He was on fire Patton.
His army was racing through France after D-Day, in early summer 1944. Patton wanted to run all the way to Berlin because Germans were falling back.
His tanks had no gas.
The trucks weren’t keeping up. But when Patton asked for more fuel Eisenhower said, no, he needed to spread the supplies to all the Allied armies. No favorites.
As a result Patton was stuck fighting near Metz. Bloodied, slow and messy battles. Someone who has the chance to grab Berlin? Gone.
Winter hit then. The Germans started the Battle of the Bulge. He turned north and stopped them. He did it, but not once again did he get to Berlin.
Patton was in Germany by spring 1945. It was close. Eisenhower told him to stop at the Elbe River, but ... They were already heading in. They were going to let them take the city.
And, according to some, Patton could’ve done it sooner. Maybe. The Germans were still strong and he had no fuel, no roads. But, if Ike said “go,” it wasn’t happening.
He was fast. That's one of the best. But Berlin?
Too far away.
