February 5, 2009
In December of 1945 General George S. Patton died in a German Hospital following a car accident that had occurred two weeks earlier. The murky, confusing and contradicting accounts of the events surrounding Patton's death have now been clarified by Robert K. Wilcox's new landmark book Target Patton: The Plot to Assassinate General George S. Patton. The core of Wilcox's research rests on the confession and diaries of Douglas Bazata, a highly decorated veteran of the war who worked in special operations under the fledgling Office of Strategic Services.
Douglas Bazata already had a colorful, adventurous life before joining the military. Strong, bold and athletic he naturally developed the qualities of daring, improvisation and thoroughness that made him an ideal candidate for special operations. Think James Bond on steroids. Like many before and since, the more dangerous and high-profile the assignment, the greater the likelihood that Bazata would 'volunteer' to do the job and do it well.
Bazata became a Jedburgh which were three-men special operations teams, chiefly under British command, which were air-dropped into France just prior to the Normandy Invasion to wreak general havoc with Nazi communications and transportations, harassing the enemy in carefully orchestrated operations designed to guarantee success of the Normandy invasion. In exiting the low flying aircraft during the air drop Bazata sustained multiple injuries including a severe deep laceration into his thigh and groin. He toughed it out and completed his mission which lasted for several days before finally being hospitalized for his extensive injuries.
The die may have been already cast for Bazata as far as Patton is concerned when he was ordered to do all he could to delay the advance of Patton and his 3rd Army. This he succeeded in doing by diverting fuel for his vehicles and tanks and other necessary supplies to the black market. Higher up the command line, Patton was being hamstrung by diversions of his fuel for other far less strategic war uses. This drove Patton into a rage. Patton was promising Berlin in September of 1944 and no-one cared. It was a similar tale unfolding a little further north in Belgium with the English forces and their A Bridge Too Far, the bridge at Arnhem. Here are at least two corroborated war conspiracy stories on some of the irregular efforts made to prolong the war in Europe costing millions of lives. The upshot was that Churchill wanted to give the glory of conquering Berlin to the Soviets and along with it Eastern Europe. It was necessary for the cold war.
People in these liberated Eastern European countries were quickly organizing postwar nationalistic governments and sensed the dangerous political instability. They wanted to ally with America, if necessary, in order to not to be gobbled up by Stalin. Patton had seen the matchup of the US versus the USSR as inevitable. He was ready to fight the Soviets and confident of beating them. Giving Stalin all of Eastern Europe made no sense to Patton. And the Soviets were not strong enough to fight and survive any new war. Patton said he would defeat the entire Russian army in a few months and conquer Moscow in the process. Patton wasn't boasting. His intelligence on logistics of the Red Army confirmed what he was saying. The Soviets were in terrible shape and would have been defeated in any extended campaign. Now the Russian KGB also wanted Patton dead.
Douglas Bazata began meeting discreetly and informally with General Wild Bill Donovan. Donovan was a probable British Agent. Donovan was feeling Bazata out and at the same time preparing him by both praising and badmouthing Patton. Finally, after eight meetings, Donovan asked Bazata to make the hit. It would be a mercy killing, to save Patton from himself. Such swell guys!!
Bazata setup the car accident. In the confusion following the accident, he approached Patton and fired a blunt bolt projectile out of a special gun aimed at the head and neck of Patton. The subsonic discharge of this modified gun was not heard. The bolt projectile was not designed to penetrate tissue but to discharge a vast amount of kinetic energy at point of impact thus suddenly breaking Patton's neck. Patton was expected to die quickly, but didn't. Nevertheless, his condition was critical. Instead of dying, Patton slowly rallied and was going to be discharged to go home before suddenly dying. The lack of adequate security made Patton extremely vulnerable. Bazata himself went there to finish the job. And then Patton suddenly died. The KGB beat Bazata to him.
Wilcox's Target Patton is riveting reading and extensively researched. Even beyond the events surrounding the Patton assassination, the book is a treasure trove of information, anecdotes and inside information related to Patton, Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia and the cold war. Read about the military campaigns in France, how they were screwed up, how Patton saved the day repeatedly only to once again screw things up. If you like adventure, intrigue and a deeper background to understanding history, both today and tomorrow, then read this fascinating book.
Douglas Bazata already had a colorful, adventurous life before joining the military. Strong, bold and athletic he naturally developed the qualities of daring, improvisation and thoroughness that made him an ideal candidate for special operations. Think James Bond on steroids. Like many before and since, the more dangerous and high-profile the assignment, the greater the likelihood that Bazata would 'volunteer' to do the job and do it well.
Bazata became a Jedburgh which were three-men special operations teams, chiefly under British command, which were air-dropped into France just prior to the Normandy Invasion to wreak general havoc with Nazi communications and transportations, harassing the enemy in carefully orchestrated operations designed to guarantee success of the Normandy invasion. In exiting the low flying aircraft during the air drop Bazata sustained multiple injuries including a severe deep laceration into his thigh and groin. He toughed it out and completed his mission which lasted for several days before finally being hospitalized for his extensive injuries.
The die may have been already cast for Bazata as far as Patton is concerned when he was ordered to do all he could to delay the advance of Patton and his 3rd Army. This he succeeded in doing by diverting fuel for his vehicles and tanks and other necessary supplies to the black market. Higher up the command line, Patton was being hamstrung by diversions of his fuel for other far less strategic war uses. This drove Patton into a rage. Patton was promising Berlin in September of 1944 and no-one cared. It was a similar tale unfolding a little further north in Belgium with the English forces and their A Bridge Too Far, the bridge at Arnhem. Here are at least two corroborated war conspiracy stories on some of the irregular efforts made to prolong the war in Europe costing millions of lives. The upshot was that Churchill wanted to give the glory of conquering Berlin to the Soviets and along with it Eastern Europe. It was necessary for the cold war.
People in these liberated Eastern European countries were quickly organizing postwar nationalistic governments and sensed the dangerous political instability. They wanted to ally with America, if necessary, in order to not to be gobbled up by Stalin. Patton had seen the matchup of the US versus the USSR as inevitable. He was ready to fight the Soviets and confident of beating them. Giving Stalin all of Eastern Europe made no sense to Patton. And the Soviets were not strong enough to fight and survive any new war. Patton said he would defeat the entire Russian army in a few months and conquer Moscow in the process. Patton wasn't boasting. His intelligence on logistics of the Red Army confirmed what he was saying. The Soviets were in terrible shape and would have been defeated in any extended campaign. Now the Russian KGB also wanted Patton dead.
Douglas Bazata began meeting discreetly and informally with General Wild Bill Donovan. Donovan was a probable British Agent. Donovan was feeling Bazata out and at the same time preparing him by both praising and badmouthing Patton. Finally, after eight meetings, Donovan asked Bazata to make the hit. It would be a mercy killing, to save Patton from himself. Such swell guys!!
Bazata setup the car accident. In the confusion following the accident, he approached Patton and fired a blunt bolt projectile out of a special gun aimed at the head and neck of Patton. The subsonic discharge of this modified gun was not heard. The bolt projectile was not designed to penetrate tissue but to discharge a vast amount of kinetic energy at point of impact thus suddenly breaking Patton's neck. Patton was expected to die quickly, but didn't. Nevertheless, his condition was critical. Instead of dying, Patton slowly rallied and was going to be discharged to go home before suddenly dying. The lack of adequate security made Patton extremely vulnerable. Bazata himself went there to finish the job. And then Patton suddenly died. The KGB beat Bazata to him.
Wilcox's Target Patton is riveting reading and extensively researched. Even beyond the events surrounding the Patton assassination, the book is a treasure trove of information, anecdotes and inside information related to Patton, Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia and the cold war. Read about the military campaigns in France, how they were screwed up, how Patton saved the day repeatedly only to once again screw things up. If you like adventure, intrigue and a deeper background to understanding history, both today and tomorrow, then read this fascinating book.
