Editing George S. Patton (section)

=== Relieved of command ===
Patton faced questions from the press about his reluctance to [[denazification|denazify]] post-war Germany, but he noted that most of the people with experience in infrastructure management had been compelled to join the party in the war. He compared Nazis to [[Democratic Party of the United States|Democrats]] and [[Republican Party of the United States|Republicans]], bringing negative press stateside and angering Eisenhower.{{sfn|Axelrod|2006|pp=165–166}} Eisenhower ordered him to hold a press conference correcting his statements, but Patton instead repeated them.{{sfn|Brighton|2009|p=16}}

On 28 September 1945, Patton had a heated exchange with Eisenhower over the denazification controversy, so Eisenhower relieved him of his military governorship. He was relieved of command of the Third Army on 7 October, and he concluded his farewell remarks by saying, "All good things must come to an end. The best thing that has ever happened to me thus far is the honor and privilege of having commanded the Third Army."{{sfn|Axelrod|2006|pp=165–166}} According to [[Anthony Cave Brown]] in ''[[Bodyguard of Lies]]'', "Patton was relieved of command of the 3rd Army by Eisenhower just after the end of the war for stating publicly that America had been fighting the wrong enemy—Germany instead of Russia."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Brown |first=Anthony Cave |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2RFmAPmDgW0C |title=Bodyguard of Lies |date=1975 |publisher=[[Harper (publisher)|Harper and Row]] |volume=2 |pages=898 |language=en}}</ref>

Patton's final assignment was to command the [[U.S. 15th Army]] based in [[Bad Nauheim]]. The 15th Army at this point consisted only of a small headquarters staff working to compile a history of the war in Europe. Patton had accepted the post because of his love of history, but he quickly lost interest. He began traveling, visiting Paris, [[Rennes]], [[Chartres]], [[Brussels]], [[Metz]], [[Reims]], [[Luxembourg]], and [[Verdun]]. Then he went to [[Stockholm]], where he reunited with other athletes from the 1912 Olympics.{{sfn|Axelrod|2006|pp=165–166}} Patton decided that he would leave his post at the 15th Army and not return to Europe once he left for [[Christmas]] leave on 10 December. He intended to discuss with his wife whether he would continue in a stateside post or retire from the Army.{{sfn|Axelrod|2006|p=167}}

Eisenhower returned to the United States to become the Chief of Staff of the US Army, and Patton was appointed interim commander of [[United States Army Europe and Africa|US Army Europe]] on 11 November 1945. He served in the position until relieved by General [[Joseph T. McNarney]] on 26 November.