Patton absolutely could have reached Berlin had Eisenhower allowed it. But then what? The German troops between Patton and Berlin were demoralized. They would have put up little resistance to Patton.
But the German troops in Berlin were under Hitler’s direct control. It cost the Soviets 360,000 dead, wounded, or missing to take that city. Patton probably would have had similar casualties.
That would have given us a bigger chunk of Germany. But Stalin still had the rest of Eastern Europe. Worth it?
Side story: I knew a guy who was in a foreign SS unit during the Battle of Berlin. He was a janitor in a building where I worked. This was back in the 1970s. Guy never did smile much.
“The German troops between Patton and Berlin were demoralized. “
Nope. The Third Army was in Bavaria heading toward the Czech border. It was the Ninth Army nearest to Berlin could have got there before the Russians.