George Patton War Hero

On November 11, 1885 in San Gabriel, California, George Smith Patton, Jr. was born. His parents were George S. Patton, Sr. and Ruth Patton. Since Patton was born, he always wanted to be in the army and became a war hero because he was a descendent of Brigadier General Hugh Mercer, and he had several other relatives who fought in the American Revolution, Civil War, and Mexican War. Also, Patton had met former Confederate raider John S. Mosby. To became a war hero, Patton decided to attend Virginia Military Institute, and he started in 1904. In 1905, Patton went to U.S. Military Academy at West Point. While at West Point, Patton had to repeat his first year because of his math grades. He graduated from West Point on June 11, 1909. After graduation,
he was given a job in the 15th Calvary regiment.
Patton’s first mission was in 1916 when he was assigned to the 8th Cavalry Regiment located in Fort Bliss, Texas. There he was a member of General John F. Pershing’s “Punitive Expedition” against Pancho Villa. This expedition was ordered by President Woodrow Wilson after Pancho Villa raided Columbus, New Mexico. Patton’s job on this expedition was assistant to General Pershing. This attack was the “first motorized attack in the history of American warfare” (Klein). During the fighting, Patton earned some notoriety because Julio Cardenas was killed. Cardenas was Villa’s second in command.
Patton’s military service continued as he served the country in World War I. On April 1917, John F. Pershing made Patton captain and took Patton to France. Patton was good at tank warfare. The first officer assigned to the Tank Corps in World War I, Patton became known for his wisdom about tanks and their uses in battle. Because of this knowledge, Patton organized the American tank school in Bourg, France, and he helped train American tankers to pilot the French Renault FT-17 tanks. Patton was honored with the Distinguished Service Medal because of his leadership of the tank brigade and establishing the tank school.
In August 1918, Patton was in charge of the 1st Provisional Tank Brigade; this would later become the 304th Tank Brigade.
On September 26, 1918, Patton was leading an attack on German machine guns’ positions as part of the Meuse-Argonne. While directing the tanks, Patton got shot, and the bullet tore into his left thigh. Even though Patton had been shot, he continued to lead the battle from a shell hole, and he commanded that he would do his report at the division headquarters before being taken to the hospital. Patton earned a Purple Heart in World War I. At the end of World War I, Patton was selected to go to Washington, DC. Where he would have his “peacetime rank of captain”
(Hickman).
While in Washington, Patton met Dwight D. Eisenhower. Eisenhower was a captain as well, and they immediately became good friends. Together, they worked on trying to improve the current tanks and new policies for tanks and tank warfare. On July 1920, Patton was promoted to major, and one of his main projects was pushing for the establishment of permanent armored forces. On June 1932, Patton led some of the troops that dispersed the “Bonus Army.” In 1934, Patton was promoted to lieutenant colonel. Then in 1938, Patton was promoted to colonel, and Patton was also placed in command of Fort Myer in Virginia.
After the attack on Pearl Harbor, Patton was put in charge of the 1st and 2nd Armored Divisions. It was during this time that he also organized a training center in the California desert to get these Divisions ready for battle. In November 1942, during Operation Torch, Patton led the Western Task Force, which conquered Casablanca, Morocco. In February 1943, Eisenhower made Patton to rebuild US II Corps from the suggestion of Major General Omar Bradley. Patton worked hard to restore discipline and fighting spirit to US II Corps. Because of Patton’s work, Eisenhower pulled him to help in planning the invasion of Sicily in April 1943.
Patton’s lust for battle and his desire to never give up got him a nickname by his troops, and the nickname was “Old Blood and Guts.” Patton was a strict person; that the men under his command did not want him upset.
Even though Patton was strict, he managed to get his troops a win after several losses. The win was against Nazi forces in the Battle of El Guettar. A month later, Patton gave his command to Gen. Omar Bradley to prepare for the invasion in Sicily. The invasion was a military success, but it hurt Patton’s reputation. Patton slapped Private Charles H. Kuhl and called him a coward because he was not fighting because he had battle wounds. Patton had hoped that he could lead the Allied invasion of Normandy, but Patton was assigned command of a force that was preparing for an invasion in England. He was being used as a decoy. His “army” was nothing but plywood and inflatable rubber pieces. On D-Day in 1944, President Roosevelt granted Patton command of the 3rd U.S. Army because of this the 3rd Army swept across France. In the Battle of Bulge, Patton’s troops defeated the German counterattack. This happened after he led them across the Rhine River and captured 10,000 miles of territory. This made Germany to be free from Nazi
rule.
Patton had a flashy image. He always wore a highly polished helmet, cavalry pants, cavalry boots, and a pair of ivory-handled pistols. His speeches usually had some curse words in them, but his speeches made his men have confidence. Accepted during the war, Patton’s vocal nature ultimately led to Eisenhower’s removal of him from a command position. For in October 1945, Eisenhower removed Patton from his command of the 3rd Army because Patton was criticizing the government about the war during interviews. Then in December 1945, near Mannheim, German, Patton had decided to spend a day hunting before returning to the United States. As they were headed out, a truck turned in front of their car, and the two collided. Patton’s neck was broken. Doctors were flown in from the United States and tried to help, but there was nothing that they could do. Twelve days later, on December 21, 1945, Patton died in a Heidelberg hospital. Patton’s wife wanted his body brought home to West Point for burial there, but it was tradition for soldiers to be buried in US military cemeteries near where they died. Patton was buried at the cemetery in Hamm, near Luxembourg, on December 24, 1945.