In point of fact, Patton saw tanks as serving a role of escorting troops, and not fighting other tanks. He was largely responsible for delays in production of the M26 Pershing which had mobility (wide treads), protection (sloped armor) and a high velocity gun firepower equivalent to German tanks, as well as a self-leveling tube. Once they put a 90 mm gun on it, it was arguably a match for the ‘King Tiger’.
We learned that the Germans were eager to fight us tank-to-tank, e.g. at Villers-Bocage (Normandy, following 6-6-44) where Michael Wittman destroyed over thirty British convoy vehicles, including tanks and self-propelled guns. And of course the Eastern front was a tank war of attrition between the Reds and Nazi’s. Patton hadn’t read that book yet.
Anyway, those guys who climbed into their Shermans, with low velocity 75 guns and knowing what they were going up against were the definition of bravery.
I believe that scene was the “...I love it so.....God help me, I DO love it so...” scene.