[music playing] NARRATOR: The Battle
of the Bulge is over. But in the winter of 1945,
the final struggle for Europe is just getting started. General George S. Patton
and his Third Army are determined to
shatter Hitler's dream of a Thousand-Year Reich. From the battles to cross
the Rhine River to Patton's top secret mission to
rescue his son-in-law, the Third Army is taking the war
to the very heart of the enemy. [music playing] General George S. Patton-- his bold attacks are legendary. See the war as he saw
it, and ride along with his hard fighting troops
as they battle their way through World War II. On this 360-degree
battlefield, Patton's enemies could be anywhere
and everywhere. There's nowhere to run
when the war is all around. "Patton 360, Crushing
the Third Reich." [explosions] [gunfire] Germany, March 8, 1945. After wiping out Hitler's
forces in the final days of the Battle of the Bulge-- [gunfire] --Patton's army is on
the march, preparing for the ultimate
showdown-- the storming of the Nazi fatherland. MARTIN K.A. MORGAN:
The Third Army, after having
shifted to the north during the Battle of
the Bulge, they're now poised to continue
moving to the east. Movement to the east means
crossing into Germany, and then, of course, vaulting
the Rhine River itself, the greatest of all
the German obstacles. NARRATOR: With
his army following in the ancient footsteps
of Caesar's Roman legions as they conquered
the Huns, Patton knows that little stands
in the way between him and his years' long goal
of marching into Berlin. Leading the way to the Rhine
is Patton's vanguard, the men of the 4th Armored Divisioin. On the hunt for a bridge to
cross the Rhine is combat veteran, Albin Irzyk, a native
of Salem, Massachusetts, recently promoted to
Lieutenant Colonel. ALBIN IRZYK: When
we got to the point where we could see the Rhine,
we saw a bridge across the Rhine at a place called Urmitz. And we're only about two
miles from the Rhine River. [music playing] NARRATOR: The bridge is one of
the last still intact, capable of taking Patton's army
onto the enemy's turf. Dozens of German armored
vehicles and hundreds of Hitler's soldiers
swarm over the bridge on a desperate retreat
to the eastern shore. [explosion] Irzyk, and the tankers
are the 4th Armored, immediately launch a full
scale assault on the bridge with to tank companies. ALBIN IRZYK: It's flat-- not a tree, not a
ridge, absolutely flat. And my tank started
across this ground. [explosions] NARRATOR: Instantly,
88 millimeter shells slam into the earth. [explosions] Across the river,
German artillery has drawn a bead
on the Americans. [gunfire and explosions] Irzyk's assault is stopped cold. ALBIN IRZYK: It would have
been suicide, absolute murder, to keep trying to advance the
two miles to the Rhine River with the 88s. NARRATOR: American
artillery takes over. [explosions] The next morning, as
Irzyk's tank force moves toward the
bridge, the enemy guns on the hills overlooking
the river fall silent. [explosions] ALBIN IRZYK: We hit the
plungers and up it went. The most amazing thing
in the world-- you saw these wheels and the horses
and people up in the air. [explosions] NARRATOR: It's a
bitter disappointment, and it comes at a time
when Patton's army is eager to exploit the Allied
victory in the Battle of the Bulge. Flashback-- two weeks
earlier, February 1945, Hitler's divisions
are on the run and the Third Army is
snapping at their heels. Summing up the final stages
of the Battle of the Bulge in a letter to his
son, Patton writes, "I think we accounted
for some 80,000 Germans. The woods are full of corpses. And it's going to stink
some in the spring." In December, they faced
the last great lunge that Adolf Hitler
could throw at them, in the form of the Ardennes
Offensive, what we call the Battle of the Bulge. By February 1, 1945, the
momentum of the Allied drive toward Germany has resumed. [music playing] NARRATOR: In the west, American,
British, and Canadian forces are pushing towards the Rhine. To the south, in Italy, Patton's
old opponent, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring,
is falling back. And to the east, the Soviet
army has chewed its way out of Russia, pushing
the Nazis right back into Hitler's backyard. The power of the axis
is starting to collapse. WILLIAM MCBURNEY: The resistance
we had was from kids, almost, and old men. Well, when I say
old men-- well we, were young so they were
old men, at the time. And the young kids-- the
guns were bigger than them. That's when we knew the
war was almost over. [music playing] [explosions] NARRATOR: While the Nazi
struggle to hold their ground, thousands of American
troops continue to pour onto the continent. One of them is
Lincoln Leung, who grew up amidst the segregation
of San Francisco's Chinatown, and joined the 90th Infantry
Division in the final weeks of the Battle of the Bulge. They need replacement
immediately, so they cut our training and
I was sent to Europe within a week-and-a-half
in the Queen Mary. NARRATOR: Now, as one
of the Tough Ombres of the 90th Division, the
color lines that separated men back home has started to blur. [gunfire] LINCOLN LEUNG: We are
fighting for our country. We are on the same
side against the enemy. So they treat me like a human
being, like one of them. [gunfire] ERROL JAMES SNYDER: You've got
country guys with city guys. You've got Californians
with New Yorkers. And now they got to
count on each other. But you know the American
GI-- that's what he did. [music playing] NARRATOR: The allies
are now spread out over a 450-mile front. To the north, 21st Army Group
covers an area from the North Sea to Cologne, while 12th
Army Group, including Patton's Third, is pushing in on a
100-mile stretch of the Rhine, driving Hitler's forces
back towards the river. Of course, Patton wants to be
the first to cross the Rhine. KEVIN HYMEL: The
race for the Rhine is basically the last big prize
for all the armies racing east. This becomes a bit of
an obsession for him. He realizes the importance of
it, and he wants to go for it. NARRATOR: Target--
the Rhine River. Strategy-- the storm
into the enemy homeland and crush the Nazis before
they can mount a defense. Tactics-- seize any
existing bridges. And, if necessary, use assault
boats to cross the river. [music playing] [explosions] JOHN ANTAL: Any bridge
that isn't destroyed becomes key real estate. It becomes decisive terrain,
that if the Third Army is able to capture a bridge that
will save them immense time, and therefore, will give
Patton the opportunity to get his army across the
Rhine, get out the Germans, and keep them running. [music playing] NARRATOR: On March 7, 1945, US
First Army captures the bridge at Remagen, giving the Americans
their first major crossing point at the Rhine. [music playing] But the allies need to cross
the river at several points in order to get enough
firepower into Germany. Nierstein, Germany,
March 22, 1945-- with the First Army
already across the Rhine, Patton is frustrated
beyond belief. After two weeks of
fighting, his Third Army has failed to take an intact
bridge spanning the river. So Patton orders the veteran
5th Infantry Division to cross the river
in assault boats and form a defensive
line on the German side, so temporary bridges can
be built behind them. One of the soldiers making
the dangerous journey is Lansing, Michigan
native, Arnold Whitaker. ARNOLD WHITTAKER: There was no
rush to get across until shells started splashing all around. [explosions] Well, then there was a
complete metamorphosis that took place in us. So, all of a sudden, we became
Harvard Yale rowing teams. [explosions] NARRATOR: For the first time
since the age of Napoleon, an invading army has
used assault boats to cross the Rhine. [gunfire and explosions] But just as the engineers laid
the first pontoon bridges, enemy warplanes appear overhead. [gunfire] MARTIN K.A. MORGAN: The Germans
knew that the Rhine River would compel our forces to first, slow
down, and that during that time we would be especially
vulnerable to air attack. ARNOLD WHITTAKER: We were
watching the engineers trying to put this pontoon
bridge together, and they were having a
little trouble with ME 109s that were deciding they
were going to strafe them. [gunfire and explosions] NARRATOR: Patton's
men strike back with weapons like the
M45 anti-aircraft mount. [gunfire and explosions] A symbol from four air cooled 50
caliber M2 heavy barrel machine guns, the M45 has the combined
firepower of 1,800 rounds per minute, and can
spray withering hot lead at a distance of 2,000 yards. [gunfire] At the end of the day,
the bridge head stands. 33 German warplanes
have been destroyed. Though Patton's army is
not the first to cross the famous river, his men
have helped pave the way for the final drive on Germany. In a message to his
soldiers he writes, "Please accept my heartfelt
admiration and thanks for what you have done. And remember that your assault
crossing over the Rhine assures you of greater
glory to come." [music playing] March 24, 1945-- Patton arrives at the Rhine. Despite being escorted by
an entourage of reporters, Patton makes time for something
he's wanted to do for years. He stops in the middle of the
bridge, gets out of his car, unzips his fly and urinates
into the Rhine River. Climbs back in his car,
drives to the other shore, gets out of the
car and falls down and comes up with two
handfuls of dirt and says, "Thus, Frederick the Great." And what Patton
is alluding to is when Frederick took a ship
into England and fell down and came up with two
handfuls of sand and said, "I've taken England
with both hands." So here's Patton the
historian, as well as Patton the offensive
urinator all in one scene. [music playing] NARRATOR: As American troops
push into the Nazi fatherland, Patton turns his eyes to a quest
that began two years earlier. [explosion] Captured in Tunisia in
1943, Colonel John Waters has spent the last
two years in POW camps with thousands of
other allied soldiers. But Waters is not just
any prisoner of war. He's Patton's son-in-law. Now the general is about to
go all in on a daring rescue mission to find John Waters. And it just might be one of the
biggest mistakes of his career. [explosions] March 1945-- the battle
for Germany rages on. And General George's
Patton's Third Army is rolling into
the Nazi heartland. [music playing] The Rhine River
has been breached, and thousands of
Patton's soldiers are storming across Germany. H.R. MCMASTER: And so he had
a great sense of satisfaction, you know, after the
Bulge and his crossing-- as his army crossed the Rhine. Because he felt that he
had fulfilled his destiny. [music playing] NARRATOR: Patton now sets his
sights on a personal quest-- the liberation of a POW camp
near the town of Hammelburg, Germany, known as Oflag XIII-B.
The camp is home to hundreds of POWs-- Americans, Russians
and Serbian allies. It's also rumored
Patton's own son-in-law is one of the inmates. Lieutenant Colonel
John Knight Waters is married to Patton's
daughter, Bea. In February 1943, Waters was
taken prisoner in North Africa. [music playing] That camp was a mere 40
miles from the Third Army lines front-- the Third Army's
main line of resistance, a mere 40 miles from
there to Hammelburg. It was at that point that
General Patton conceived of a rescue mission. NARRATOR: Patton is convinced
that a lightning raid will liberate Waters, and
the estimated 300 prisoners in the camp. It's a risky operation. And Colonel Creighton
Abrams tries to talk Patton into taking
the time to assemble a larger force. But Patton is hell bent on
liberating the camp before Omar Bradley and Eisenhower
know what he's up to. Handpicked to lead the raiding
party is Captain Abraham Baum. Born in the Bronx, Baum
volunteered in 1941, and in the past three years
has climbed his way up through the ranks of
the Veteran 4th Armored. ABRAHAM BAUM: I
briefed the troops that were going on this mission
to liberate a POW camp that we would be leaving in dark. NARRATOR: Designated
Task Force Baum, the raiding party will consist
of 57 vehicles and tanks, and 314 men. [music playing] Among the tanks Baum
commands are the new, hard hitting M4A3E8 Shermans. The Easy 8, as it's known,
comes with a larger T23 turret that packs a high velocity
76 millimeter cannon. The main gun now has a muzzle
brake that helps decrease the effects of extreme recoil. The tank also has an improved
suspension system, giving the crew a smoother ride. March 26, 1945-- Task Force Baum moves out. Because the mission
is top secret, Baum has been ordered to
maintain radio silence. MARTIN K.A. MORGAN:
They would traverse this winding and intricate
pattern of roads, passing through towns
like Gemunden on the way to Hamelburg, at which point
they would open up the camp. Estimating that there
would only be approximately 300 American
prisoners in the camp, they would load them
up in their vehicles and then make the return trip. And the thought was that they
would be back that evening. NARRATOR: But
almost immediately-- [gunfire] --Baum's force runs
into heavy resistance in the town of Gemunden. ABRAHAM BAUM: We
took small arms fire. We took Panzerfaust. The biggest enemy that
we had with civilians were the Panzerfaust. They-- they never let up. [explosion] NARRATOR: Baum is forced to
find an alternative route to Hamelburg. He's already lost three tanks
and a platoon of infantry. The firefight has
also cost him time. The raid is quickly
falling behind schedule. To make matters worse, the
enemy knows they're coming. [music playing] 2,000 feet above,
German recon planes lurk in the clouds over
the American column. The enemy knows
exactly where Baum is, and they prepare an ambush. [music playing] 700 yards ahead, German
tank destroyers open fire. [explosions] Four half tracks
in several jeeps are pulverized by the Nazi guns. Baum's Shermans provide covering
fire as the rest of the force heads towards the prison camp. [explosions] MARTIN K.A. MORGAN: Task Force
Baum's tanks plowed through the-- through the wire of Oflag
XIII-B, where they found 5,000 men. [gunfire] NARRATOR: When a firefight
breaks out with the camp guards, some of Baum's
men mistake gray clad Serbian prisoners for Germans. Minutes later, a handful of
POWs emerge with a white flag. One of them is Lieutenant
Colonel John Waters. KEVIN HYMEL: In this confusion,
Patton's son-in-law is shot in the buttocks and now cannot
be brought out of the camp. He needs to go to the hospital. NARRATOR: As waters is
carried into the camp hospital with what could be a
life threatening wound, a grim reality sets in. Literally thousands
of allied prisoners expect to be liberated,
but Baum has only brought enough vehicles to carry 300. I was sick. I was sick. They anticipated being released. They were already writing
letters to their parents. I mean, the just were terrible. NARRATOR: Baum's men load up
as many POWs as they can carry. The rest are told
to follow on foot. [explosion] [music playing] Now, as Baum prepares to fight
his way back to Patton's lines, the German army is
closing in on Hamelburg. In a matter of
hours, the liberators could just wind up becoming
prisoners, themselves. [explosions] [music playing] March 26, 1945-- [gunfire and explosions] --General George S.
Patton's Third Army is storming across Germany,
taking the war to the Nazis' home turf closing
in for the kill. At the same time, Patton
has a crisis on his hands. He's ordered Captain Abraham
Baum on a secret mission to rescue his son-in-law,
and 300 other American POWs, from a prison camp
known as Oflag XIII-B. But Baum's task force is found
about 5,000 allied prisoners, including more than
1,000 Americans. They can only transport 300
in the vehicles they brought. And to make matters
worse, Patton's son-in-law is in the camp hospital,
wounded in the early stages of the attempted rescue. JOHN ANTAL: So we're talking
about an operation that was-- was doomed from the start. It was something that probably
should have been done by a much bigger force or
should've been canceled. [gunfire] NARRATOR: Now, Task Force Baum
and the American prisoners, most of them on foot, are
attempting to fight their way back to allied lines. But German reinforcements
have been racing to the area during the night. [music playing] The thousands of
other allied POWs, including many
Russians and Serbs, scatter throughout
the countryside. Most of them end up being
recaptured or killed. From a position
on Hill 421, Baum tries to figure out how to get
his task force and the American POWs back to safety. ABRAHAM BAUM: I called
them all together and I said at
daybreak we'll leave. Get into column. We got into column. And with-- minutes
after the daybreak came, all hell broke loose. [explosions] NARRATOR: Sunrise, March 27-- enemy fire tears
into Task Force Baum. [explosions] 500 yards away, German
guns blast the exposed American position. [explosions] The task force was almost
completely wiped out. None of the vehicles that
were part of the task force survived. NARRATOR: Unable
to put up a fight, Baum orders his men
to head for the hills. It's every man for himself. Most of Baum's men
and the American POWs are immediately captured. Baum heads off with
two enlisted men. To play it safe, he removes his
dog tags in case he's captured. I wrote the-- it showed
Hebrew, so Jewish on it. Now I was wounded a couple of
times and I could barely walk. And up comes a buggy with
two civilians with rifles-- the Home Guard. And I look at them,
and they look at me. And I started to go for my 45. So he takes out a Luger
B38 and shoots me. [gunshots] And the bullet ripped the
pants away from my groin area. [gunshot] As I look down I said,
"You son of a bitch. You just must have shot
off one of my balls." He breaks out laughing,
and I mean laughing. I say, "What the hell
are you laughing about? Besides, who are you?" It was a German
American civilian that came over the
flight for Germany. And here, this son
of a bitch shot me. NARRATOR: Baum is immediately
escorted back to Hamelburg, where he joins John Waters
and other survivors in Oflat XIIIb's hospital. Even the local forces
had stopped the raid. The German army has
been unable to hold back the tide of the Allied advance. [music playing] Nine days later, on
April 6, 7th Army tanks from the 14th Armored stormed
through the gates of the Oflag XIII-B POW camp. [cheering] As US troops take
possession of the camp, an entourage of
American officers enters the hospital where Baum
and Waters are being treated. And in walks Patton and sits
down at the edge of my bed. NARRATOR: Patton pins the
Distinguished Service Cross on Baum, explaining that
even though the raid failed, it confused the Germans into
thinking Baum's force was the entire Third Army. As a result, a massive
number of Nazi forces had been diverted, allowing the
real Third Army to move further into Germany. [music playing] All Baum asks for in
return is to be sent back to his beloved 4th
Armored Division. And he says, "What
do you want to do?" And I said to him, "I want
to get back to the troops." You can't. I said, "Why can't ?" The Geneva Conference says that
you cannot go back to the same theater and fight. I said, "You're General
George S. Patton, aren't you?" He says, "Yeah." I want to go back and finish
the war with the troops. NARRATOR: Realizing that Baum
won't take no for an answer, Patton arranges for him to
return to the 4th Armored. Patton's son-in-law is evacuated
by air to Frankfurt, where he will make a full recovery. [explosions] It's an unbelievably
heroic tale, but it's something that
Patton should never have allowed to happen. NARRATOR: Within days, the
story of the botched raid is leaked to the press. Bradley, when-- when
considering whether or not to admonish Patton about it,
you know, says, "Hey, this-- I think this-- his
biggest punishment is his own recognition
of this failure." And so they sort of just
let it-- let it ride. [music playing] NARRATOR: Right
now, Patton's bold and sometimes reckless style is
exactly what the Allied command needs. [explosions] But, in a matter of days,
as they move further into the Nazi homeland,
Patton's soldiers will be in for the
shock of their lives. [explosions] April 1945-- Allied forces have
nearly silenced the Nazi war machine. And as American forces
sweep across Germany-- [explosions] --thousands of Allied soldiers
are liberated from enemy POW camps. One of them is Andy
McGlynn, taken prisoner during Patton's failed attempt
to storm Fort Driant in October 1944. ANDREW MCGLYNN: It was
just hard to believe. See, it was hard
for me to accept that I was going to go home. I'd been away from home for
so long, the girl I had been engaged to, oh, she dumped
me back and I was in England. And I just couldn't believe
that I could make it home. NARRATOR: McGlynn, and hundreds
of other American POWs, are transported back to
England for rehabilitation-- [gunfire and explosions] --while the fighting
on the front rages on. With the Soviet Army poised
to crush the German capital, the allies on the western front
stands little chance of beating Stalin's forces to Berlin. As Eisenhower sends other forces
to the northeast and east, he orders Patton to lead
his Third Army southeast to recapture portions of
Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia. Francis Sanza, who drove
Patton's Jeep across Europe, remembers Old Blood and
Guts' disappointment when he found out he wouldn't
be conquering Berlin. FRANCIS SANZA: He was mad
because the war was over for him, but they didn't
get Berlin, you know. And little tears come
down out of his eyes. And he-- his pride and
joy was to go to Berlin. NARRATOR: But far worse
than any disappointment Patton's army feels over Berlin
are the unspeakable horrors that they're about to discover
outside of Weimar, Germany. [music playing] April 3, 1945-- as the 4th
Armored and 89th Infantry Division advanced
toward the Czech border, Albin Irzyk receives disturbing
reports over the radio. The next morning,
Irzyk sees for himself what his comrades have found
at a place known as the Ohrdruf Labor Prison. They came to a clearing and
it looked like a small parade ground. But there in the clearing
were about 75 bodies lying on the ground in a
roughly elliptical shape. And, of course, I
recoiled in shock. I never expected
anything like that. ROGER BOAS: And what the guards
had done there was they'd taken any prisoner they-- any
concentration camp inmate they could, gathered them out
there in the courtyard and shot them all, probably
within three or four hours before we arrived. They all had the Jewish star
of David on their uniform. ALBIN IRZYK: And then
as I looked around, I came to something
I called it-- I call it the centerpiece
of this operation. It looked like a
large hamburger grill. It had rails. And the SS guards who
piled bodies on this grill and then set fire to them. NARRATOR: Appalled
by the discovery, the American brass decides
to bring the entire town to the camp to bear witness
to the Nazi atrocities. ROGER BOAS: And they required
that the mayor and his wife from Ohrdruf come visit
at the Burgemeister. And both of them then went
home and committed suicide. And when Ike
looked at it, he-- he was dumbfounded, and
so was Bradley and Patton. And Ike stood up on his Jeep
and he says, "Boys, now you know why we're fighting." [music playing] NARRATOR: Within days,
Third Army soldiers discover other shocking
scenes of Nazi war crimes. [music playing] MAN: In Buchanwald, we
went into the place that had the ovens there. We saw those. We walked through
the different rooms. We saw a wooden box-- may have been about six
feet maybe five feet by maybe five feet high-- with babies shoes. These are all dried out shoes,
all thrown in this thing. And if that doesn't get your--
your-- your guts, it's-- nothing will. WILLIAM MCBURNEY: I can't
describe it, really. Half the time I don't like to
think about it, because it's still-- it's still embedded in
my mind, really embedded. I can't see how-- how they
could think to even do-- do something like that. [music playing] NARRATOR: Even as the truth
about Hitler's Final Solution spreads among the
Allied forces in Europe, Patton's soldiers still
face a determined enemy as they continue on there
objectives of liberating Western Czechoslovakia. [gunfire and explosions] MARTIN K.A. MORGAN:
There were still true believers-- true believers
that were so heavily invested in national
socialist Germany and the ideological
underpinnings of Nazism, that they fought
to the bitter end. [gunfire and explosions] [music playing] NARRATOR: April 30, 1945-- the Tough Ombres of
the 90th Division are approaching the
German-Czech border. Recently arrived replacement,
Lincoln Leung and his comrades, volunteer to clear a
German schoolhouse. Leung and his buddies
carefully enter the building, weapons at the ready. For now, everything seems quiet. Leung stops to relieve himself
in the corner of a room. Suddenly, a bullet
slams into the wall. [gunfire] LINCOLN LEUNG: If
I'm a little taller he would hit me on the head. I'd be dead right on the spot. [gunfire] Immediately, I don't have to
go to the bathroom, anymore. [laughs] [gunfire] NARRATOR: 100 yards
away, a German sniper has taken a position
in the trees. [gunfire] From here, he can pick off
the Americans one by one. [gunfire] Seconds later, a bullet nails
Leung's sergeant in the head. [gunfire] And the blood was floating
out of his head like a faucet. [music playing] [gunfire] NARRATOR: One by one, Leung
comrades are knocked off by enemy rifles and grenades. [gunfire and explosions] I knew I was trapped, so I
say I have to get out here. I took my chance. NARRATOR: Leung
makes a run for it. As soon as he's spotted,
Nazi lead fills the air. [gunfire] Adrenaline pumping, Leung falls
into a ditch and passes out. Thinking they've killed him,
the Germans leave him alone. By the time Leung comes to,
reinforcements have arrived and Patton's advance into
Czechoslovakia continues. [explosions] With American and Soviet forces
closing in on all sides-- [explosions] --Hitler's army is shattered. But as the campaign in Europe
enters its final hours, Patton has no idea that his
greatest challenge is just around the corner. [gunfire and explosions] NARRATOR: May 7, 1945-- Hitler kills himself. The Soviets have entered Berlin. The German army
has been destroyed. Only days after Patton
pushes into Czechoslovakia to help liberate the
country, the Allies accept Nazi Germany's
unconditional surrender. But even as his men celebrate
the fall of the Third Reich, Patton is filled
with depression. He knew it was
all over for him. He knew that one
thing awaited him, and that it was not
another great battle. He knew that the only thing that
awaited him in his army career was retirement. [cheering] NARRATOR: Summer, 1945-- now
wearing the insignia of a four star general, the highest
rank he will ever achieve, Patton makes a whirlwind
trip to the United States, raising money for the
ongoing war in the Pacific, itching for a chance
to get into the fight. GEORGE S. PATTON:
Goddamn it, it's no fun to say to men
that you love, "Go out-- go out and get killed." And we've had to say it. And, by God, they have
gone and they have won. But I want you to remember that
the sacrifice that these men have made must not be in vain. This war, as I see
it, is only half won. [applause] [music playing] [explosions and gunfire] NARRATOR: August
1945-- atomic bombs are dropped on the Japanese
cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Second World War is over,
and so is Patton's chance for further glory. [cheering] He's back in Europe, serving
as Governor of Bavaria. Without a war to fight, Patton
turns his destructive energy towards Russia. MARTIN K.A. MORGAN: He was given
to making flamboyant statements like, "If you ask me, we ought--
need to leave every tank over here and every
soldier over here. Because we're going to end up
fighting those people in 50 years if we don't do it now." NARRATOR: For Dwight Eisenhower
and the Allied brass, Patton has become a
dangerous liability. In October he is officially
removed from command. In his parting speech
to his soldiers, Patton tells his men all good
things must come to an end. The best thing that
has ever come to me, thus far, is the honor and
privilege of having commanded the Third Army. [music playing] KEVIN HYMEL: Basically, this
is a man who wants to retire. And that is the plan. He's going to go home in late
December, retire from the army, and spend the rest of his days
living in Boston with his wife. NARRATOR: On Sunday,
December 9, 1945, Patton heads out from his
headquarters in his staff car on a regular hunting trip
with General Hobart Gay. KEVIN HYMEL: They come
to an intersection where a train's crossing. On the other side are
two US Army trucks. When the train finishes
passing, the first truck stalls. The second truck pulls out from
behind it to get around it. Patton's car smashes
into this truck that has pulled into his lane. Only Patton is injured. When Gay looks at him, he says
he has a contusion on his head and blood coming down his
face and it looks pretty bad. And Patton's first remark
is, "I think I'm paralyzed." NARRATOR: Patton is immediately
taken to Heidelberg Hospital, where he spends the next
two weeks wired to a bed. At 6:00 PM on December 21,
1945, General George S. Patton, who survived two world wars
and countless polo accidents and shooting
scrapes, quietly dies in his sleep of heart failure
with his wife, Beatrice, nearby. 11 o'clock one night
I got a call from Corps. And they said they wanted an
honor guard at the railroad station at 5 o'clock
the next morning. And they stood in the rain
with Patton as his honor guard at his funeral. [music playing] NARRATOR: On December
23, 1945, General Patton is buried with full military
honors in the American Cemetery in Luxembourg. [gunshot] Fittingly, he is laid to
rest near the graves of men he'd led into battle
during the winter of 1944. I've been to the
cemetery in Luxembourg where Patton is buried. He still looks like he's
commanding the troops. On special days, that cemetery
is loaded with American flags at every grave. Beautiful. [music playing] NARRATOR: Like their commander,
thousands of Patton's soldiers will never return home. Killed in battle at El
Guettar, Arracourt, [inaudible] and on the roads to Bastogne. To their comrades, these are
the true heroes of World War II. ALBIN IRZYK: They
were our buddies. They were with us. This guy here lived,
this guy here died, and we could not figure why. In fact, there was a
bit of a guilt feeling, that we survived
and they didn't. [music playing] WILLIAM MCBURNEY:
The camaraderie we had amongst
ourselves, I think, is what pulled us through. If today I could go back and be
with the same group of people, I would gladly go back. I've never had any
friends like that since. [gunfire] NARRATOR: For
almost four decades. George S. Patton was
a consummate warrior, from the last years of the
horse cavalry to leading American soldiers into some
of the most critical battles of the Second World War. MARTIN K.A. MORGAN: He had lived
the war that he felt that he was born to live and fight. He had lived the dream
of leading men in battle. [gunfire] He had made his name a legend. [cheering] [gunfire] ALBIN IRZYK: If Patton had
not been in World War II, he would have been a
totally different war. He had that much effect. So our nation should be
grateful that he was there when he was there. [explosions] H.R. MCMASTER: I think Patton's
legacy on the-- on the culture of our army is significant. Leadership from the front,
determination to win, the ability to
understand the enemy, his use of intelligence-- I mean, all these
things, I think, have left a significant
impact on our army and were carried
through generations. NARRATOR: He remains
a complex figure-- larger than life, ferocious
and even reckless. But there is one thing that
the men that fought with him can all agree on. There will never be
another George S. Patton.
