Thanks for posting. The minor liberty taken in the Patton movie in putting the General’s conversation with the Third Army chaplain during the drive to relieve Bastogne is justified since it was during that drive that the prayer for relief from “immoderate” weather was answered.
“The minor liberty taken in the Patton movie in putting the General’s conversation with the Third Army chaplain during the drive to relieve Bastogne is justified since it was during that drive that the prayer for relief from “immoderate” weather was answered.”
It should be noted that Patton’s December 8th request for the prayer was in part actually his already knowing preparation for the Third Army’s participation in the Battle of the Bulge.
Brigadier General Oscar W. Koch and his G-2 staff had been keeping Patton and his staff well briefed on the threatening buildup of German forces opposite of the First Army’s VIII Corps through the month of November. By November 26th, 1944, the potential for a German offensive through the Ardennes and against the VIII Corps was a serious enough threat for Patton to begin his preparations to meet such a German Offensive on the flank of the Third Army.
However, Eisenhower’s headquarters were already committing the Third Army to an offensive towards Frankfurt that was scheduled to begin on 21 December 1944. So, Patton had to bide his time in November and December to prepare the Third Army for both eventualities. He ordered an unprecedented plan to pull an entire Field Army out of an offensive in one direction and change the axis of advance 90 degrees in another direction and across existing lines of communications in the middle of one of the worst winter seasons for military campaigning in modern military history.
On December 8th Patton orders the chaplain to prepare the prayer for the Third Army.
On December 9th, Patton, his Third Army Staff, staff members of the VIII Corps, and others met in a conference to discuss the latest intelligence about the German capabilities. BG Koch and his staff reported their findings and intelligence while emphasizing the apparent German preparations for an offensive against the First Army’s VIII Corps. Patton then ordered the formal preparation of the contingency plan for a redirection of the Third Army away from its offensive operations towards Frankfurt and move into a meeting engagement and counterattack against a German offensive against the VIII Corps.
It can fairly be said that Patton’s request for the prayer on December 8th was preceded by Patton’s knowledge and appreciation that he could expect the Third Army to become engaged in a major and historic battle in the month of December in a counterattack against a major German offensive on Patton’s northern flank with the U.S. First Army.