were going to be trouble someday. And that we were fighting the wrong people.
...you mean he was more of a... yuck..politician...yes...true, he also later became President. Patton however was their best battlefield Commander not only because of his studied knowledge of warfare, and his toughness and intelligence as a tactician...but also because he was loved by his men because he was a true front line Commander who controlled fear! He led by example...and would not send others to go where he would not tread! The enemy feared his name....
Eisenhower also sucked off the british way to much, im 1000% the navy made fun of him. And screwed over patton alot specially when they fked up in halland and patton was scraping stuck in france
Montgomery had few redeeming qualities one would be hopefully expected to possess of an army commander during that time. He was more apt to a sly politician to benefit his character and purport some degree of military genius. Historical accounts that were not answerable to him (Montgomery) described him as being in near "baffoon" territory.
Patton was like that overly enthusiastic/slightly off kilter teammate. An important part of the team that needed to be set straight every now and then.
In "Up Front" Bill Mauldin describes a chewing out he got from Patton in person for a cartoon that the general thought was inappropriate. He said Patton was smaller than he'd been expecting, and had a high pitched voice that got higher and squeakier the more enraged he became!
Ike was a good leader but he hated war a bit too much. A bit more aggression during his presidency would have saved countless lives in the long run. In particular, he should have sent the marines in to get rid of Batista, and he should have made the Shah see sense and how shaky his hold on power was. The second was a long shot, but imagine a world without an Iranian revolution. The first though was easily within his power. Imagine a world without Castro, without the Bay of Pigs, without the Cuban Missile Crisis, and without the 50 military interventions Cuba made in the 3rd world at the USSR's behest.
Matthew Fautch He was talking to the press because he was kind of an ego maniac. The reporters wanted to talk to him because he was famously “the best general” that the allies had. A bad combination for a man with no filter. Hence why Larry S said he was no politician. He couldn’t keep his thoughts concealed, didn’t know or care how to be diplomatic, and was overly opinionated.
The president of the United States of America is the Commander in Chief; the highest ranking member of the USA military. Regardless of how you feel the president is the highest ranking military member.
@@JakerTheSnake Commanding the military is not the same as being *in* the military. Presidents are the chief officers of the government. They are not officers of the military. They do not take the officer's oath. They do not receive an officer's pension (unless they previously served, possibly, such as Eisenhower), and they do not have a NATO-standard rank. Commander-in-Chief is not a rank, like General; it is a job title, like Army Chief of Staff (which is by law held by a four-star general). They do not even possess the one thing *most* indicative of being a soldier -- a uniform.
They cut the best part of the scene. As Patton was leaving, he told another officer that Eisenhower totally fell for his act. Then, back to Eisenhower in his office, he tells another officer that Patton probably thinks he fell for his act. Eisenhower knew Patton too well to be fooled by him.
Patton reminds me of a line in Heartbreak Ridge were the Major says Highway should be kept behind glass that says "break in case of war". Patton was a great tactician but a crappy general if that makes sense. Ike was so good as bringing all these different top generals under one plan.
@@MarkGoding Haha right. The fact that a French general was in anyway pompous was hilariously ironic considering how quickly they fell to the Germans. The British on the other hand successfully thwarted an all out assault on the British Isles so they had something to be proud of. Also weren't the British the first to use radar en masse?
@@mattm7798 Even by the standards of French generals, DeGaul was arrogant.. my favourite line from Rise and fall of the 3rd Reich was... : "DeGaul then relocated to England, where his steady diet for the next 4 years was the hand that fed him" ....
Both actors displayed the true strengths of both characters. Patton was a brilliant field commander. Eisenhower was a brilliant theater commander. And Pat has made it clear in his statements why he should remain a field commander. When leading an overall war effort it requires more than just aggression.
Patton’s greatest ever military achievement was sitting on his hands letting the Germans think he was about to invade the Pas De Calais and thus holding back armies from attacking the Normandy front.
No he was wrong, Patton wanted to invade Russia. Thus causing another huge war and million more dead and probably further spread of communism. Instead the US started the marshal plan and won the war with communism with peace. PAX AMERICANA won. Fuck Patton dumb violent ideas. He would have led to a massacre. Sometimes you need to be SMART and TACTICAL and DIPLOMATIC. A General should KNOW that.
@@freedomordeath89 You are an idiot. URSS had it first A Bomb only at 1949. Until then US could have made several of them and dropped over major cities in URSS, and even China, and forced a unconditional surrender and the world would never had to deal with hardcore Socialism ever again.
@@pc12gauge The Russians once burned their capital city to the ground so an invading army could not have it. You honestly think dropping some atomic bombs that we didnt have would have mattered?
@@joshburns969 yes it would have lol japan had even more resolve then Russians but when another country can take a city every day there no use in fighting its why even an emporer would surrender one bomb on Moscow that would kill Stalin the rest wohld of cru.bled from there we could of finished everything back then
@theinevitable storm82 HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA YOU THINK THE WEST WOULD HAVE WON IF THEY ATTACKED THE SOVIETS? Look as much as I'd love to believe thats true thats just fucking ridiculous, the Soviets had armies built up and had the majority of europe under it's control theres a slim fucking chance we wouldve beaten them considering Western europe was fucking obliterated.
James Leliveld the Western allies had three things the Soviets didn’t have have. One was the British and American air forces outnumbered the Soviet Air Force, they also had the two largest navies in the world, and third of all they had atom bombs which the Soviets wouldn’t have until 1949.
Even Japan fears the soviet union especially after the second that's why surrendered communist are atheists they would have destroyed anything to do with religion in Japan including the emperor Patton was right pluss eisenhower was looking into politics
Mustache or no mustache, Tom Selleck will always be Thomas Sullivan Magnum. Mustache or no mustache, Gerald Mcraney will always be Rick Simon. Great performance here from both.
A career and life defining moment hanging in the balance and both men know it. When Ike says to Patton "do you understand?" there's a whole lot riding on Patton's response. It's the kind of moment that happens infrequently in life, and there's no do overs, no take backs, and no chance to do it differently. The wrong response will haunt you the rest of the your life. A word about Ike the real man-- it was said of him during his presidency by those who didn't know him that he was a great guy but a lousy politician. Those who knew him often said the reverse was true.
Proof is in the pudding America's economic golden age was under Ike's presidency and his party warning about the military industrial complex and its threat to our Republic were some of the most honest words a president ever spoke
I'd be curious to see a reference for that. I've read the thought that Eisenhower wasn't the best politician....but I've never read anything that said Eisenhower was anything other than a good and decent human being.
@@StormFive I came across that either in the book "President Kennedy- Profile of Power" by Richard Reeves or his other one titled ""President Nixon: Alone in the White House". Can't remember exactly which but believe it was the former. It had to do with Kennedy meeting with Ike during the transition I think. Both excellent reads.
George C Marshall, that master puppeteer of the war, deserves a movie made about him, but strangely never gets one. He must’ve had a profound understanding of human psychology, and what he didn’t know about people wasn’t worth knowing.
Marshall is the reason a 5 star is called General of the Army instead of Field Marshall like other countries. George Marshall on getting his 5th star would have been Marshall Marshall.
Patton, Bradly, Montgomery, and others were the Battlefield Generals, without them, the war is lost. But Ike was the organizer, the planner, the one who brought everyone together. His strengths are what also made him an excellent President.
The soldier in question that Patton slapped was not suffering from shell shock or PTSD, he was actually suffering from malaria that went undiagnosed. Also, Patton said that Great Britain and the United States would control the postwar world, not specifying race. It was intended to imply that the Soviet Union would still be the enemy of the free world even after the war was over.
@@Johnston212 Exactly. Patton was suggesting that England and America would be the leaders of the free world after World War II was over, and that the Soviet Union was probably going to be an antagonist to that.
actually he wasn't that gifted in war. He was an immature narcissist who fluked his way to the top. He had very little understanding of grand strategy, logistics and supply lines etc. He was put in charge of high risk, hastily organised but necessary offensive operations. The troops were wise to him "blood and guts: his blood, our guts".
Tommy Two-shoes wow the Germans sure thought he was the best fighting general the allies had so much so in fact that the simple fact he was stationed across from cala help up a number of divisions including heavy armor that likely saved Omaha beach which was in doubt many hours and would of failed if Germany had moved in heavy armor... The status of that one man and some excellent psyops by allies had Hitler believing Normandy was a diversion for half a day...
George Patton was an outstanding general and tactician. His methods are still being taught at West Point. He had a grasp of the big picture that other generals did not. He understood the grand strategy, logistics, and supply lines, but he also understood that his way was the best way and that he commanded the best army in the field at the time.
And he also had a big mouth! You have to work with people to get things done...that is why Bradley was promoted ahead of him. You need to know when to talk and when to shut up...
True. The movie paints the picture of Omar Bradley and George S. Patton as being best friends but If you read some of the historical accounts you'll discover that much of the time Bradley could hardly stand being in the same room with him!
both ike and patton were great men who needed each other. ike had to play the politician to hold the very uneasy and unprecedented alliance together and patton was a general who got things done that few others could. both men were right and wrong when it came to the post war world.
the strain of having to put up with people who refuse to see the obvious is so apparent on Pattons face. He could see reality and was constantly hindered by people who simply couldnt or outright refused to.
Chloe wilson remember Ike got the GOP nomination over Doug MacArthur, a better general than either of them. Ike was level headed and controllable, which is what needed to end the Korean War.
I disagree. Patton wasn't even close to insane. He was, in my opinion, egotistical to the utmost, which clouded his non-combat judgment. War is politics by other means, and Patton only understood the tactical and operational levels of war, not the strategic nor political levels.
Ulysses S Grant? George Washington? Napoleon Bonaparte? William the Conqueror? Julius Caesar? Augustus Caesar? etc... I guess it depend on how you define it but political leadership in the past was full of successful military leaders.
The slapping incident was more complicated than it looked. In actuality, Patton was suffering from combat fatigue (and either didn't realize it or was in denial about it, or both) and thought the soldier was shell-shocked when, in truth, he was suffering from malaria. After all the official stuff had been dealt with, the truth of the matter was brought to Patton's attention. He promptly summoned the private to his office and offered a sincere apology.
That’s actually not true at all🤡, he apologized after Eisenhower reprimanded him in private and forced him to, Bradley and Eisenhower both wrote that patron didn’t believe in battle fatigue or shell shock(ptsd)and he himself wrote it was an excuse for weak men ,he was absolutely wrong and was punished for his error like he deserved
Yeah AFTER Patton threatening a kid (who was suffering from malaria and shell shock) with death for so called "cowardice". Patton was a bully and maybe he deserved to get run down like a dog in the street. Notice how he was big and bad walking in the room, but he practically begged and pleaded not to be sent home in the end. Textbook bully behavior: Badass until they're confronted or someone fights back!
Not really. The United States didn't end up fighting the Soviet Union. Yes, we fought proxy wars, and, yes, Soviet pilots flew against American pilots in Korea, but, in the end, the US and the USSR never really went to war.
I watched this scene years ago and despite watching many episodes of Simon & Simon and Major dad, *and* hearing that distinctive voice, I still didn't recognize Gerald McRaney without his mustache. I feel so ashamed. : (
For my money, Eisenhower was the greatest leader of all time. One thing that struck me when seeing footage him of was how relaxed his demeanour was. Of course he would have to have given his share bollockings so I have often wondered how he would have handled them.
I'm sure I can take the worst nightmare I've ever had and multiply that by 10 and that would be the level of horror experienced by someone in combat. I just can't imagine what they go through. My thanks to everyone past, present and future for serving to defend our freedom!
Patton was in my opinion one of the greatest Generals in American history, he attacked and never dug in, he was as tough as cast iron. We need more Generals like him. Patton never trusted the Russians, he knew Stalin couldn't be trusted.
62202ify I have yet to see an apology for Poland from the Russians or any kind of restitution gesture. Where was the UN to exact our Pearl Harbor animosity here or do we unleash it at Nuremberg?
Because to be sent home as a general just as the final push to victory was beginning would have exposed him as a risk to operations and, it must be said, to his own men. It would have meant spending the rest of his career at a desk, unable to be a publicly-recognized hero, unable to get what he craved - an audience.
Yeah, but Eisenhower was his superior for a reason. Ike was the kind of General utterly unintimidated by Patton's rep and able to deal with him and his screw-ups like his slapping of military hospital patients by relegating to being Decoy-In-Chief of Operation Fortitude.
No one has been able to capture the true Patton. George C. Scott came the closest, but his gravely voice was the direct opposite of Patton who had a rather high pitched voice, some said it was almost effeminate. But Patton was the model of an armored commander, aggressive and direct who cared for his troops. He had seen direct combat himself in Mexico single handedly gunning down two of Pancho Vila's men. A true American Warrior.
Likewise depictions of Abraham Lincoln nearly always use a deep, ponderous voices for his utterances, but contemporaries tell us that he had a very high voice for a man.
the fact they also added how pissed off Eisenhower was when he learned Patton slapped a soldier suffering PTSD was a great touch. while Patton saw PTSD as a sign of cowardice, Eisenhower knew significantly better than that and that PTSD was a mental scar and should NEVER be cast aside like that and he made sure Patton knew he pissed him off for his lack of understanding this
I don’t know if this actually happened but I do know Eisenhower was a true leader. He did not waste lives and did his best for peace and equality. He wasn’t perfect but he was a great compared to some of the men of the era
@@rolltide9547 yup. Reading about it now in John Wear's "Germany's War." If the allies had to surrender, all their military and leaders would be facing capital war crimes.
Though I've never seen this show, nor do I know whether this was accurate or not. HOWEVER, I do like how respectful Ike was still to Patton while dressing him down when he says, "Do you understand me sir?" Patton was older than Ike in 1944 and even though Eisenhower was Patton's superior he still in this show showed his respect to elders.
sempermilites87 Ike was a great man. When he was president, his CNO was Arleigh Burke who jumped from Rear Admiral to 4 stars to assume the job of CNO (jumping over 20+ officers senior to him). Burke would stand if any officer who was senior to him enter the room even though he held the top job.
Yes he was.........Korea & Vietnam proved this......10's of thousands of Killed an wounded American an Allied Servicemen an women......fighting Communism .....Ike was wrong..........
Having learned from MacArthur Ike knew what to do and how and do it better. When Patton sez "Please Ike, don't send me home." That let the man come out of the General at last. Ike needed him there, but Patton had to be more in touch with the humanity of it all. Powerful scene.
@@kbanghart not totally. FDR dismissed Stalin as the threat he was thinking they could control him. Churchill recognized the threat Stalin posed but as the Junior partner was left on the sidelines. FDR thanks to the Stalinist agents in his inner circle basically gave Stalin everything and Ike went along with it.
@@brianschwatka3655 You must remember that from 1941-1944, the Soviet Union took almost the entire brunt of Hitler's military machine. The allies felt guilty during the earlier meetings...big reason they gave Stalin so much.