George Smith Patton Jr. was a General of the United States Army who commanded the U.S. Seventh Army in the Mediterranean theater of World War II, and the U.S. Third Army in France and Germany following D-Day, the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944. He set his sights on becoming a war hero. Profound General George Smith Patton quotes will make you feel unstoppable and inspire you to be a better leader.
Most Famous George S. Patton Quotes
A pint of sweat will save a gallon of blood. – George S. Patton
Accept the challenges so that you can feel the exhilaration of victory. – George S. Patton
A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week. – George S. Patton
Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom. – George S. Patton
Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way. – George S. Patton
The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his. – George S. Patton
If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking. – George S. Patton
Always do everything you ask of those you command. – George S. Patton
Fixed fortifications are a monument to the stupidity of man. – George S. Patton
Attack rapidly, ruthlessly, viciously, without rest, however tired and hungry you may be, the enemy will be more tired, more hungry. Keep punching. – George S. Patton
Say what you mean and mean what you say. – George S. Patton
Moral courage is the most valuable and usually the most absent characteristic in men – George S. Patton
Watch what people are cynical about, and one can often discover what they lack. – George S. Patton
Many soldiers are led to faulty ideas of war by knowing too much about too little. – George S. Patton
Discipline can only be obtained when all the officers are imbued with the sense of their awful obligation to their men and to their country that they cannot tolerate negligence. Officers who fail to correct errors or to praise excellence are valueless in peace and dangerous misfits in war. – George S. Patton
Never let the enemy pick the battle site. – George S. Patton
An active mind cannot exist in an inactive body. – George S. Patton
You must be single minded. Drive for the one thing on which you have decided. – George S. Patton
To be a successful soldier, you must know history. – George S. Patton
Courage is fear holding on a minute longer. – George S. Patton
There is only one tactical principle which is not subject to change. It is to use the means at hand to inflict the maximum amount of wound, death, and destruction on the enemy in the minimum amount of time. – George S. Patton
When everyone agrees, someone is not thinking. – George S. Patton
Do not make excuses, whether it’s your fault or not. – George S. Patton
Wars are not won by fighting battles; wars are won by choosing battles – George S. Patton
If a man does his best, what else is there? – George S. Patton
There are three ways that men get what they want: by planning, by working, and by praying. – George S. Patton
When you have collected all the facts and fears and made your decision, turn off all your fears and go ahead! – George S. Patton
In case of doubt, push on just a little further and then keep on pushing. – George S. Patton
You fight like you train. – George S. Patton
All men are timid on entering any fight. Whether it is the first or the last fight, all of us are timid. Cowards are those who let their timidity get the better of their manhood. – George S. Patton
Let us not mourn that such men died but rejoice that such men lived. – George S. Patton
Short George S. Patton Quotes
Duty is the essence of manhood. – George S. Patton
I am a soldier, I fight where I am told, and I win where I fight. – George S. Patton
You shouldn’t underestimate an enemy, but it is just as fatal to overestimate him. – George S. Patton
No good decision was ever made in a swivel chair. – George S. Patton
Pressure makes diamonds – George S. Patton
Always do more than is required of you. – George S. Patton
You’re never beaten until you admit it – George S. Patton
Fear kills more people than death. – George S. Patton
Be willing to make decisions. That’s the most important quality in a good leader. – George S. Patton
I am a Soldier, I fight where I am told, and I win where I fight. – George S. Patton
Make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. – George S. Patton
The courageous man is the man who forces himself, in spite of his fear, to carry on. – George S. Patton
The supreme measure of a man is what he would risk his life for. – George S. Patton
Moral courage is the most valuable and usually the most absent characteristic in men. – George S. Patton
Keep going, someone must be on top, why not you? – George S. Patton
When in doubt, observe and ask questions. When certain, observe at length and ask many more questions. – George S. Patton
If you tell people where to go, but not how to get there, you’ll be amazed at the results. – George S. Patton
The test of success is not what you do when you are on top. Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom. – George S. Patton
Good tactics can save even the worst strategy. Bad tactics will destroy even the best strategy. – George S. Patton
Don’t fall victim to what I call the ready-aim-aim-aim-aim syndrome. You must be willing to fire. – George S. Patton
Nobody ever defended anything successfully, there is only attack and attack and attack some more. – George S. Patton
Often I have encountered in life that great disappointments have proved to be the road to future successes. – George S. Patton
It is foolish and wrong to mourn the men who died. Rather we should thank God that such men lived. – George S. Patton
Do not try to make circumstances fit your plans. Make plans that fit the circumstances. – George S. Patton
To me it seems certain that the fatalistic teachings of Muhammad and the utter degradation of women is the outstanding cause for the arrested development of the Arab. He is exactly as he was around the year 700, while we have kept on developing. – George S. Patton
I don’t measure a man’s success by how high he climbs but how high he bounces when he hits bottom. – George S. Patton
Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity. – George S. Patton
Better to fight for something than live for nothing. – George S. Patton
If everybody is thinking alike, then somebody isn’t thinking. – George S. Patton
May God have mercy for my enemies because I won’t. – George S. Patton
When there is fear of failure, there will be failure. – George S. Patton
A civil servant is sometimes like a broken cannon – it won’t work and you can’t fire it. – George S. Patton
George S. Patton Quotes on Winning, Bravery and Success
Urge all of your men to pray, not alone in church, but everywhere. Pray when driving. Pray when fighting. Pray alone. Pray with others. Pray by night and pray by day. Pray for the cessation of immoderate rains, for good weather for Battle.Pray for the defeat of our wicked enemy whose banner is injustice and whose good is oppression. Pray for victory. Pray for our Army, and Pray for Peace. We must march together, all out for God. – George S. Patton
Achievers are resolute in their goals and driven by determination. Discouragement is temporary, obstacles are overcome, and doubt is defeated, yielding to personal victory. You need to overcome the tug of people against you as you reach for high goals. Accept the challenges, so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory. – George S. Patton
I have studied the enemy all my life. I have read the memoirs of his generals and his leaders. I have even read his philosophers and listened to his music. I have studied in detail the account of every damned one of his battles. I know exactly how he will react under any given set of circumstances. And he hasn’t the slightest idea of what I’m going to do. So, when the time comes, I’m going to whip the hell out of him. – George S. Patton
The more I see of Arabs the less I think of them. By having studied them a good deal I have found out the trouble. They are the mixture of all the bad races on earth, and they get worse from west to east, because the eastern ones have had more crosses. – George S. Patton
If I could have three wishes, one would be to take an ’88 and shove that barrel up Hitler’s ass so that cocksucker can cry like the little god-damned girl he is. And hell, after that, I wouldn’t need two more wishes. – George S. Patton
When I want my men to remember something important, to really make it stick, I give it to them double dirty. It may not sound nice to some bunch of little old ladies at an afternoon tea party, but it helps my soldiers to remember. You can’t run an army without profanity; and it has to be eloquent profanity. An army without profanity couldn’t fight its way out of a piss-soaked paper bag. As for the types of comments I make, sometimes I just, By God, get carried away with my own eloquence. – George S. Patton
Now if you are going to win any battle you have to do one thing. You have to make the mind run the body. Never let the body tell the mind what to do. The body will always give up. It is always tired morning, noon, and night. But the body is never tired if the mind is not tired. When you were younger the mind could make you dance all night, and the body was never tired… You’ve always got to make the mind take over and keep going. – George S. Patton
There is a great deal of talk about loyalty from the bottom to the top. Loyalty from the top down is even more necessary and much less prevalent. One of the most frequently noted characteristics of great men who have remained great is loyalty to their subordinates. – George S. Patton
When a decision has to be made, make it. There is no totally right time for anything. – George S. Patton
The most difficult thing about being humble is not being able to brag about it. – George S. Patton
The highest obligation and privilege of citizenship is bearing arms. – George S. Patton
A leader is a man who can adapt principles to circumstances. – George S. Patton
You cannot be disciplined in great things and undisciplined in small things. – George S. Patton
Plans must be simple and flexible. They must be made by the people who execute them. – George S. Patton
No bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country. – George S. Patton
The time to take counsel of your fears is before you make an important battle decision. That’s the time to listen to every fear you can imagine! When you have collected all the facts and fears and made your decision, turn off all your fears and go ahead! – George S. Patton
Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best; it removes all that is base. All men are afraid in battle. The coward is the one who lets his fear overcome his sense of duty. Duty is the essence of manhood. – George S. Patton
You need to overcome the tug of people against you as you reach for high goals. – George S. Patton
Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results. – George S. Patton
A piece of spaghetti or a military unit can only be led from the front end. – George S. Patton
Prepare for the unknown by studying how others in the past have coped with the unforeseeable and the unpredictable. – George S. Patton
If we take the generally accepted definition of bravery as a quality which knows no fear, I have never seen a brave man. All men are frightened. The more intelligent they are, the more they are frightened. – George S. Patton
Untutored courage is useless in the face of educated bullets. – George S. Patton
Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of men who follow and of the man who leads that gains the victory. – George S. Patton
There is a time to take counsel of your fears, and there is a time to never listen to any fear. – George S. Patton
We herd sheep, we drive cattle, we lead people. Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way. – George S. Patton
Americans play to win at all times. I wouldn’t give a hoot and hell for a man who lost and laughed. That’s why Americans have never lost nor ever lose a war. – George S. Patton
A pint of sweat, saves a gallon of blood. – George S. Patton
All very successful commanders are prima donnas and must be so treated. – George S. Patton
Americans love to fight. All real Americans love the sting of battle. – George S. Patton
Do your damnedest in an ostentatious manner all the time. – George S. Patton
I would rather have a good plan today than a perfect plan two weeks from now. – George S. Patton
Give me an army of West Point graduates and I’ll win a battle. Give me a handful of Texas Aggies, and I’ll win the war. – George S. Patton
Politicians are the lowest form of life on earth. Liberal Democrats are the lowest form of politicians. – George S. Patton
There is no such thing as a successful defence. – George S. Patton
It seems to me a certainty that the fatalistic teachings of Mohammed and the utter degradation of the Arab women are the outstanding causes for the arrested development of the Arab. He is exactly as he was around the year 700, while we have been developing. – George S. Patton
I have pissed in the Rhine, now send me gas! – George S. Patton
If man does his best what else is there? – George S. Patton
I wouldn’t give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed! Gen. – George S. Patton
So as through a glass, and darkly – The age long strife I see – Where I fought in many guises, – Many names, but always me. – George S. Patton
I wonder if I could have been here before as I drive up the Roman road the Theater seems familiar – perhaps I headed a legion up that same white road… I passed a chateau in ruins which I possibly helped escalade in the middle ages. There is no proof nor yet any denial. We were, We are, and we will be. – George S. Patton
I have the utmost confidence that through your efforts we will eventually beat the hell out of those bastards – You name them; I’ll shoot them! – George S. Patton
Take not counsel of your fears – George S. Patton
When we land against the enemy, don’t forget to hit him and hit him hard. When we meet the enemy we will kill him. We will show him no mercy. – George S. Patton
I am the best damn ass-kicker in the whole U.S. Army! – George S. Patton
Coward: someone who in a bad situation thinks with his feet – George S. Patton
Do as I have taught you, and you will stay alive. – George S. Patton
Never in history has the navy landed an army at the planned time and place. But if you land us anywhere within 50 miles of Fedela and within 1 week of D-Day. I’ll go ahead and win. – George S. Patton
Sure, we want to go home. We want this war over with. The quickest way to get it over with is to go get the bastards who started it. – George S. Patton
If you can’t get them to salute when they should salute and wear the clothes you tell them to wear, how are you going to get them to die for their country? – George S. Patton
Tanks are new and special weapon-newer than, as special, and certainly as valuable as the airplane. – George S. Patton
Many, who should know better, think that wars can be decided by soulless machines, rather than by the blood and anguish of brave men. – George S. Patton
Let’s shoot the works and win! Yes win it all. – George S. Patton
The soldier is the army. – George S. Patton
Battle… brings out all that is best. – George S. Patton
In my opinion, the M1 rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised – George S. Patton
I’d rather have a German Division in front of me than a French one behind. – George S. Patton
My men don’t dig foxholes. I don’t want them to. Foxholes only slow up an offensive. Keep moving. And don’t give the enemy time to dig one either. – George S. Patton
Have taken Trier with two divisions. What do you want me to do? Give it back? – George S. Patton
We want to get the hell over there. The quicker we clean up this Goddamned mess, the quicker we can take a little jaunt against the purple pissing Japs and clean out their nest, too. Before the Goddamned Marines get all of the credit. – George S. Patton
Prisoner of War guard companies, or an equivalent organization, should be as far forward as possible in action to take over prisoners of war, because troops heated with battle are not safe custodians. Any attempt to rob or loot prisoners of war by escorts must be dealt strictly with. – George S. Patton
Every man is scared in his first battle. If he says he’s not, he’s a liar. Some men are cowards, but they fight the same as the brave men or they get the hell slammed out of them watching men fight who are just as scared as they are. The real hero is the man who fights even though he is scared. – George S. Patton
A man must know his destiny. – George S. Patton
Now in war we are confronted with conditions which are strange If we accept them, we will never win. Since being realistic, as in mundane combats fistic We will get a bloody nose and that’s a sin. – George S. Patton
You just wait and see. The lily-livered bstards in Washington will demobilize. They’ll say they’ve made the world safe for democracy again. The Russians are not such dmned fools. They’ll rebuild, and with modern weapons. – George S. Patton
Sometimes I think your life and mine are under the protection of some supreme being or fate, because, after many years of parallel thought, we find ourselves in the positions we now occupy. – George S. Patton
I believe in the old and sound rule that an ounce of sweat will save a gallon of blood. – George S. Patton
For over a thousand years Roman conquerors returning from the wars enjoyed the honor of triumph, a tumultuous parade. In the procession came trumpeteers, musicians and strange animals from conquered territories, together with carts laden with treasure and captured armaments. The conquerors rode in a triumphal chariot, the dazed prisoners walking in chains before him. Sometimes his children robed in white stood with him in the chariot or rode the trace horses. A slave stood behind the conqueror holding a golden crown and whispering in his ear a warning: that all glory is fleeting. – George S. Patton
Remember wars are won by killing people. The more we kill, the quicker we’ll get out of this war. – George S. Patton
The reason there are so many tree-lined boulevards in Paris is so the German army can march in the shade. – George S. Patton
Take calculated risks. – George S. Patton
I read the Bible – every goddamn day. – George S. Patton
You must do your damdest and win. – George S. Patton
In the space of two days I had evolved two plans, wholly distinct, both of which were equally feasible. The point I am trying to bring out is that one does not plan and then try to make circumstances fit those plans. One tries to make plans fit the circumstances. – George S. Patton
So let us do real fighting, boring in and gouging, biting. – George S. Patton
I am convinced that much more emphasis should be placed on history. The purpose of history is to learn how human beings react when exposed to the danger of wounds or death… – George S. Patton
Do your duty as you see it, and damn the consequences. – George S. Patton
The duties of an officer are the safety, honor, and welfare of your country first; the honor, welfare, and comfort of the men in your command second; and the officer s own ease, comfort, and safety last. – George S. Patton
Each man must not think only of himself, but also of his buddy fighting beside him. We don’t want yellow cowards in this Army. They should be killed off like rats. If not, they will go home after this war and breed more cowards. The brave men will breed more brave men. Kill off the Goddamned cowards and we will have a nation of brave men. – George S. Patton
War is very simple, direct, and ruthless. It takes a simple, direct, and ruthless man to wage war. – George S. Patton
Most battles are won before they are ever fought. – George S. Patton
There is only one sort of discipline – PERFECT DISCIPLINE. Men cannot have good battle discipline and poor administrative discipline. – George S. Patton
All men are frightened. The more intelligent they are, the more they are frightened. – George S. Patton
A good solution applied with vigor now is better than a perfect solution applied ten minutes later. – George S. Patton
