George S. Patton was an American military officer. His 46 years in the military culminated in his admirable leadership of the U.S. Third Army in France and Germany after the Allied Invasion of Normandy in June 1944. He was an inspiring speaker who motivated his troops with a keen wit and no-nonsense attitude.
George Smith Patton, Jr. was born in November 11, 1885 to an upper-class family with an extensive military background. Although he initially had trouble learning to read and write, George was very intelligent and quickly became an avid reader. He was fascinated by military history and knew that a military career was his destiny at a very young age.
Patton attended the Virginia Military Institute for two years and then transferred to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He struggled with the academic studies but thrived in his military training. He graduated West Point in 1909 and became a second lieutenant in the cavalry. The Army sent him to participate in the 1912 Olympic games, where he placed fifth overall in the pentathlon events.
Patton saw early service in the Pancho Villa Expedition in 1915. He was promoted to Captain at the beginning of World War I, upon departing for Europe in 1917. He was wounded in 1918 and promoted to Colonel, receiving the Distinguished Service Medal for his leadership. When the war ended, he was assigned the permanent rank of Major.
After WWI, Patton received formal command training and continued to advance, achieving the rank of Colonel in 1938. In 1939, World War II started in Europe, and Patton helped prepare the U.S. army for war, achieving the rank of Major General and taking over command of the Second Armored Division. Late in 1942, he was deployed to North Africa, where he quickly dominated the French forces in Casablanca, Morocco. From there, he proceeded to Sicily, Normandy, and Metz, played a key role in the Battle of the Bulge, and advanced into Germany. Patton’s hard-hitting approach proved effective in pushing back the enemy numerous times.
Patton’s success as a commander was largely due to his philosophy that “good leaders lead from the front.†He was firm and unyielding in his leadership. He was viewed by many as a controversial figure, due to his provoking public statements and use of vulgarity in speeches to his troops. Nonetheless, his emphasis on swift and aggressive offensive action throughout the war proved highly effective.
Patton was killed in an unfortunate accident at the end of 1945, only months after the war ended. His tenacity, sense of responsibility to duty, and zeal for perfection made him a formidable opponent. Because of Patton’s unbending leadership strategies, those under his charge learned the discipline of perseverance and the true resilience of the human spirit.