By late 1945, the war in Europe was won. Patton had requested an assignment commanding troops in the South Pacific, where the U.S. was finishing its fight against the Japanese Empire, but he was refused. Instead, Patton was assigned as military governor of Bavaria, where he caused more controversy by hiring former Nazis to help run the district — his argument was that they already knew what they were doing. He also spoke against alliances with Russia — the U.S. should continue the war by pushing Russia back into its original frontiers. Finally his superior officer, Dwight Eisenhower, relieved him of command of the Third Army in October 1945 and essentially assigned him a desk job, overseeing a history of the European campaign.

Patton was less than happy with the assignment and confided to his wife that he would be home for Christmas, and after that, might well retire. He turned 60 that November. Warfare History Network relates that Patton had become withdrawn, moody and tense, and given to taking long drives by himself. Patton's chief of staff, General Hobart Gay, tried to raise Patton's spirits by suggesting a hunting trip. They left the next day in Patton's Cadillac, with an enlisted soldier at the wheel, Patton and Gay in the back seat. A jeep followed, carrying their hunting equipment, driven by Technical Sergeant Joe Bruce.

In the suburbs of Mannheim, shortly before noon, a U.S. Army truck pulled in front of the Cadillac. The driver and General Gay saw the collision coming and braced themselves. Patton had been looking out the window and the impact threw him forward against the metal frame of the glass partition between the front and back seats.

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