General George S.

Patton

“May God have mercy upon my enemies, because I won’t” (5). This quote by

General George S. Patton in many ways defined his character. Many people considered

George S. Patton to be a driven and hard man willing to spill blood in order to achieve his

bold plans hence his nickname, “Old Blood and Guts”. Many people despised Patton for

his seemingly lack of concern. This was shown from his actions in the “slapping

incident” where he slapped two injured soldiers and called them cowards. (4) Regardless

of one’s opinions about the man himself, Patton was a military genius and is looked upon

by many Americans as a hero.

George Smith Patton was born on November 11, 1885 in San Gabriel, California.

George S. Patton came from a very long line of military officers and famous politicians.

Because of, or maybe in spite of, his family’s long history with the US military, Patton

grew up planning on studying military history and dreamed of becoming a general in the

military. (3) However, he was a very poor student and never developed solid skills in

basic subjects such as reading or spelling. This may have been due to dyslexia which was

not a condition known about during his early education. (1)

Patton attended Pasadena High School and after graduating, began his military

training at the Virginia Military Institute. He transferred to the United States Military

Academy at West Point after a year at VMI. However, his lack of academic skills in

mathematics prevented him from graduating his plebe year, the first year of a West Point

education.(1) Although Patton struggled academically, his passionate desire to become a

general in the US military, his phenomenal athletic ability, his intelligence, and his
strategic genius, convinced the administration at West Point that Patton should be

allowed to repeat his plebe year. His persistence and dedication eventually allowed him

to graduate in 1909. (1) In addition to receiving his commission as a second lieutenant,

Patton also left West Point with a wife. In 1910, Patton married Beatrice Ayer, the

daughter of a wealthy tailor. Patton met Beatrice while at West Point after a four year

courtship.

George S. Patton was very athletic and competed in the 1912 summer Olympics

in Stockholm in the pentathlon. (1) 1912 was the first year that the modern pentathlon

was an event in the Olympic Games and it was only open to soldiers. It had been

designed to simulate the skills of a 19th century cavalry soldier. The events of the first

pentathlon were fencing, 300 meter swimming, 3 mile cross country run, shooting, and

show jumping with horses. Patton placed in the top ten in all of these events.

In 1913, Patton received orders to report to the Mounted Service School in Fort

Riley, Kansas. Because of his athletic skills, he became the first “Master of the Sword” at

the school. (4) This title came from West Point where it is given to the head of the

Department of Athletics at the United States Military Academy. While attending the

school, he designed a course in swordsmanship and made advancements to the cavalry

saber, now known as the Patton Saber. (4)

Patton began his military career during the Mexican Revolution in 1916. Initially,

as a cavalry officer and staff member to General John J. Pershing, Patton patrolled the

U.S.-Mexico border as the number of border incidents were increasing. After Pancho

Villa, a Mexican revolutionary general, raided Columbus, New Mexico, Patton assisted

General Pershing in attempting to capture Pancho Villa. George Patton’s reputation as a

hard driven and ruthless soldier began when he led several soldiers in the capture of

General Julio Cardenas. (3) Cardenas, Villa’s personal bodyguard, was killed and then

his body was strapped onto the hood of truck like a trophy and driven back to base.

Patton impressed Pershing and Pershing promoted him to Captain.

After his promotion, George Patton managed to convince General Pershing to

give him the appointment to AEF headquarters in Chaumont, France which was close to

the action of the current war in Europe. (6) However, Patton was not quite satisfied with

this appointment and in order to see real action, he once again, asked General Pershing to

grant his transfer to the Tank Corp. This request was granted and he was ordered to report

to the army schools at Langres. Patton became the first soldier to work with tanks and

was given the assignment of establishing a light tank school. (6)

Patton trained and led his men to victory in the world’s first major tank battle in

Cambrai, France in 1917. Then in 1918, Patton was injured in the St. Mihiel Offensive

from machine gun fire. For his bravery during this action, he was promoted to lieutenant

colonel and awarded the Purple Heart. While recuperating, Patton tried to convince

Congress to fund a larger armored division but he was denied. He also devised new tank

tactics and made improvements on the tanks. After serving in Hawaii, he graduated from

the Command and General Staff School and later graduated an honorable student of the

Army war college in 1932. In the late 1930s, Patton was finally given sufficient money

from Congress to start his armored division and was put in charge of the 2nd armored

division and promoted to brigadier general.

At the onset of WWII, General Patton was leading the Desert Training in Indio,

California. Once the United States entered the war, General Patton was given command
over the Western Task Force. He led Operation Torch on November 8th which was the

1942 invasion of North Africa. Operation Torch was a three pronged assault. General

Patton was given the westernmost assault to enter North Africa near Casablanca. The

central prong was led by the American Major General Lloyd Fredendall and the eastern

prong was led by Major General Charles Ryder. The goal of the operation was to squeeze

General Erwin Rommel, Commander of the Deutsches Afrika Korps, between the

Americans and the forces led by the British Lieutenant General Montgomery. The

Americans easily conquered the ports and territories of Morocco and Algeria; however,

when Rommel turned west and struck using his infamous blitzkrieg, the Americans under

Fredendall were severely set back as they were caught totally by surprise at Kasserine

Pass.,

On March 5, 1943, General Eisenhower replaced Major General Fredendall with

Patton and promoted him to Lieutenant General which gave him command over the

Second Corps. Although Patton was a very strict disciplinarian and trained his men hard,

he was well liked by his men and his promotion increased morale. By the spring of 1943,

the Allied Forces had defeated the Germans and forced them out of North Africa. (7) Due

to his role in this major offensive, Patton was given the command of the Seventh Army in

preparation of the invasion of Sicily. (7)

The attack on Sicily, Operation Husky, was a two pronged attack.(7) Patton was

to lead the westerly wing while Montgomery was to lead the British Eighth Army on the

easterly wing. Competition between Montgomery and Patton had been building since

North Africa. After landing in Sicily, Montgomery found he needed to move his forces

west due to the strong position the Germans had at Mt. Etna. This move was going to
require Patton to adjust his forces and guard Montgomery’s flank. Additionally, it was

going to put Montgomery’s Eighth Army in the prime position to capture Messina.

Patton’s response was to move west at lightening speed, capture Palermo and have every

western coastal town in the hands of the Americans. Even after slowing down the Second

Corps to prevent confusion with Montgomery’s Eighth Army. Patton and Montgomery’s

army got funneled closer together due to the topography. Patton ended up winning the

race to Messina. (7)

Although the capture of Messina was a great victory for George Patton along with

his race across Sicily, his career came to a halt and almost ended due to the famous

“slapping incident.” Patton frequently visited field hospitals to personally present

wounded soldiers the Purple Hearts. At the 93rd Evac Hospital, Patton stopped on impulse

to visit with the soldiers. He spied a young man rocking on the edge of his bed. He asked

the soldier if he had been wounded and he replied no that it was his nerves. This enraged

Patton who had already encountered a similar soldier. He slapped the soldier, screamed

that he was a coward, and ordered him to the front lines. The public outcry from this

event forced Eisenhower, to order Patton to apologize to the man. He did not, however,

remove him from command because he knew Patton was his very best general.

On January 25, 1944, Patton received orders to report to England where he was to

have significant input into Operation Overlord, the planning of the invasion of

Normandy. He worked successfully at feeding the Germans misinformation. After the

successful Normandy landing, Patton was put in charge of the Third Army. Patton, being

very aggressive, ambitious, and persistent, covered more than 600 miles across Europe

and captured more than 100,000 prisoners. The Third Army swept across Europe. By the
end of the war, Patton and the Third Army captured or liberated 81,500 square miles,

captured 1.2 million men, and only lost 13 men for every 100 Germans killed.

Patton’s success was multifaceted. He valued every soldier in the third Army,

from the mechanic and engineers to the front line soldier, and encouraged them to work

as a cohesive team. He encouraged his soldiers to fight offensively telling them, “When

in doubt, attack.” By continually attacking the retreating Germans, Patton prevented the

enemy from building good defensive positions.

In September 1944, the Third Army was forced to slow down because supplies

were being re-routed to support Montgomery’s Operation Market Garden. At the city of

Metz, the third Army was ordered to hold its position. Although forced to wait, Patton

kept the troops busy improving bridgeheads and increasing patrols. Once Patton was

given the orders to attack, he surprised the enemy by not following convention. His army

attacked during one of the worst storms recorded. The city of Metz was captured on

November 18th, 1944. Patton had managed to defeat an enemy at a city that had not been

captured since 451 A.D.

In the last offensive by the Germans (the Battle of the Bulge), the Germans under

General Von Rundstedt attempted to push through the First Army towards Liege, a huge

allied supply center, and Antwerp, a port city. General Patton was ordered to stop his

forward easterly momentum and aid the First Army to the north. In a historical maneuver,

Patton was able to turn his entire army ninety degrees and hit the southern flank of the

Germans in three days. The Third Army met up with the beleaguered First army at the

city of Bastogne on December 26th, 1944 and by January 28th, 1945 the Germans were

pushed back into German territory.

 Patton quickly crossed the Rhine and in his usual pattern hit hard and fast. He was

across the Rhine and driving through the heart of Germany before Montgomery had even

crossed the Rhine. Montgomery had made massive preparations for his crossing of the

Rhine using almost the same manpower and supplies that were used in D-Day and even

invited Winston Churchill to witness the supposed great event. Patton’s Third Army was

again ordered to halt. They were then given orders to not pursue the capture of Berlin but

instead capture the National Redoubt in Bavaria. Patton did not agree but followed

orders. While the entire 11th German Panzer Division surrendered unconditionally to

Patton, the Russians headed for and entered Berlin. The war officially ended on May 9th,

1945.

On December 21, 1945 the famous General George S. Patton died, not in battle

but from injuries sustained in a car accident that had occurred 12 days earlier. George

Patton was a controversial figure during his lifetime and has remained so even to this day.

However, no one would dispute that he was one of the greatest generals in the Second

World War and perhaps in the world’s history. His contributions to modern armored

warfare are unmatched. His tactics and strategies are still used and studied. My great

grandfather, a tank commander in the Second World War, said that “Patton was the finest

General he had ever met.”(General Fagerber) Considering that he named his daughter

after his commanding General, Major General Terry Allen that is high praise.

Bibliography

(1) Biographybase. 2004. Web. 9 Sept. 2009.

<http://www.biographybase.com/biography/Patton_George.html>.

(2) "George Patton Biography." Biography.com, 2009. Web. 9 Sept. 2009.

<http://www.biography.com/articles/George-Patton-9434904?part=1>.

(3) "George S. Patton Jr." Answers.com, 2009. Web. 9 Sept. 2009.

<http://www.answers.com/topic/george-s-patton-jr>.
(4) Potter, Jennifer. "BIOGRAPHY OF GENERAL GEORGE S. PATTON, JR." 2009. Web. 9 Sept.
2009. <http://www.generalpatton.com/biography.html>.

(5) Potter, Jennifer. "GENERAL GEORGE S. PATTON, JR. QUOTATIONS." Generalpatton.com.

Web. 9 Sept. 2009. <http://www.generalpatton.com/quotes.html>.

(6) "George Patton American General." CarpeNoctem, June 2008. Web. 9 Sept. 2009.
<http://www.carpenoctem.tv/military/patton.html>.

(7) "World War II: General George S. Patton’s Race to Capture Messina." Historynet.com, 2009.
Web. 9 Sept. 2009. <http://www.historynet.com/world-war-ii-general-george-s-pattons-race-
to-capture-messina.htm>.

General Fagerberg- Relative