Killing Patton The Strange Death of World War II's Most Audacious General by Bill O'Reilly Page A
Authors: Bill O'Reilly
Tags: United States, Historical, History, World War II, Military, 20th Century, Biographies & Memoirs, Leaders & Notable People, Professionals & Academics, Military & Spies, Americas
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intelligence is easily explained. The German army is now based in its own country, rather than in a hostile nation such as France. The local citizens are patriots who will not spy on their own soldiers, as the French Resistance movement has done so successfully. And because German telephone lines are still largely intact, achieving radio silence is as simple as ordering all military officers to use the telephone instead of the radio. Seen from this perspective, the behavior of the German army is completely logical. The warnings of Col. Oscar Koch might be an exercise in paranoia.
Patton still has every intention of launching Operation Tink on December 19. It will be glorious, starting with the biggest aerial bombardment the Americans have ever poured down on the German army. He finally has the bridging material necessary for his tanks and men to continue their winter offensive for as long as their guns and their gasoline will take them. With any luck, the war might be over by New Year’s Eve after all.
But what if Koch is right? What if there is danger on the Third Army’s northern flank?
Finally, Patton stands to leave. He orders that in addition to fine-tuning the last-minute details of Operation Tink, planning is to begin immediately on emergency measures to rescue Gen. Courtney Hodges and his First Army should the Germans attack to the north in the Ardennes Forest. If that happens, “Our offensive will be called off,” he tells his staff. “And we’ll have to go up there and save their hides.”
Patton’s private sentiments indicate serious concern. “First Army is making a terrible mistake,” he worried in his diary two weeks ago. “It is highly probable the Germans are building up east of them.”
* * *
As General Patton leaves the War Room, Colonel Koch goes back to the endless business of acquiring information. It is a skill that he will one day put to good use while working for the CIA. For now, he is most pleased that General Patton wants the Third Army to be “in a position to meet whatever happens.”
But Patton needs to do more than just make backup plans. He calls Gen. Dwight Eisenhower and passes on Koch’s assessment. Ike, in turn, passes this on to his own G-2, Gen. Kenneth Strong, who relays Patton’s concerns to the First Army.
Where the warning is promptly ignored.
7
G ERMAN FRONT LINES
D ECEMBER 16, 1944
5:29 A.M.
Sunrise is still two hours away. The morning sky is completely black, without even moon or starlight. German artillery crews stand at their guns, making happy small talk and stomping their feet to keep warm. Their cheeks sting from the record December cold. They have been awake for hours, waiting for this moment. Someday they will tell their grandchildren about the great instant when Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein (Operation Watch on the Rhine) commenced, and how they were among the lucky gunners who fired the first rounds into the American lines, turning the tide of war in favor of the Fatherland, once and for all. They will regale their descendants about the brilliant deception that allowed a quarter million men, more than seven hundred tanks, and thousands of huge artillery pieces to remain camouflaged in the Ardennes Forest for weeks. And these young soldiers will talk about the glory of the surprise attack that split the American and British armies, and then the relentless push to reclaim the strategically vital port city of Antwerp. Next, Adolf Hitler successfully sued for peace with the west, thereby preserving the Third Reich and preventing an Allied invasion of the German homeland. With the Americans and British neutralized, Hitler activated step two of Operation Watch on the Rhine and launched his legendary second attack against Stalin and Russia that defeated the Communists.
That is the story they hope to tell.
But all that is in the future. Right now these young Germans are eager, awaiting the command to rain down hellfire on their enemies.
At
Patton still has every intention of launching Operation Tink on December 19. It will be glorious, starting with the biggest aerial bombardment the Americans have ever poured down on the German army. He finally has the bridging material necessary for his tanks and men to continue their winter offensive for as long as their guns and their gasoline will take them. With any luck, the war might be over by New Year’s Eve after all.
But what if Koch is right? What if there is danger on the Third Army’s northern flank?
Finally, Patton stands to leave. He orders that in addition to fine-tuning the last-minute details of Operation Tink, planning is to begin immediately on emergency measures to rescue Gen. Courtney Hodges and his First Army should the Germans attack to the north in the Ardennes Forest. If that happens, “Our offensive will be called off,” he tells his staff. “And we’ll have to go up there and save their hides.”
Patton’s private sentiments indicate serious concern. “First Army is making a terrible mistake,” he worried in his diary two weeks ago. “It is highly probable the Germans are building up east of them.”
* * *
As General Patton leaves the War Room, Colonel Koch goes back to the endless business of acquiring information. It is a skill that he will one day put to good use while working for the CIA. For now, he is most pleased that General Patton wants the Third Army to be “in a position to meet whatever happens.”
But Patton needs to do more than just make backup plans. He calls Gen. Dwight Eisenhower and passes on Koch’s assessment. Ike, in turn, passes this on to his own G-2, Gen. Kenneth Strong, who relays Patton’s concerns to the First Army.
Where the warning is promptly ignored.
7
G ERMAN FRONT LINES
D ECEMBER 16, 1944
5:29 A.M.
Sunrise is still two hours away. The morning sky is completely black, without even moon or starlight. German artillery crews stand at their guns, making happy small talk and stomping their feet to keep warm. Their cheeks sting from the record December cold. They have been awake for hours, waiting for this moment. Someday they will tell their grandchildren about the great instant when Unternehmen Wacht am Rhein (Operation Watch on the Rhine) commenced, and how they were among the lucky gunners who fired the first rounds into the American lines, turning the tide of war in favor of the Fatherland, once and for all. They will regale their descendants about the brilliant deception that allowed a quarter million men, more than seven hundred tanks, and thousands of huge artillery pieces to remain camouflaged in the Ardennes Forest for weeks. And these young soldiers will talk about the glory of the surprise attack that split the American and British armies, and then the relentless push to reclaim the strategically vital port city of Antwerp. Next, Adolf Hitler successfully sued for peace with the west, thereby preserving the Third Reich and preventing an Allied invasion of the German homeland. With the Americans and British neutralized, Hitler activated step two of Operation Watch on the Rhine and launched his legendary second attack against Stalin and Russia that defeated the Communists.
That is the story they hope to tell.
But all that is in the future. Right now these young Germans are eager, awaiting the command to rain down hellfire on their enemies.
At
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