When did George Patton say nut's?

Answer 1

He didn't, at least not in circumstances where it was a historically memorable statement. What you are thinking of is a statement by General Anthony McAuliffe, who was Assistant Division Commander of the 101st Airborne Division. The Division commander was at a conference back in the US when the Germans struck in the Ardennes Offensive, usually called "The Battle of the Bulge". McAuliffe had been left in command of the 101st Airborne Division, which with other units, moved to and held the vital crossroads town of Bastogne. The Americans were soon surrounded and under attack for a week or more, as the German desperately needed the road net in Bastogne to keep their offensive moving. The Germans sent in under a flag of truce a demand that the Americans surrender, to which General McAuliffe famously replied, "nuts".

General Patton was commanding the US 3rd Army, which was just south of the Bulge. Patton stopped his attack eastward, reoriented his troops to attack northward, into the south flank of the Bulge. This was a remarkable feat, and Patton's troops got to Bastogne in about four days, relieving the 101st AD and other units there. Creighton Abrams, later US commander in Vietnam, led the first Combat Command of Patton's 4th Armored Division into the beleaguered town.