By Kevin M. Hymel

Everywhere General George S. Patton, Jr., went, from North Africa to Sicily to continental Europe, his camera swayed from his neck, ready to capture images that interested him. The camera, a German-made, 35mm Leica with “G.S.P. Jr.” emblazoned in gold, recorded Patton’s life at war as well as his armies’ campaigns.

Patton’s pictures show the victorious face of war: American GIs on the move, Sherman tanks with hedgerow cutters welded to their hulls, and military bridges being built. They also show defeat: smashed German tanks, hapless prisoners of war, and dead bodies strewn across the landscape. Along with pictures of modern war, Patton took shots of historic sights and the different terrains of his battlefields from North Africa to Germany.

The general’s picture taking added to his colorful legend. In Sicily, he claimed his hobby prevented his death. During the race to Messina, he got out of his command car to take a photo of a town when a salvo of German shells exploded up the road. The photograph, he wrote, “saved my life.” Toward the end of the war, when a Spitfire pilot mistook Patton’s Piper Cub light aircraft for a German Fieseler Storch and strafed it three times over Germany, Patton took out his camera and photographed the action. Unfortunately, “I found I had been so nervous I had forgotten to take the cover off the lens and all I got were blanks,” he wrote.

Every chance Patton got, he sent his photographs to his wife, Beatrice. Included with his own were U.S. Army Signal Corps photos and pictures of himself taken by others. After the war, she organized the pictures as best she could into photo albums, eventually filling 11 books. If her husband had written on the back of a photo, she transcribed the caption onto the album page. Today, the albums are stored with the Patton Papers in the Manuscript Room of the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C. The collection includes six boxes of negatives and other photographs. Shown here is a sample of the collection.

Kevin M. Hymel is associate editor of Army Magazine.

After the Battle of El Guettar, Patton visited the town of Timgambia, which was founded by the Roman Emperor Trajan in 100 ad. Patton, while impressed with the town, nevertheless commented: “I have fought and won a bigger battle than Trajan ever heard of.” He wrote on the back of this photo, “Trajan’s arch, old and new conqueror.”
After the Battle of El Guettar, Patton visited the town of Timgambia, which was founded by the Roman Emperor Trajan in 100 ad. Patton, while impressed with the town, nevertheless commented: “I have fought and won a bigger battle than Trajan ever heard of.” He wrote on the back of this photo, “Trajan’s arch, old and new conqueror.”
Patton was proud of the Seventh Army’s fighting spirit in Sicily. “It was funny to see our men sitting down among the German corpses eating their lunch. Here a Seventh Army soldier takes a picture of Patton doing the same.
Patton was proud of the Seventh Army’s fighting spirit in Sicily. “It was funny to see our men sitting down among the German corpses eating their lunch. Here a Seventh Army soldier takes a picture of Patton doing the same.
Patton, dressed in African robes with a solid gold scabbard, poses with the Pasha of Morocco and General A.P.C. Nogues, the French commander in Morocco. “This is a great country for photography,” he wrote Beatrice, “as everything is queer. You meet camels, burros, horses, and Arabs on the same road with tanks and self-propelled artillery.”
Patton, dressed in African robes with a solid gold scabbard, poses with the Pasha of Morocco and General A.P.C. Nogues, the French commander in Morocco. “This is a great country for photography,” he wrote Beatrice, “as everything is queer. You meet camels, burros, horses, and Arabs on the same road with tanks and self-propelled artillery.”
In Sicily, Patton began taking pictures of dead Germans, writing on the photos “Good Hun” or “Good German” or, eventually, just “G.G.” He never took pictures of dead Americans.
In Sicily, Patton began taking pictures of dead Germans, writing on the photos “Good Hun” or “Good German” or, eventually, just “G.G.” He never took pictures of dead Americans.
In January 1944, Patton took command of the U.S. Third Army in England. While training his new army and instilling it with his fighting spirit, he bought himself a white bull terrier he named Willie, who would become the focus of many a Patton picture.
In January 1944, Patton took command of the U.S. Third Army in England. While training his new army and instilling it with his fighting spirit, he bought himself a white bull terrier he named Willie, who would become the focus of many a Patton picture.
Not all of Patton’s pictures were of a serious nature. When Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall visited Patton’s headquarters near Metz, the two posed for this photograph, which Patton later improved upon.
Not all of Patton’s pictures were of a serious nature. When Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall visited Patton’s headquarters near Metz, the two posed for this photograph, which Patton later improved upon.
On the way into Germany, Patton photographed the awesome power of the American Air Forces. Near the town of Neustadt, he saw “one of the greatest scenes of destruction I have ever encountered.” American fighters had strafed a retreating German column. Wrecked German vehicles and dead horses littered the road for two miles. Patton took photo after photo as his command car drove through the devastation.
On the way into Germany, Patton photographed the awesome power of the American Air Forces. Near the town of Neustadt, he saw “one of the greatest scenes of destruction I have ever encountered.” American fighters had strafed a retreating German column. Wrecked German vehicles and dead horses littered the road for two miles. Patton took photo after photo as his command car drove through the devastation.
This is one of the last pictures Patton ever took. While in Sweden 10 days before his fatal car accident, he visited some motorcycle troops who put on a precision drill for him. Patton pulled out his camera and snapped away. It was not until Beatrice received his effects after his death that she discovered the film in his camera and developed his last photos.
This is one of the last pictures Patton ever took. While in Sweden 10 days before his fatal car accident, he visited some motorcycle troops who put on a precision drill for him. Patton pulled out his camera and snapped away. It was not until Beatrice received his effects after his death that she discovered the film in his camera and developed his last photos.

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