George
Smith Patton, Jr.
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QUOTE: There are three ways that
men get what they want; by planning, by working, and by praying.
Any great military operation takes careful planning, or thinking. Then you must
have well-trained troops to carry it out: that's working. But between the plan
and the operation there is always an unknown. That unknown spells defeat or
victory, success or failure. It is the reaction of the actors to the ordeal
when it actually comes. Some people call that getting the breaks; I call it
God. God has His part, or margin in everything, That's where prayer comes in. (As
quoted in "The True Story of The Patton Prayer" by James H. O'Neill in Review
of the News (6 October 1971))
AUTHOR: George Smith Patton, Jr.
(November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States
Army, best known for his command of the Seventh United States Army, and later
the Third United States Army, in the European Theater of World War II.
Born in 1885 to a
privileged family with an extensive military background, Patton attended the
Virginia Military Institute, and later the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
He participated in the 1912 Olympic pentathlon, and was instrumental in
designing the M1913 "Patton Saber". Patton first saw combat during
the Pancho Villa Expedition, in one of the earliest instances of mechanized
combat. He later joined the newly formed United States Tank Corps of the
American Expeditionary Forces and saw action in World War I, first commanding
the U.S. tank school in France before being wounded near the end of the war. In
the interwar period, Patton remained a central figure in the development of
armored warfare doctrine in the U.S. Army, serving on numerous staff positions
throughout the country. Rising through the ranks, he commanded the U.S. 2nd
Armored Division at the time of the U.S. entry into World War II.
Patton led U.S. troops into
the Mediterranean theater with an invasion of Casablanca during Operation Torch
in 1942, where he later established himself as an effective commander through
his rapid rehabilitation of the demoralized U.S. II Corps. He commanded the
Seventh Army during the Invasion of Sicily, where he beat British General
Bernard Montgomery to Messina. There he was embroiled in controversy after he
slapped two shell-shocked soldiers under his command, and was temporarily
removed from battlefield command. Patton returned to command the Third Army
following the invasion of Normandy in 1944, where he led a highly successful,
rapid armored drive across France. He led the relief of beleaguered U.S. troops
at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, and advanced his army into Nazi
Germany by the end of the war.
After the war, Patton
became the military governor of Bavaria, but he was relieved of this post
because of his statements on denazification. He commanded the Fifteenth United
States Army for slightly more than two months. Patton died following an
automobile accident in Europe on December 21, 1945.
Patton's colorful image,
hard-driving personality and success as a commander were at times overshadowed
by his controversial public statements regarding the Soviet Union which were
out of accord with American foreign policy. But his philosophy of leading from
the front and his ability to inspire his troops with vulgarity-ridden speeches,
such as a famous address to the Third Army,
attracted favorable attention. His strong emphasis on rapid and aggressive
offensive action proved effective. While Allied leaders held sharply differing
opinions on Patton, he was regarded highly by his opponents in the German High
Command. A popular, award-winning biographical film released in 1970 helped
transform Patton into an American folk hero.
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