George S. Patton slapping incidents

Who is George S. Patton slapping incidents?

In early August 1943, Lieutenant General George S. Patton garnered substantial controversy after he slapped two United States Army soldiers under his command during the Sicily Campaign of World War II. Patton's hard-driving personality and lack of belief in the medical condition then known as "battle fatigue" led to the soldiers becoming the subject of his ire in incidents on 3 and 10 August, when Patton struck and berated them after discovering they were patients at evacuation hospitals away from the front lines and without apparent physical injuries.

Word of the incidents spread among troops, eventually reaching Patton's superior, General Dwight Eisenhower, who compelled him to apologize. Patton's actions were initially suppressed in the news until journalist Drew Pearson publicized them, drawing significant attention in the United States. While Congress and the general public expressed both support and disdain for Patton's actions, Eisenhower and Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall opted not to fire Patton as a commander. He was nonetheless sidelined from combat command for almost a year.