Patton Page #3

of fine infantry.

- Get General Bradley on the radio.

- Yes, sir.

Sir, I can't raise him.

Go tell him to hit them hard. Here's

where we hold them by the nose...

...and kick them in the ass.

Go on.

Put him in my car.

Rommel...

...you magnificent bastard.

I read your book!

Captain Richard N. Jenson

was a fine boy.

Loyal, unselfish and efficient.

I am terribly sorry.

There are no coffins here

since there is no wood.

We will have a trumpeter

and an honor guard...

...but we will not fire the volleys as

people would think an air raid was on.

I enclosed a lock of Dick's hair

in a letter to his mother.

He was a fine man...

...and a fine officer.

And he had no vices.

I shall miss him a lot.

I can 't see the reason

such fine young men get killed.

There are so many battles

yet to fight.

Battle-weary, but

victorious, American Gls and Tommies...

...of the British 8th Army meet in

an Allied victory celebration...

...at Wadi Akarit in North Africa.

For the first time in this war,

Broadway and Piccadillyjoin hands.

Meanwhile, General Montgomery,

hero of El Alamein...

...continues to lead his

victorious British 8th Army...

...in a relentless drive against

Rommel's vaunted Africa corps.

General Bradley's done

a tremendous job with 2nd Corps.

He's moved into Bizerte

and taken over 41,000 prisoners.

Good. Very good.

You're not surprised, are you?

After all, you trained that outfit.

- Excuse me, general.

- Hm?

This is interesting. We've discovered

Rommel wasn't present at El Guettar.

- Who says so?

- G2, sir.

When we took 10th Panzer,

Rommel was in Berlin with an earache?

Severe nasal diphtheria, sir.

Also, Hitler probably

retained Rommel in Berlin...

...because things were going badly

for the Africa Corps.

He didn't want his favorite general

to lose face.

I'm my favorite general,

and I don't like to be told...

...that some second-stringer

is up against me. Then I lose face.

Who the hell are you, anyway?

General, this is Lieutenant

Colonel Codman. Your new aide.

Codman. I pulled your name off

the list because I know your family.

I'm glad you did, sir.

Rommel is the best the krauts have,

and I kicked the hell out of him.

Now my own G2 section is telling

me he wasn't even there.

But, general, he undoubtedly

planned the German battle.

lf you defeat Rommel's plan, you've

defeated Rommel. lsn't that true?

Codman...

- Have a drink with me tonight.

- Yes, sir.

I have a plan

for the invasion of Sicily.

I want to make sure I get it approved.

You can help me.

I want to give a dinner

for General Alexander.

Get to him before Montgomery does.

This will be strictly a formal affair,

Codman, but purely social.

By that I mean...

- ...purely political.

- Yes, sir.

I want the finest food, the best wine

available. Everything, comme il faut.

Thank you.

George, this is really splendid wine.

Thank you, Arthur.

Thank you.

Sir Harold, I think it was Alcibiades

in the Peloponnesian War...

...415 B.C.

He said, "lf Syracuse falls, all

Sicily falls, and then ltaly. "

He knew that Syracuse was the

jugular of the island.

Old Alcibiades always went

for the throat.

I propose to take Sicily

in the same way.

- How's it going?

- The old man has them in his pocket.

Now, according to my plan...

...General Montgomery will land here.

I'll hit the beaches here,

take Palermo.

Monty will drive north on the coast,

I'll come due east...

...take Messina and cut off

the German escape route.

Yes...

It looks like an interesting plan.

Well, gentlemen,

to the conquest of Sicily.

To the conquest of Sicily.

To Sicily!

George, you'd have made a great

marshal for Napoleon...

...if you'd lived in the 18th century.

But I did, sir. I did.

Morning. Is General Smith in?

I believe he's in the lavatory.

- Thank you.

- Ah, there you are, Bedell.

- Monty.

Bedell, I've been giving a good bit of

thought to the Sicily operation.

Yes?

I assume we're alone.

Georgie Patton has already

discussed his plan with Alexander.

I realize that...

...but I have an idea that his plan

may lead to an absolute disaster.

Oh?

Bedell, look.

This is Sicily.

Now then, according to Patton's plan...

...I will attack Syracuse here.

And he would attack Palermo up here.

Now, obviously our forces would be

divided.

And obviously, they

could be chopped up piecemeal.

Now then, what I propose, and what

I shall insist on, by the way...

...is this.

I will land at Syracuse as planned.

But the Americans-

The Americans will land here, at Gela.

I will advance north to Messina,

the Americans protecting my flank.

After all, Messina is the key.

It's the reason for invading Sicily.

I'll discuss your plan with Ike.

I'm sure he'll give it

serious consideration.

- Amusing, isn't it?

- What?

That the plans for the

invasion of Sicily...

...should have been put forward

in an Algerian lavatory.

George, I have bad news for you

about your Sicily plan.

Ike has turned it down.

Since the Italians will be defending

their native soil for the first time...

...and the German resistance is

stiffening, we shouldn't be divided.

- Well, where do my people land then?

- In the Gulf of Gela.

There's nothing there

but a beach.

Yes, but it puts you in a good

position to support Montgomery.

Where does Montgomery land?

He'll land in Syracuse and drive north

to Catania. Possibly even Messina.

And you'll be alongside,

protecting his left.

I see.

ln other words, we get the burden again

while good old Monty gets the glory.

Ike had to consider all points of view.

He made his decision not as an

American, but as an Ally.

Had it been the other way around,

I assure you, Monty would protest.

No...

...I've been in the Army 30 years.

When I get an order, I say, "Yes, sir. "

And I do my best to carry it out.

This is what happens when your

commander stops being an American...

...and starts being an Ally.

I don't think I've made

myself clear, sir.

It's true, Montgomery met the

toughest resistance there at Catania.

However, if we're-

Perfectly clear.

Old Monty is as stuck

as a bug on flypaper.

But this order from

General Alexander...

...directing you to turn over the

Vizzini-Caltagirone road to Montgomery.

Well, then, old Bradley will have to

slug- slug, mind you...

...his way up center of the island over

those tough mountain roads, won't he?

Yes, sir.

Messina, Bell.

Messina...

...is the heart of it. lf they'd

followed my plan, I'd be there by now.

I'd cut off the retreat of every

German on this island!

Now, you know what I'm gonna do?

I'm gonna go to Palermo.

I'm gonna beat that limey at Messina

if it's the last thing I ever do!

Hey, what's all this talk about taking

the Vizzini road away from 2nd Corps?

General Alexander's orders.

Road goes to Montgomery.

Now, that road was assigned to me.

How can I get north without it?

You know the terrain there.

I'm sorry, Brad. But Monty's run

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