One of the most complicated military men of all
time, General George Smith Patton, Jr. was born November 11, 1885 in San
Gabriel, California. He was known for carrying pistols with ivory handles and
his intemperate manner, and is regarded as one of the most successful United
States field commanders of any war. He continually strove to train his troops to
the highest standard of excellence.
Patton decided during childhood that
his goal in life was to become a hero. His ancestors had fought in the
Revolutionary War, the Mexican War and the Civil War, and he grew up listening
to stories of their brave and successful endeavors. He attended the Virginia
Military Institute for one year and went on to graduate from the United States
Military Academy at West Point on June 11, 1909. He was then commissioned a
Second Lieutenant in the 15th cavalry Regiment.
Patton married Beatrice
Ayer, whom he dated while at West Point, on May 26, 1910. In 1912 he represented
the United States at the Stockholm Olympics in the first Modern
Pentathlon
Patton's first real exposure to battle occurred when he served
as a member of legendary General John J. Pershing's staff during the expedition
to Mexico. In 1915, Patton was sent to Fort Bliss along the Mexican border where
he led routine cavalry patrols. A year later, he accompanied Pershing as an aide
on his expedition against Francisco "Pancho" Villa into Mexico. Patton gained
recognition from the press for his attacks on several of Villa's
men.
Impressed by Patton's determination, Pershing promoted him to
Captain and asked him to command his Headquarters Troop upon their return from
Mexico. With the onset of World War I in 1914, tanks were not being widely used.
In 1917, however, Patton became the first member of the newly established United
States Tank Corps, where he served until the Corps were abolished in 1920. He
took full command of the Corps, directing ideas, procedures and even the design
of their uniforms. Along with the British tankers, he and his men achieved
victory at Cambrai, France, during the world's first major tank battle in
1917.
Using his first-hand knowledge of tanks, Patton organized the
American tank school in Bourg, France and trained the first 500 American
tankers. He had 345 tanks by the time he took the brigade into the Meuse-Argonne
Operation in September 1918. When they entered into battle, Patton had worked
out a plan where he could be in the front lines maintaining communications with
his rear command post by means of pigeons and a group of runners. Patton
continually exposed himself to gunfire and was shot once in the leg while he was
directing the tanks. His actions during that battle earned him the Distinguished
Service Cross for Heroism, one of the many medals he would collect during his
lifetime.
After WWI, Patton held a variety of staff jobs in Hawaii and
Washington, D.C. He graduated from the Command and General Staff School in 1924,
and completed his military schooling as a distinguished graduate of the Army War
College in 1932.
The United States officially entered World War II in
December 1941, after the attack on Pearl Harbor. By November 8, 1942, Patton was
commanding the Western Task Force, the only all-American force landing for
Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa. After succeeding there,
Patton commanded the Seventh Army during the invasion of Sicily in July 1943,
and in conjunction with the British Eighth Army restored Sicily to its
citizens.
Patton commanded the Seventh Army until 1944, when he was given
command of the Third Army in France. Patton and his troops dashed across Europe
after the battle of Normandy and exploited German weaknesses with great success,
covering the 600 miles across France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria and
Czechoslovakia. When the Third Army liberated the Buchenwald concentration camp,
Patton slowed his pace. He instituted a policy, later adopted by other
commanders, of making local German civilians tour the camps. By the time WWII
was over, the Third Army had liberated or conquered 81,522 square miles of
territory.
In October 1945, Patton assumed command of the Fifteenth Army
in American-occupied Germany. On December 9, he suffered injuries as the result
of an automobile accident. He died 12 days later, on December 21, 1945 and is
buried among the soldiers who died in the Battle of the Bulge in Hamm,
Luxembourg.
Remembered for his fierce determination and ability to lead
soldiers, Patton is now considered one of the greatest military figures in
history. The 1970 film, "Patton," starring George C. Scott in the title role,
provoked renewed interest in Patton. The movie won seven Academy Awards,
including Best Actor and Best Picture, and immortalized General George Smith
Patton, Jr. as one of the world's most intriguing military
men.
Nazi-Germany had some excellent marshalls like Erwin Rommel, Albert
von Kesselring and Gerd von Rundstedt. They all respected Patton per distance.
Gerd von Rondstedt (the Marshall, who after Stalingrad called Adolf Hitler for
the Boemian korporal) said after WW2 to the Allied reporters with the usual
sharp militarian precision: "Patton was your best!".
George S. Patton, Jr. - 1885 -
1945
Lederskab, sagde Patton, er det, der sikrer sejren. Jeg har det -
men Fanden tage mig, om jeg kan definere det. Det består formentlig i at vide,
hvad du vil, gøre det og blive vred, hvis nogen står i vejen. Selvsikkerhed og
lederskab er tvillinger.
Den sublime ironi består i, at Pattons
selvsikkerhed var skuespil, tvungen og unaturlig, naglet til hans ydre. Men hans
lederskab var virkeligt og inspirerende, næsten håndgribeligt. Det virkede!
Han var tilsyneladende sikkerheden selv i
handling og havde på uforlignelig vis altid ret. Paradoksalt stammede disse
egenskaber fra hans oplevelse af utilstrækkelighed grundet ordblindhed. Patton
stræbte efter perfektion. Hans anstrengelser mundede ud i succes, men med
ubegribelige omkostninger for ham. Aldrig tilfreds med sin egen indsats. Det,
der gjorde det muligt for George Patton at nå det mål, han så brændende ønskede
sig, var ikke kun hans kolossale viljestyrke og handekraft; det var også hans
store held, at hans liv stillede krav om netop de kvaliteter, der er essentielle
for storslået ledelse.
George Patton havde arvet sine karaktertræk fra
den germanske ridder, fra korsfareren, og han var en af USA´s største feltherrer
gennem historien. Hans genialiteter på kamppladsen vil altid være et mysterium,
men også det er en del af legenden.
Bag hans hårde ydre var et følsomt,
letbevægeligt og lunefuldt væsen. Stemningssvingende, som så mange store
personligheder (næsten) altid er....
Hans nærmeste Omar Bradley, Courtney
Hodges, Clark, Bedell Smith og ikke mindst Ike (Dwight Eisenhower) mærkede deres
geniale og stemningssvingende kollega i forskellige situationer. Hans 3 stjerner
matchede ved krigens slutning ikke de andres 4 ( og Eisenhowers 5te). Men hans
fortjenester først i Nordafrika, senere og ikke mindst i Ardennerne med hhv. 7.
og 3. arme kvalificerede som feltmarskal til mange flere, end hvad der var plads
til på hans hjelm. - Selvom de andre generaler periodevis fandt han nærmest
ulidelig, vidste og anerkendte de - nogle i det stille - hans sjældne talent.
Lørdag d. 22.december
1945 udåndede Patton efter en trafikulykke. Hans båre blev ført fra Heidelberg
det sidste stykke i særtog med æresvagter ved samtlige passerede stationer. Han
døde i det land, der var en fjende, men som besad en mentalitet, som han på
flere vinkler respekterede.
Den amerikanske krigskirkegaard i den lille
by Hamm (LUX) indeholder en meget stor og kendt general. Tilstrømningen post
mortem gjorde, at graven nu er placeret forrest ved siden af den lave mur ( også
hans loyale hustru Beatrices aske (1953) blev diskret gravet ned
sammesteds).
NAZI-Tysklands største feltmarskaller Erwin Rommel, Albert
von Kesselring og Gerd von Rundstedt frygtede og respekterede ham. von Rundstedt
(efter Stalingrad kaldte han Adolf Hitler for den bøhmiske korporal) blev efter
krigen spurgt om de allierede. Hans svar kom prompte og militærisk præcist:"
Patton var jeres bedste!"
Ganske få overlevende har oplevet Patton, men den
fantastiske Oscar-normerede film "George Patton" med den (afdøde) næsten lige så
store geniale krukke George C. Scott visualiserer en af De forenede Staters
allerstørste generaler på sublim vis. Enhver Patton ( eller Scott...) -fan, bør
se denne film mindst 1 gang."
