When Allied troops found themselves in a rainy, muddy, foggy stalemate in December 1944, Gen. George S. Patton, a devout Christian, asked his head chaplain if he had a good prayer for weather. Chaplain James H. O’Neill composed a prayer, which Patton had printed on wallet-sized cards for soldiers, who were instructed to “pray when fighting, pray alone, pray with others, pray by night and pray by day. Pray for the cessation of immoderate rains, for good weather for Battle… Pray for victory… Pray for Peace.”
Alex Kershaw’s 2024 book entitled “Patton’s Prayer – A True Story of Courage, Faith, and Victory in WWII” describes the situation:
“General George Patton needed a miracle. In December 1944, the Allies found themselves stuck. Rain had plagued the troops daily since September, turning roads into rivers of muck, slowing trucks and tanks to a crawl. A thick ceiling of clouds had grounded American warplanes, allowing the Germans to reinforce. The sprint to Berlin had become a muddy, bloody stalemate, costing
thousands of American lives. Patton seethed, desperate for some change, any change, in the weather. Then came the Battle of the Bulge. Amid frigid temperatures and heavy snow, 200,000 German troops overwhelmed the meager American lines in Belgium’s Ardennes Forest, massacring thousands of soldiers as the attack converged on a vital crossroads town called Bastogne. There, the 101st Airborne was dug in, but the enemy were lurking, hidden in the think blanket of fog that seemed to never dissipate. A hundred miles of frozen roads to the south, Patton needed an answer to his prayer, fast, before it was too late.”
About two weeks later, the weather cleared enabling air support and tank maneuvers that helped the allied troops defeat the Germans in the Battle of the Bulge.
World War II historian Roland Gaul, founder of the National Military Museum in Diekirch, Luxembourg, tells the story of Patton’s prayer in a video with Kevin Wester.
Watch the video.
Patton’s Christmas card and prayer that he sent out to 250,000 men.
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