What? You don’t remember the scene where a colonel is looking at a map with his aide when he hears Patton on the other side of the river yelling at him to come over?
The colonel’s aide says, “How the hell did he get over there?” and the colonel yells that he is reconnoitering for a place to cross.
Patton yells back, “I’ve already done that. [swam the river ahead of the troops] About half a mile down there this sewer’s only 3 feet deep. Now get your goddamn ass over here!”
They quickly roll up their map and an artillery shell hits the water between them as Patton is calmly walking back to his jeep.
Yeah, the movie implies rather than shows the crossing for dramatic effect.
I was just going to comment on that article and the movie when I found it had gone over everyone’s heads!
I thought that scene was set in Sicily.
No, that was in Italy during the Sicily campaign.
Thanks. It’s been too many decades since I’ve seen the movie, and one more gruff pronouncement from Patton wasn’t as memorable as seeing him doing it. I still don’t understand why they wouldn’t show it, but it must not have fit their vision somehow. Personally, I think it would have been hilarious. Maybe that was their problem: it would have thrown everything out-of-balance.
Well, there you go. I didn’t remember.