George S. Patton

:Please see "Patton" for other definitions

World War II

During the buildup of the U.S. Army prior to its entry into World War II, Patton established the Desert Training Center in Indio, California. He also commanded one of the two wargaming armies in the Louisiana Maneuvers of 1941. Fort Benning, Georgia, is well known for General Patton's presence.

Related Topics:
U.S. Army - World War II - Indio, California - Wargaming - Louisiana Maneuvers - 1941 - Fort Benning, Georgia

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North African campaign

In 1942, Major General Patton commanded the 1st U.S. Armored Division of the U.S. Army, which landed on the coast of Morocco in Operation Torch. Patton and his staff arrived in Morocco aboard the heavy cruiser USS Augusta (CA-31) which came under fire from the French battleship Jean Bart while entering the harbor of Casablanca.

Related Topics:
1942 - 1st U.S. Armored Division - Morocco - Operation Torch - USS Augusta (CA-31) - Jean Bart - Casablanca

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Following the defeat of the U.S. Army by the German Afrika Corps at the Battle of the Kasserine Pass in 1943, Patton was made Lieutenant General and placed in command of II Corps. Although tough in his training, he was generally considered fair and very well-liked by his troops. The discipline paid off as, by March, the counteroffensive was pushing the Germans east while the British Eighth Army commanded by Gen. Bernard Montgomery in Tunisia was simultaneously pushing them west, effectively squeezing the Germans out of North Africa.

Related Topics:
Afrika Corps - Battle of the Kasserine Pass - 1943 - Lieutenant General - II Corps - British Eighth Army - Bernard Montgomery - Tunisia

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Italian campaign

As a result of his accomplishments in North Africa, Patton was given command of the Seventh Army in preparation for the 1943 invasion of Sicily. He was charged with liberating the western half of the island, while Gen. Montgomery's British Eighth Army was to liberate the east.

Related Topics:
Seventh Army - 1943 invasion of Sicily - Eighth Army

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Never one to allow his rival Montgomery to get the glory, Patton quickly pushed through western Sicily, liberating Palermo and then swiftly driving on east to Messina ahead of Montgomery.

Related Topics:
Sicily - Palermo - Messina

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Patton's bloodthirsty speeches resulted in controversy when it was claimed one inspired the Biscari Massacre in which American troops killed seventy-six prisoners of war. Patton's career nearly ended in August of 1943. While visiting hospitals and commending wounded soldiers, he slapped and verbally abused Privates Paul G. Bennet and Charles H. Kuhl, whom he thought were exhibiting cowardly behavior. The soldiers were suffering from various forms of battle fatigue or shell-shock, and had no visible wounds (though one was subsequently found to have dysentery). Because of this action, Patton was kept out of public view for some time and secretly ordered to apologize to the soldiers. Ironically, many modern day psychiatrists who have examined these incidents have professed that at the time Patton himself might have been suffering from battle fatigue. When news of Patton's acts was made public, there were calls from some that he should either resign or be fired from his position. Patton also was relieved of command of the Seventh Army prior to its operations in Italy.

Related Topics:
Biscari Massacre - August - 1943 - Paul G. Bennet - Charles H. Kuhl - Battle fatigue - Shell-shock - Dysentery - Italy

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However, while Patton was temporarily relieved of his duty, his prolonged stay in Sicily was interpreted by the Germans to be indicative of an upcoming invasion of southern France and later, a stay in Cairo was interpreted as an upcoming invasion through the Balkans. The fear of General Patton helped to tie up many German troops and would be an important factor in the months to come.

Related Topics:
Cairo - Balkans

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Normandy

In the period leading to the Normandy invasion, Patton gave public talks as commander of the fictional First U.S. Army Group (FUSAG), which was supposedly intending to invade France by way of Calais. This was part of a sophisticated Allied campaign of military deception, Operation Fortitude.

Related Topics:
Normandy invasion - France - Calais - Operation Fortitude

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Following the Normandy invasion, Patton was placed in command of the U.S. Third Army, which was on the extreme right (west) of the Allied land forces. He led this army during Operation Cobra, the breakout from earlier slow fighting in the Norman system of planting hedgerows, besieged Cherbourg, and then moved south and east, assisting in trapping several hundred thousand German soldiers in the Chambois pocket, near Falaise. Patton used Germany's own blitzkrieg tactics against them, covering 600 miles in just two weeks. Patton's forces freed the bulk of northern France and circled Paris while French Marshal Philippe de Hauteclocque ("Leclerc") assisted the insurgents who were fighting in the city, liberating it.

Related Topics:
U.S. Third Army - Operation Cobra - Cherbourg - Chambois pocket - Falaise - Blitzkrieg - Paris - Marshal - Philippe de Hauteclocque

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Lorraine

Patton's offensive, however, came to a screeching halt on August 31, 1944, as the army simply ran out of gasoline near the Meuse river, just outside of Metz, France. The time needed to resupply was just enough to give the Germans the time they needed to further fortify the fortress of Metz. In October and November, the Third Army was mired in a near-stalemate with the Germans, inflicting heavy casualties on one another. By November 23, however, Metz had finally fallen to the Americans, the first time the city had fallen since the Franco-Prussian War.

Related Topics:
August 31 - 1944 - Meuse river - Metz - France - November 23 - Franco-Prussian War

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Ardennes offensive

By late 1944, the German army made a last-ditch offensive across Belgium, Luxembourg, and northeastern France. The Ardennes Offensive (better known as the Battle of the Bulge), was the last major offensive of the German army in World War II. On December 16, 1944, the German army threw 29 divisions (totaling some 250,000 men) at a weak point in the Allied lines and made massive headway towards the Meuse River during one of the worst winters in Europe in years.

Related Topics:
1944 - Belgium - Luxembourg - Ardennes Offensive - Battle of the Bulge - December 16 - Meuse River

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Patton abruptly turned the Third Army north (a considerable tactical and logistical achievement), disengaging from the front line to relieve the surrounded and besieged 101st Airborne Division trapped in Bastogne. It is believed by many that no other general and no other army in history could have performed this feat. By February, the Germans were once again in full retreat and Patton moved into the Saar Basin of Germany.

Related Topics:
101st Airborne Division - Bastogne - Saar

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3rd Army crossed the Rhine at Oppenheim on March 22 1945. He then sent a task force,so-called Task Force Baum. to liberate the Hammelburg Prison Camp which included his son-in-law, John K. Waters.

Related Topics:
Oppenheim - March 22 - 1945 - Task Force Baum - John K. Waters

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Patton was planning to take Prague, Czechoslovakia, when the forward movement of American forces was halted. Nevertheless, his troops liberated Pilsen (May 6, 1945) and most of West Bohemia.

Related Topics:
Prague, Czechoslovakia - Pilsen - May 6 - 1945 - Bohemia

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After the German Surrender

In the aftermath of the victory in Europe, Patton was disappointed by the Army's refusal to give him another combat command in the Pacific. Unhappy in his role as the military governor of Bavaria and depressed by his belief that he would never fight in another war, Patton's behavior and statements became increasingly erratic. He also made many anti-Russian and anti-Semitic statements in letters home.

Related Topics:
Pacific - Bavaria

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Carlo D'Este, in ', writes that "it seems virtually inevitable ... that Patton experienced some type of brain damage from too many head injuries" from a lifetime of numerous auto- and horse-related accidents, especially one suffered while playing polo in 1936.

Related Topics:
Carlo D'Este - Polo - 1936

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Another possibility, is that Patton may have suffered from Asperger's syndrome (or high functioning autism), where dyslexia was but one of several autistic behavioral traits exhibited.http://www.defendingtruth.org/content_print.asp?content_id=41http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/committees/historic/education/reports-03/edr03-06-vol02-04.htmhttp://www.ldonline.org/article.php?max=20&id=598&loc=38

Related Topics:
Asperger's syndrome - High functioning autism - Dyslexia - Autistic

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Whatever the cause, Patton found himself once again in trouble with his superiors and the American people. While speaking to a group of reporters, he compared the Nazis to losers in American political elections. Patton was soon relieved of his Third Army command and transferred to the Fifteenth Army, a paper command preparing a history of the war.

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Bitter and intending to resign from the Army, in October 1945 General Patton assumed control of the Fifteenth Army. However, on December 9, 1945 he suffered serious injuries from an auto accident. Many conspiracy theorists believe that the drivers operating the car were ordered to hit him because of the belief that he was going to run for President when he came back to the United States, or because of his quarrels with occupation policies such as the Morgenthau Plan.http://rense.com/general63/patton.htm Patton died on December 21, 1945, and was buried in the American War cemetery in Hamm, Luxembourg.

Related Topics:
1945 - December 9 - Conspiracy theorists - United States - Morgenthau Plan - December 21 - Hamm, Luxembourg

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