Patton's Battlefield
Tactics
Onward Christian Soldiers
by Ron Schoolcraft
The apostle Paul often used the analogy of military warfare to teach us principles of
Christian spiritual warfare. He told Timothy to "endure hardship as a good soldier of
Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life,
that he may please Him who enlisted him as a soldier" (II Timothy 2:3-4, NKJV). He
exhorted us to "put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against
the wiles of the devil" (Ephesians 6:11). He then detailed each piece of military
armor and weaponry and gave their spiritual parallels (Ephesians 6:13-17).
While recently reading War As I Knew It, the battle memories of that swashbuckling World
War II general, George S. Patton, Jr., I was struck by some compelling spiritual parallels
in his unique battlefield tactics. Perhaps we may profit spiritually as his Third Army and
the Allied Forces did militarily.
Though somewhat controversial for his flamboyance, outspokenness, and uncompromising
standards, Patton was fundamentally a profoundly religious man who read the Bible daily.
Using an aggressive combat strategy, he slammed the tanks and men of the Third Army across
Europe at a breakneck pace. Brandishing his brace of famous pearl-handled pistols, Patton
commanded the armored force that moved farther and faster than any other in World War II,
insuring his place in history as one of the greatest battlefield commanders.
General Patton gave clear instructions for advancing into enemy territory: "Marching
Fire--The proper way to advance is to utilize marching fire and keep moving. One round
should be fired every two or three paces. The whistle of the bullets, the scream of the
ricochet, and the dust, twigs, and branches which are knocked form the ground and trees
have such an effect on the enemy that his small-arms fire becomes negligible. Keep walking
forward. Furthermore, the fact that you are shooting adds to your self-confidence, because
you feel that you are doing something, and are not sitting like a duck in a bathtub being
shot at."
Of course the Christian's offensive weapon is "the
sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Ephesians 6:17). As we storm the
gates of hell to do battle with the forces of evil to rescue souls, we too need to use
"marching fire," shouting to Word of God as we march forward. "Because ye
speak this word, behold, I will make my praises of God be in their mouth and a two-edged
sword in their hand" (Psalm 149:6). God spoke through Isaiah, "And he hath made
my mouth like a sharp sword...and made me a polished shaft" (Isaiah 49-2).
General Patton knew war was often a matter of life and death. He said, "To halt under
fire is folly. To halt under fire and not fire back is suicide. Move forward out of fire.
Always remember that it is much better to waste ammunition than lives. It takes at least
eighteen years to produce a soldier, and only a few months to produce ammunition."
When under spiritual assault from the enemy, we must continue to "fire back"
with the Word of God as Jesus did to Satan ("It is written...") with the
temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11). Thank God, we need not fear running out of
scriptural ammunition, and it is never wasted, for it will not return void (Isaiah 55:11).
General Patton was not a proponent of digging foxholes and trenches. "Wars are not
won by defensive tactics. Digging is primarily defensive. The psychological effect on the
soldier is bad, because if he thinks he has to dig he must think the enemy is dangerous,
which he usually is not." Patton probably preferred singing "Onward Christian
Soldiers" more than "Hold the Fort."
Patton thought the expression "hit the dirt"
did much to increase casualties. He allowed only one condition for dropping, then
specified, "But even then he must not hit the dirt and stay supine. He must shoot
fast at the enemy, because it is as true now as when Farragut stated it in the Civil War
that the best armor (and the best defense) is a rapid and well-directed fire." When
soldiers are caught in a barrage, their from mortars, rockets, or artillery, the surest
way to get out of it is to go forward fast," because the enemy "artillery very
seldom shortens its range."
No wonder the German army feared Patton. His message was "forward,
March." The answer to almost all dilemmas was, "Go forward fast."
Christians have a similar command and commission: "Go ye into all the world, and
preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16-15), "Go ye therefore, and teach
all nations" (Matthew 28:19), and "I charge you therefore before God... Preach
the word!" (II Timothy 4:1-2, NKJV). Let us remember as we march forward firing
salvoes of the salvation message of Acts 2:38, "No weapon that is formed against thee
shall prosper" (Isaiah 54:17).
When one of his generals suffered a defeat, losing possession of a vital hill, General
Patton paid him a visit. He told two stories to cheer up General Eddy: first, that Grant
once said, "In every battle there comes a time when both sides consider themselves
beaten; then he who continues the attack wins;" second, what Lee is supposed to have
said a Chancellorsville, "I was too weak to defend, so I attacked." As a result,
Eddy retook the hill at once. These examples illustrate scriptural principles: "Let
the weak say, 'I am strong'" (Joel 3:10), and "We are more than conquerors
through Him the loved us" (Romans 8:37).
General Patton was well-known for his tactic of appearing often in the midst of his
front-line troops. The fact that he ignored personal danger served as an inspiration to
his men. How shall we find the strength and power to launch an all-out attack against the
enemy strongholds? The presence of out Commander-in-Chief, through the Holy Spirit, is
with us at all times: "Lo, I am with always" (Matthew 28:20).
He gives us the power to fulfill our task: "Ye
shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses
unto me...unto the uttermost part of the earth" (Acts 1:8), and He gives us the
weaponry: "The weapons of our warfare are...mighty through God to the pulling down of
strong holds" (II Corinthians 10:4).
The battlefield genius of this formidable general is revealed in this instruction to
officers in his command: "Don't Delay-The best is the enemy of the good. By this I
mean that a good plan violently executed now is better than a perfect plan next week. War
is a very simple thing, and the determining characteristics are self-confidence, speed,
and audacity. None of these things can ever be perfect, but they can be good."
Patton's "Don't Delay" principle certainly embodies the spirit of Jesus'
command, "Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh the harvest? Behold
I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to
harvest" (John 4:35).
We find "confidence" and "audacity" in God: "If God be for us,
who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31), and "Thou art my battle ax and weapons of
war" (Jeremiah 51:20). But the "speed" is up to us. If we wait until
everything is perfect (we are debt free, understand all mysteries, achieve perfection I
holiness, etc.) We may never reap the harvest. May we catch the vision of the psalmist,
"He sends out His command to the earth; His word runs very swiftly" (Psalm
147:15, NKJV), and Joel, "Prepare for war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of
war draw near. Put ye I the sickle, for the harvest is ripe" (Joel 3:9, 13).
May God inspire and enable us for immediate and massive
action utilizing the firepower of God's Word in preaching, teaching, evangelizing, and
witnessing; this aggressive thrust should occur on all fronts-foreign missions, home
missions, Harvestime and other radio ministries, Sunday school, and institutional
ministries; all types of outreach and home Bible studies; tracts, books and publications;
and our mighty army of youth, as we continuously sow more seed and reap a fruitful
harvest.
An integral part of our "front-line" warriors is a special group called
"prayer warriors." Paul speaks of Epaphras, who was always laboring fervently
for you in prayers (Colossians 4:12). "Laboring fervently" in the Greek is agonizomai
from which we get our English word "agonize." This same word was translated as
"fight" in II Timothy 4:7: "I have fought a good fight." Prayer should
never be considered a "behind-the-scenes" effort. It is a front-line,
in-the-trenches, hand-to-hand fight against a hindering adversary. (See Daniel 10:12-13.)
The American Heritage New History of World War II notes, "As his command car moved
through fields of burning rubble, Patton shouted above the roar of his artillery,
"Compared to war, all other forms of human endeavor shrink to insignificance..."
He wrote to his wife, "Peace is going to be [a place of torture] on me." Could
we be as zealous in our Christian warfare? May God grant us thousands of "Pentecostal
Pattons" to be valiant warriors for God.
"And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto
all nations; and then shall the end come" (Matthew 24:14).
Order the Patton Prayer Memorial Lithograph
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