Comments

• Blair Costantino

  I think that Patton and his troops had an odd relationship. On one end he was mean to them I think, but he was a good leader. But then, you had Patton greiving when one of the men dies in battle. Patton knew how he liked things done and if that made him seem like mean to his men, then so be it.

  9/15/2009 10:24:53 AM
• Andrew Duffy

  Patton's relationship to his troops seems to be have more of a negitive aspect that a positive one. the negitive aspects are the overall treatment of his troops. for example he said he wished the anerican troops could be as good as the troops that marched in the begining of the movie. positve aspects are that he treated the people that advised him good and better than all the rest.

  9/15/2009 1:19:53 PM
• dana augugliaro

  the relationship patton has with his troops so far is that he seems to care about them at some level, for example, he wants everyone to wear their helmets at all time, but when he tells them to wear it, he comes off as really mean and only tells them to because he has the power, not because he cares.

  9/15/2009 2:01:27 PM
• Haley Schmid

  In my opinion Patton had a mixed relationship with his troops. Some positive things about him and his troops, was when that guy had gotten killed and he had a ceremony for him and wrote a letter to the mans mother stating what had happened and had a strand of his hair inside. Some negative aspects towards the men were when the cook did not have a helmet or leggings on and he said, "if you men don't have your leggings and your helmets on you will be skinned". In my opinion he was most of the time he was harsh on the men.

  9/15/2009 4:00:44 PM
• Steven Gulotta

  Patton obviously thought he was on a higher level than his men. He was very strict when it came to order and protocol. Forcing them to dress properly, wear their helmets at all times even if it was a hindrance and he looked down severely on cowardice. This created a distance with his men, he obviously wasn't one of them but rather a clear clear superior and he made sure that was clear.
  On the positive side, Patton was close to those who served loyally. When the lieutenant died in battle Patton gave him a personal sending off and showed he cares about his men.

  9/15/2009 4:39:20 PM
• Sean Ziller

  George Patton seems like he has a sort of rocky relationship with his soldiers. On the one hand, he's a strict commander who expects a lot from his soldiers in how they act and dress (for example, when he critiques the uniforms of the soldiers stationed in the region of Africa that he takes command of; even reprimanding the cook). However, it does seem like Patton appreciates a soldier who has done their job on the battlefield. Patton even forms personal relationships with many of his officers (as he is greatly effected when his aide gets killed) and how he promotes his one friend, in the beginning of the movie, to be his second-in-command. As long as fellow soldiers give Patton respect, he'll give the same to them.

  9/15/2009 4:42:13 PM
• Sam Van Horn

  I believe Patton had sort of a teacher mentor type of relationship with his troops. He wanted them to shape up into the finest fighting force ever seen. To do this Patton had to be nasty to his troops for a time issuing fines and such acts. Patton was also compassionate to his troops, because when one of them died in front of him he wrote to the troopers family and also wrote to his wife telling her how great of a loss he felt when loosing his me. Patton also had a negative side to his troops calling them cowards and such. I believe that Patton and his troops had a very mutual relationship.

  9/15/2009 5:50:56 PM
• Kori McGee

  Patton seemed to be a very outspoken person. He let people know what he thought of them, whether that was good or bad. To be a part of Patton's Third Army was a very great honor, and those chosen men were expected to do great things. Patton respected his men to a certain extent. If the soldier was a good fighter and devoted his life to war, the General expressed immense respect for that individual. Patton's elite were driven individuals and this was al thanks to their leader. The less appealing factors to be part of Patton's Third Army is that these men were pushed beyond comparison. He was a tough leader that showed no mercy, and expected no complaints. His men had to be perfect soldiers. But overall, Patton and his troops seemed to have a level of respect and admiration for the other.

  9/15/2009 6:18:26 PM
• Dana Martin

  The relationship Patton had with his troops was a confusing one. He wanted them to fear and respect him. Patton was very hard on them when it came to uniform and he instructed or more so yelled at them to get their gear on right. I think he wanted structure and the only way to do that was to bring fear into his soldiers so they would obey. At one point in the movie, when he visits the wounded, he tells the doctor to transfer the two men with self inflicted wounds because he didn't want them around real soldiers. He disliked them because he felt they were cowardous which showed his personality towards his men. On the bright side, he wasn't all stone cold. He grew a semi-friendship with one of the officers of whom he confided in. When the officer died, Patton says that he will really miss him. He is not being mean to the soldiers just because he is their superior but he wants them to survive and represent the United States.

  9/15/2009 6:18:27 PM
• Miranda Baur

  Patton appears to know what's best for his men and really looks out for them despite his lack of friendliness. He says at one point (something along the lines of) "They'll loose their fear of the Nazis, but God forbid they ever loose their fear of me." Patton wants his men to fear him so they'll listen and obey him!
  On the down-side, because of their fear of him, the soldiers lack a sense of trust. His troops may also see him as an overly confident know-it-all; it depends on the person..

  9/15/2009 7:06:08 PM
• Elise Fields

  Patton has an interesting relationship with his troops. He is a no nonsense leader. He likes for things to get done. No excuses. He does respect his men as long as they are strong. He is also a rough leader because of these qualities. An example of this would be when he walks into the infirmary and the doctors tell him how many men were there with self inflicted wounds. Patton tells them to get them out of the infirmary because there were men who had wounds from fighting. He also says no one can come in with war fatigue and be relieved. This just shows how tough of a leader he is. Patton is also very loyal to his men and cares a great deal for them. As shown in the scene that takes place right before the man was being sent off to be buried. Patton says "I'll miss him" or something along those lines. Patton in his mind is trying creating the perfect army for America through rough treatment.

  9/15/2009 7:54:17 PM
• Frank Ferlenda

  Patton had an interesting relationship with his troops. He was a good leader but he was also a person that wanted things done on time, correctly and his way. But he also had somewhat of soft side. Like when the one soldier died, he did grieve with the other men.

  9/15/2009 7:57:59 PM
• Ellen Arnaud

  It seemed as though Patton viewed himself as better then his troops. He worked to disipline them and did not hold back by any means. Although a bit unusual, Patton was a great leader who did what it took to prepare his soilders and win battles. It may have seemed that Patton did not care much for the lives of his soilders but in reality he did. We saw this when he lost his first soilder. as long as one worked hard and was not a coward, Patton would respect you.

  9/15/2009 8:52:46 PM
• Matt Hiscox

  I think Patton is overall a good leader yet tough on his troops. He has a negative and positive relationship with them. He was very strict about their uniforms and yelled at several soldiers about putting everything on correctly. I don't think Patton intends to be a mean person, he just wants them to obey him. He speaks his mind and isn't afraid to tell people what he really thinks of them. He shows no mercy at all and wants his soldiers to be the perfect soldiers and represent the United States of America.

  9/15/2009 9:33:30 PM
• Sarah Muldoon

  The relationship Patton had with his troops was interesting. It seemed like he wanted them to respect him mostly. At times it also seemed like he wanted them to fear him. I think that he wanted everyone to stay focused and to do that he had to make himself seem more powerful so they would listen to him. He seemed very mean sometimes, but that is what he had to do to get everyone to listen to him.

  9/15/2009 9:38:30 PM
• Kaitlin Kennedy

  I think Patton had a confusing relationship with his troops. When he went to see the injured soldiers in the hospital, he made it very clear to transfer the men with self inflicted wounds to a different room away from the 'real soldiers.' On a more positive side, Patton became close to one of the officers. When he died, he wrote to his family and said that he would really miss him. Patton has to be harsh with his men, or nothing would get done. However, when you see him alone or thinking, he's more down to earth and really does care about what happens to his men.

  9/15/2009 9:44:34 PM
• Lauren Catina

  I think general Patton has an interesting relationship with his troops. He's extremely hard on them, which causes them to both fear him and look up to him. Some of the things he does are just ridiculous. During the movie he tells both a doctor and a cook to wear their helmets. I don't believe I've ever seen a doctor or a cook wear their helmet. Doing things like that will probably make his troops kinda of despise him more than look up to him or fear him. I think what he's doing is more of a "tough love" kind of thing to roughen them up for war.

  9/16/2009 6:04:22 AM
• Jenna Woychick

  General Patton has a unique relationship with his troops. He is very tough on them and is seen as having many negative qualities in this relationship. He has good intentions on being hard on them. He is trying to make them be stronger soldiers so they can be a good army. He is only trying to help them which is the positive aspect of his relationship with the troops.

  9/16/2009 1:10:14 PM
• Anthony McDermott

  patton and his troops dont really get along. they listen to him in ear of what he could do or what he would do to them. a positive is they do respect him and he respects them as a soldier and a negative is that allof his soldiers think hes just a old man who talks too much

  9/16/2009 4:40:25 PM
• Kyle Parsons

  Patton had a good relationship with his troops. He was very hard on them so they respected him and feared him, making him one of the most effective generals in the world. He comes off as somewhat ridiculous most of the time though, like when he made one of the cooks wear his helmet in the kitchen. Some of the things he did were frowned upon more than respected, but he does it only to better his men.

  9/16/2009 9:19:48 PM