sat down. Patton sent a message by pigeon, no doubt reporting his location.

Very little was happening in that vicinity. Infantry and tanks were out of sight. Shells were falling, Knowles later said, “to our front some con­siderable distance [away] probably at least one kilometer.” It was desultory firing and difficult to judge how far off and exactly where it was because of the atmospheric conditions.

A handful of tanks came along, stopped for a few minutes to chat, then went on. After they had passed, some shells dropped nearby. Then machine gun bullets came close. Patton ordered everyone to take cover in the railroad cut. Once in the relative safety of that protection, Patton posted Corporal John G. Heming, who would later be commissioned, on his right front, and Private First Class Joseph T. Angelo, his orderly, on the right front, and private first class Joseph T Angelo, his orderly on is
left front. They were to give the alarm if the enemy attempted to advance on or to cut off the small command group.

Several disorganized groups of infantrymen, walking and running to the rear, came through. Patton stopped them and questioned them. The solders  said they were separated from their units and commanders because of the fog and the machine gun fire. Patton told them to join his group. The shallow and short railroad cut soon became crowded.

As the enemy fire increased in volume and the machine guns began to shoot in short meaningful bursts, Patton led his now considerable number· of men, perhaps as many as 100, back about 100 yards to the reverse slope o: a small hill. Patton ordered everyone to spread out and lie down. The troops had just done so when machine gun fire began to sweep the area, seemingly from every direction .

About 125 yards to the rear and at the base of the slope, Patton noticed several of Compton’s tanks. He sent Knowles down the hill with a messengers ordering them to come forward at once. Knowles discovered what was holding them up. Two enormous trenches, very deep and very wide, formerly held by the Germans, blocked progress. A French Schneider trying to cross them was bogged down and barring the only suitable crossing · place. Some French tankers had started to dig away the banks with shov­els, but when shells and bullets landed nearby, they abandoned  their work and sat in the trench for protection.

Knowles passed on Patton’s message to the American tankers, then continued to the rear to find Compton. He located Captain Williams and delivered Patton’s order, then discovered Compton and repeated the in­struction.

On the reverse slope of the hill, as time passed, Patton wondered why the tanks were not coming forward. He sent Lieutenant Edwards down the hill to get some action. He also dispatched Sergeant Edgar W. Fansler to find Compton and tell him to get moving.

Like Knowles, Edwards saw what was wrong. While Fansler proceeded to the rear in search of Compton, Edwards talked to the French crew and got no reaction. He walked to the group of five American tanks nearby and talked with Captain Math L. English, who was in command.

Growing increasingly angry because the tanks were still not moving, Patton started down the slope himself. He immediately saw that the infantrymen he had collected were preparing to abandon the hill in panic. If he left, they would flee. So he stopped. He called Angelo and sent him back to get the tanks moved up.

Angelo made little impression on the tankers, and when a volley of shells came in, he prudently jumped into a trench for shelter.

At this point Patton came down the hill himself. He immediately organized a concerted effort to get the tanks across the trenches. He set the French to work. He went over to the American tanks, which were being splattered with machine gun fire, removed the shovels and picks strapped to the tank sides, got the tankers out of their machines, handed them the tools, and put them to work tearing down the sides of the trenches.

All this time, enemy fire was sweeping the area, both artillery shells and machine gun bullets. A hostile plane flew over from time to time to direct the enemy gunners. Some of the men who were digging were hit.

Patton and English, despite repeated requests from Edwards and others to step into the trenches, remained in exposed positions on the parapet directing the work. Several times Patton shouted, “To Hell with them -they-can’t hit me.”

When passages had been dug across the ditches, Patton and English chained several tanks together to get better traction in the mud. Then the two officers, still disdaining the shelter of the trenches, and now joined by Angelo, gave hand signals to help the drivers get across. Miraculously, they were not struck by the enemy fire.

Patton explained the successful crossing as “due to the coolness of the drivers who maneuvered with their doors open” at considerable personal risk.

As soon as English’s five tanks were over the obstacles- the Schneider was hopelessly stuck- Patton sent them forward up the hill. Then gath­ering the men at the trenches together, he led them up the slope.

When the last of English’s tanks crossed the crest of the knoll, Patton ordered all the men to spread out and follow him. Waving his large walk­ing stick, which looked like a cane, over his head, he shouted, “Let’s go get them, who’s with me,” and walked forward.

Enthusiastically, about 100 men jumped to their feet and started to follow Patton. Some of Patton’s command group wanted to join their colonel, but they were unarmed. Sergeant William V. Curran was carrying a telephone and some wire, Sergeants L. T. Garlow and Lorenzo F. Ward were loaded down with pigeon baskets. Sergeant Harry M. Stokes was in a shell hole bandaging a wounded infantryman’s leg.

Patton’s force swept over the crest of the hill. They went no more than 50 or 75 yards when the incoming machine gun fire became terrific. Everyone, including Patton, flung himself on the ground and let the wave of bullets wash over the hillside.

It was probably at this moment that Patton had his vision.
GSP, Jr., “My Father,” 1927
Once in the Argonne just before I was wounded I felt a great desire to run, I was trembling with fear when suddenly I thought of my progenitors and seemed to see them in a cloud over the German lines looking at me. I became calm at once and saying aloud “It is time for another Patton to die” called for volunteers and went forward to what I honestly believed to be certain death. Six men went with me; five were killed and I was wounded so I was not much in error.

When the noise of the firing abated, Patton picked himself up. Waving his stick and shouting “Let’s go, let’s go,” he marched forward.

This time only six men accompanied him. Among them was Angelo. As they walked ahead in a miniature charge of the light brigade, Angelo noticed that the others were dropping to the ground as they were struck by enemy fire. Finally just he and Patton were left. “I told him they were all hit but us.”
We are alone,” Angelo said.
“Come on anyway,” Patton said.
Why? What did he hope to accomplish?”

…” No more than a few seconds passed when he felt the jolt of a bullet strike his leg. He took a few steps, struggled to maintain his equilibrium, kept going on nerve alone for several yards, and fell.