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World War II-dated TLS signed “G. S. Patton, Jr.,” one page, 8 x 10, Headquarters, Third United States Army, Office of the Commanding General (APO 403) letterhead, January 29, 1945. Letter to Major General Maxwell D. Taylor: “Here are a few pictures which I came across which you may not have seen. With all good wishes to you and the Division.” In fine condition.
By January 1945, Patton's Third Army and Maxwell Taylor's 101st Airborne Division were linked by one of the most famous episodes of the war. When German forces encircled Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944, the 101st held the town against repeated attacks and a surrender ultimatum famously answered 'Nuts!' Patton's Third Army responded by rapidly redirecting three divisions toward the German salient, and on December 26th the 4th Armored Division broke through to Bastogne, opening a corridor to the surrounded garrison. Taylor himself had missed the siege while attending a staff conference in the United States; in his absence, Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe commanded the division at Bastogne and delivered the celebrated reply to the German surrender demand.
Patton wrote this letter on January 29, 1945, just four days after the Battle of the Bulge officially ended. Sending Taylor a few photographs that he had "come across" and thought he "may not have seen," Patton closes with "all good wishes to you and the Division." Although the subjects of the photographs are not identified in the letter, its date places the note in the immediate aftermath of the Ardennes campaign, little more than a month after Third Army's drive relieved the 101st at Bastogne.
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