His nickname was “Old Blood and Guts,” a name he earned through his colorful pep talks to his men. These talks were filled with Patton’s ideas about how men should behave in battle, what they should do to the enemy, why America had never lost a war, and why it was important for fighting men to procreate. The language was always blunt, unambiguous, and quite purple.
But the message was always crystal clear: The most important thing was to win. Patton is included here for one major achievement: the containment of German forces, coupled with the relief of Bastogne, during the Battle of the Bulge.
An Olympian and a Soldier
George S. Patton, Jr., was born in 1885 in San Gabriel, California. Despite the fact that he had dyslexia, or perhaps because of it, Patton excelled physically. He would later demonstrate his prowess at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, where he placed fifth among 43 competitors in the modern pentathalon.
He graduated from West Point in 1909 and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the cavalry. During World War I, Captain Patton was given command of the U. S. Army’s first tank unit. He was wounded in action, but he had found his niche: tank warfare. After the war, the highly decorated officer commanded a tank center. There he met and befriended Dwight D. Eisenhower (Number 7).
In 1932, the two majors served under Douglas MacArthur (Number 8), then Army chief of staff. They took part in the routing of the Bonus Army from Washington, D.C.
Following the outbreak of World War II, the United States instituted a strong defense program. This involved a military draft and training maneuvers in the field. In mid-1941, the Louisiana maneuvers demonstrated the abilities of potential field commanders. Patton distinguished himself during an extraordinary night movement of his troops. Military observers split on their evaluation of his tactics. They were either daring or fool-hardy. George C. Marshall (Number 5) put Patton on his short list for field command in any future conflict. Here, indeed, was a fighter who was capable of doing the improbable, maybe even the impossible, in a critical situation. At the very least, Patton could keep an enemy off balance and constantly guessing on what he would do next.
Bad Press for an Aggressive Commander
When war came in December 1941, Patton was considered as one of the top field commanders. The first American offensive would be at French North Africa. It is said that Patton looked at the invasion plans, declared that there was a better way to do it, and that that was the way he planned to do it. Marshall immediately cut new orders for him, sending him back to oblivion. Patton relented at once, saying of course he would carry out the mission exactly as planned. There was no way he was going to miss this war.
Patton’s men won their objectives in Morocco. He then took over command in Tunisia and began to plan the invasion of Sicily. There, he and Bernard Montgomery (Number 37) competed for territory and the glory that went with it. Patton tended to be more aggressive; Montgomery was more cautious. Patton certainly won the battle of the headlines, in more ways than one.
While still in Sicily, Patton got into trouble by slapping a shell-shocked soldier in an army field hospital. War correspondents in Sicily sat on the story. It became public back in the States when it was reported by a Washington political commentator. Patton, in disgrace, was ordered by Eisenhower to apologize to those involved. There had been and would be other public relations disasters, but nothing as serious as this.
In any case, Patton was officially in the doghouse.
The common wisdom is that Eisenhower made the final decision to keep Patton a field commander. Actually, it was Marshall. As for the Germans, they believed that Patton was being kept under wraps for something special in the forthcoming invasion of France.
The Phantom Army
When D-Day came on June 6, 1944, Patton seemed to have disappeared. It was obvious, thought the Germans: Patton was still waiting in England with a huge invasion force, ready to cross the Pas de Calais and invade France. Erwin Rommel (Number 39) did not believe it. He felt strongly that Normandy was the main invasion and begged Adolf Hitler (Number l) to release the German reserves and send them to Normandy, where they were badly needed. Hitler refused and waited for the phantom army that never came. The reserves were sent in too late. The Normandy beachhead was secured by virtue of the greatest military deception since the Trojan Horse.
Patton surfaced in northern France with his 3rd Army.
In August 1944 the Allies broke out of the beachhead. Patton’s army raced east-ward, faster than field maps could be printed. When his tanks ran short of fuel, it was not unusual for fuel supplies to disappear mysteriously from storage depots or for hijackers to make off with oil trucks on their way to other outfits. To Patton, these were not pranks but deadly serious business. If his men ran out of fuel, they became sitting ducks to Nazi armor. Patton was determined to keep his tanks moving.
The Battle of the Bulge
The most serious crisis for the U.S. Army in Europe came in December 1944. The German army came crashing through the Ardennes, creating a “bulge” in the American lines. The great concern was that the Germans would cross the Meuse, take Antwerp, and cut off Allied supplies. To stall that German drive, American paratroops had been dropped into the vital road center of Bastogne with orders to hold it until relieved. The weather was freezing cold and it was snowing. All planes were grounded.
Who could be relied on to get through and relieve the American garrison at Bastogne? Only Patton. He had been heading eastward toward Germany. Now he turned his army 90 degrees, heading north for Bastogne, 150 miles away. The sources differ on how long that drive took; estimates range from 19 hours to three days.
All the sources agree that Patton asked his chaplain to compose a prayer for good weather, and the weather cleared almost immediately. The good weather helped, but it was Patton and his men who carried the day. By relieving Bastogne, they turned the tide at the Battle of the Bulge. Four months later, Nazi Germany surrendered.
An Imperfect Hero
There are many legends that surround his name. It is said that he wrote poetry, that he believed in reincarnation, and that he believed he had fought in great battles of the past. He was certainly a strict disciplinarian, a fierce competitor, and outspoken to a fault.
Patton will be remembered for the Battle of the Bulge long after his gaffes and public relations disasters have vanished from the footnotes of the histories of World War II. Whatever Patton’s idiosyncrasies, he was a warrior of enormous talents.
Early in December 1945 he was severely injured in an automobile accident and paralyzed from the neck down. He died two weeks later and was buried in the American military cemetery in Luxembourg, alongside his men.
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