There are those who believe General Patton** died because of foul play and the sinister machinations of others. Bill O’Reilly, the well-known commentator and author, felt Stalin may have ordered him poisoned.
Patton was Outspoken
The official viewpoint at the end of the war was that the Russians were our Allies—they helped defeat the Nazis—and nothing negative was to be said about them. General Patton disliked the Russians intensely and wanted to push them back from Eastern Europe. He expressed his opinions openly at times.
Generals Eisenhower, Bedell Smith and others thought the American public would not accept the truth that Stalin*** was as merciless as Hitler, and wanted to gobble up as much of Europe as possible.
How did George Patton Die?
On December 9, 1945, at about 9 in the morning, he went pheasant hunting with his chief of staff, General Hobart “Hap” Gay, in an area about 100 miles from his headquarters. Around 11:45 an army truck swung around in front of his Cadillac because it wanted to turn into a depot. PFC Horace Woodring, Patton’s driver, was unable to stop in time. The vehicles struck each other at a 90 degree angle.
Everyone save General Patton saw the collision coming and were able to brace themselves. He was thrown forward and then backward again and struck the steel frame of a partition between the front and back seats. (“The Real Story of General Patton’s Death and Final Days,” by Major General Michael Reynolds, Warfare History Network)
An ambulance arrived and took the profusely bleeding Patton to the hospital. He was paralyzed from the neck down and suffered from shock. Cuts on his face and scalp had gone to the bone. His third cervical vertebra was fractured and the fourth dislocated. The spinal cord, badly damaged, could not be operated on.
Beatrice, his wife, flew from the U.S. to be with him. He told her “I’m afraid, Bea, this may be the last time we see each other.” (Ibid)
General Patton’s Time of Death
General Patton passed away at 5:55 p.m. on December 21, 1945 after an embolism struck his left lung. Another account has a blood clot going to his heart and stopping it. (Kevin M. Hymel, “Death of a General: George S. Patton, Jr.,” The National World War II Museum, December 21, 2020) He was buried in Hamm three days later. (Ibid)
Conspiracy Theories
The conspiracy theories seem to be of two types. One would posit that the accident was deliberate. In the book The Killing of Patton, Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard note that no charges were made against the driver of the truck that struck Patton. Indeed, they say the occupants disappeared. It would be an extreme stretch to say the men were part of a conspiracy.
Only a few close to Patton knew he was going hunting. Gay had asked him the evening before. The accident would have had to have been timed to the last second, a highly improbable feat. Why the men who drove the truck were not held responsible is a mystery. Perhaps they told a convincing story. Perhaps no prosecution was sought.
The other theory was that Stalin ordered Patton poisoned in the hospital. Why would he do this? Patton was already dying.
Natal Chart with Death Transits and Progressions
*Patton was born on November 11, 1885 at 6:38 p.m. in San Marino, California. He passed away at 5:55 p.m. on December 21, 1945 in Heidelberg, Germany.
A Scorpio, his Moon was in Capricorn, and Gemini was rising. Viewing the chart as a whole, a splay pattern is suggested. “In its ideal form [the splay type] reveals strong and sharp aggregations of the planets at irregular points. This suggests highly purposeful or individual emphases in the life…” (The Guide to Horoscope Interpretation by Marc Edmund Jones, p. 104, 1982 third printing)
The horoscope is quite good for a general because the Moon in Capricorn is known to be a fine position for executives. Those in authority often have this placement.
Patton believed speed and mobility won battles. That is shown by his Gemini Ascendant. Mercury in Sagittarius would enable him to see the big picture while Mars in Virgo would have helped him pick important details. Napoleon and Robert E. Lee also had the Mars position.
Patton had an Inferiority Complex
One key to the nativity is Saturn in Cancer in the House of Self. Patton had an inferiority complex and he strove to overcome it by endless amounts of compensation. His voice was high pitched, and he probably had dyslexia. He became an expert shot and swordsman, played polo, and skippered a yacht. George had to repeat his first year at West Point. Scorpios overcome fear by throwing themselves into the things they fear.
Patton was Blunt and Critical
Another important key was the Mercury/Mars square. “Irritability needs conscious control; self importance is encouraged if mental energy does not find a creative outlet.” (Parker, The Complete Astrologer, p. 140) “ You can and do say cutting things.” Lewi, Heaven Knows What, p. 190) These traits were probably exacerbated in Patton’s case. Sagittarius is known to be blunt while Virgo can be critical.
Patton had slapped two soldiers in Sicily. The press sometimes took his remarks out of context.
Joseph Stalin’s Promise
Joseph Stalin promised at the Yalta Conference to allow free elections. He lied. Communist governments were set up in 1945 in East Germany, Albania, and Rumania. In 1946 a monarchy was eradicated in Bulgaria and a communist regime installed. In 1947 sixteen non-communist politicians from Poland were invited to Moscow where they were promptly arrested. Communists then won the election. 1948 saw Hungary and Czechoslovakia added to Stalin’s control. (BBC, “The Cold War Origins: 1941-1948,” www.bbc.uk/bitesize/guides)
During the rule of Joseph Stalin (1924-1953), approximately 7,152,000 people in Russia were either massacred or died from neglect. (Wikipedia)