Patton’s phrase summarises a tactical principle: keep an enemy occupied in one place while attacking where they are more vulnerable elsewhere. In the fuller passage, he distinguishes between strategic persistence and tactical flexibility. A commander should maintain a clear overall direction, he argues, but should not simply push forces directly against the strongest resistance.

The image of holding an opponent “by the nose” describes fixing or containing enemy forces so that they cannot easily disengage or respond. Kicking them “in the pants” represents striking from another direction or against a weaker position. The language is characteristically blunt, but the underlying idea is a conventional principle of manoeuvre: avoid unnecessary frontal pressure when movement, concentration of force or an attack on weakness can produce a greater effect. In context, the quotation is therefore principally about battlefield tactics and the relationship between strategic determination and tactical adaptability.

Full quotation

“Have been giving everyone a simplified directive of war. Use steamroller strategy; that is, make up your mind on course and direction of action, and stick to it. But in tactics, do not steamroller. Attack weakness. Hold them by the nose and kick them in the pants.”