If there was one man who embodied the United States fighting spirit in World War II, it was General George S. Patton. Patton's zeal for victory and his ability to inspire his troops with the same fierce passion, made him a legend among military leaders. Patton was confident, controversial, and complex. Above all, he was successful in almost all the objectives he was given throughout his command.
Patton was a true professional. A third-generation soldier and West Point graduate, Patton had ambitious but simple career goals: fame and advancement. He was a lifelong student of military history and tactics, constantly reading of the exploits and memoirs of great leaders in the past. In his school years, Patton struggled to overcome problems with dyslexia. The dogged determination and self-discipline he developed during these years became integral features of his character--features he would also demand of men under his command.
He stood out from other generals in a number of ways. He was independently wealthy, brash, cocky, and demanding. He was a harsh disciplinarian--but did not always follow the rules he laid down for others. At different commands in the United States before embarking for combat action as a part of Operation Torch in North Africa in late 1942, he was known to the men under his command as the Green Hornet--a nickname earned by his high-speed and often wild driving through military camps and stations.
Patton could hardly be dismissed. He designed his own battle uniform, an unmistakable bright green color, wore cavalry boots, and hung at each hip a pearl-handled, loaded revolver. His helmets were polished to a high gloss, creating the effect of a floodlight shining on him wherever he went in uniform.
A brilliant innovator, teacher and student, Patton developed and honed the tactics and methods of tank warfare he learned while assigned to the Tank Corps in World War I. These tactics, along with his aggressive leadership were key to his successes in North Africa and Sicily in the Second World War.
Patton used training as an opportunity to build discipline and confidence in his men, along with competence. He demanded the highest standards of dress and hygiene, and drilled men until their obedience and performance became automatic. Perhaps more importantly, Patton was a model for his men. He was always the picture of military perfection, always enthusiastic about the task at hand, and able to demonstrate his thorough knowledge and skill to his men.
Patton was always close by--supervising, encouraging, and often rebuking. In the end, however, he praised his men and used his influence to provide them the best lodging and food. Armies under his command always received ample and favorable press coverage. Patton instilled in his men a deep sense of pride and identity--intangibles that become so valuable on the battlefield.
While Patton projected the image of the ideal warrior--courageous, passionate for combat, often profane--he was quite different in private. He was an introspective man who loved art, wrote poetry, and kept a tender correspondence with his wife, Beatrice, that revealed a man full of emotion and conflict. The difference between the public and private Patton was a source of great insecurity for him. Though he carefully nurtured his outward image, crafting the impressions he made on people just as an actor would, Patton frequently doubted his abilities. He was prone to wide mood swings, quickly moving from rage to tears. On two unfortunate occasions, Patton slapped and insulted soldiers who had been hospitalized for battle fatigue--calling them cowards. To his commanders, including General Eisenhower, Patton was potentially unstable, even if he was a brilliant commander and leader. Thus, when Eisenhower chose a commander for the U.S. forces in Operation Overlord, Patton was passed over in favor of the more conventional General Omar Bradley.
Nevertheless, Patton had earned a reputation among the Germans as a cunning and dangerous opponent in North Africa and Sicily. In the Battle of Kasserine Pass in North Africa in early 1943, the first full action against German armored forces, U.S. tanks were slaughtered by heavier, more powerful, and better-gunned German armor. The hard truth about the Kasserine Pass engagements was this: not only were U.S. forces hammered by combat-experienced German soldiers, but they repeatedly broke rank and ran, too.
To Patton's credit, he emerged from the debacle a wiser and more capable commander. In subsequent battles he displayed a slashing brilliance in armored thrusts against the German enemy, and soon earned his reputation among the Wehrmacht, the German armed forces, as a cunning and dangerous opponent in battles in North Africa and Sicily. His fierce discipline and power tactics against Germany did not come without additional resentment from his own forces. As the war continued he earned the name "Blood and Guts Patton," a title many U.S. troops derided as "Yeah, our blood and his guts." It is generally accepted, however, that Patton's hard-driving discipline meant that ten thousand U.S. G.I.'s who returned safely home after the war would otherwise have died in battle.
The Allies used Patton's reputation to their advantage by creating a nonexistent 1st U.S. Army Group, known to the Germans as "Army Group Patton." The Allies kept Patton's whereabouts from the press, while leaking information to the Germans about the massive buildup of forces across from the Pas de Calais. This deception, called Operation Fortitude, led the Germans to believe the main invasion would be at the Pas de Calais rather than Normandy. Even after the invasion Patton kept quiet, nurturing the German's belief that the "real invasion" was yet to come, and delaying the deployment of a German counterattack.
Since January 1944, Patton had been preparing the U.S. 3rd Army to enter battle after D-Day. In early August, following the successful "breakout" of Operation Cobra, Patton's 3rd Army came ashore and poured through the narrow breach Bradley's forces had opened in the German defenses at St. L⌠. The lightning-fast tank and infantry advance that followed made history as the 3rd Army swept across the poorly defended French countryside as far as Paris and Orleans in the east and Nantes in the south. The 3rd Army stopped only when its tanks and armored vehicles ran low on gasoline. Patton's relentless attack against the Germans was so fierce and successful that he outran the convoys of supply trucks unable to keep up with his advance.
Patton's 3rd Army also played important roles in breaking the siege of Bastogne, defeating the Germans in the decisive Battle of the Bulge, and advancing as far east as Czechoslovakia by the end of the war. As he had promised his men, the name of the U.S. 3rd Army (and George S. Patton) had become famous.
Patton died in Germany after an automobile crash in 1945. Though the man died, the legend lives. Today, men are still proud to say they served with Patton.
