Patton’s Prayer: A True Story of Courage, Faith, and Victory, in World War II

On May 21, 2024 bestselling author Alex Kershaw led a discussion about his latest book, Patton’s Prayer: A True Story of Courage, Faith, and Victory, in World War II.

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. General George Patton seethed, desperate for some change, any change, in the weather. A devout Christian, he telephoned his head chaplain and asked him for a good prayer for the weather. The resulting prayer was soon printed and distributed to the 250,000 men under Patton’s command. 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 thick 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.

Alex Kershaw is a journalist and a New York Times bestselling author of books on World War II. Born in York, England, he is a graduate of Oxford University and has lived in the United States since 1994. His many books include The Bedford Boys: One American Town's Ultimate D-day Sacrifice; The Liberator: One World War II Soldier's 500-Day Odyssey from the Beaches of Sicily to the Gates of Dachau; Against All Odds: A True Story of Ultimate Courage and Survival in World War II; and, most recently, Patton's Prayer: A True Story of Courage, Faith, and Victory, in World War II.

The content and opinions expressed in this presentation are solely those of the speaker and not necessarily of the Virginia Museum of History & Culture.