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The leading generals of World War Two carried a huge weight on their shoulders. Their decisions could mean the difference between life and death for thousands of men; their actions helped to shape the fate of nations. History has judged some of them as fools, others as butchers, and a handful as military geniuses…
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Transcript provided by YouTube:
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The leading generals of World War Two carried a huge weight on their shoulders.
00:04
Their decisions could mean the difference between life and death for thousands of men;
00:08
their actions helped to shape the fate of nations.
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History has judged some of them as fools, others as butchers, and a handful as military
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geniuses…
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Few, at least on the Allied side, have generated as much controversy in life and death in as
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George S Patton.
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The flamboyant American commander never lost a major battle, but his explosive temper almost
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cost him his career.
00:30
He survived two World Wars, often placing himself in considerable danger, only to die
00:35
in unlikely circumstances within months of Germany’s defeat.
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The unconventional general was a devout Christian, yet he believed he was just the latest incarnation
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of a warrior spirit who’d once fought alongside the likes of Julius Caesar and Napoleon Bonaparte.
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He was the epitome of the rough, tough warrior who reveled in his macho image and seemingly
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lived only for war.
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But he could be a surprisingly sensitive individual who cried at funerals and penned poetry1 throughout
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much of his life.
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In this Biographics video we are going to dive right into the details of this mans life.
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“The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die
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for his.”
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– George S Patton Early Life
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George S Patton was in born in California on November 11, 1885.
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Twenty years earlier the Patton family had lost much of their wealth when they found
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themselves on the losing side of America’s civil war.
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However, by the time of George’s birth the Patton’s were prosperous and influential
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once again.
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The young George knew from an early age that he wanted to be a soldier.
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His main obstacles were his weaknesses in maths and English.
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This was not a result of any lack of natural ability, but rather because his father’s
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mistrust of formal education meant that George hadn’t attended school until he reached
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twelve years of age.
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He caught up quickly but only narrowly passed the entrance exam for West Point, America’s
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most prestigious military academy.
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While Patton would regularly clash with his superiors during World War II, his conduct
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at West Point was exemplary.
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He was particularly successful at sports such as polo and football, playing with such relentless
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aggression that he broke several bones.
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He would later bring this aggression to his method of waging war.
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Olympic Games Patton’s considerable sporting ability did
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not go unnoticed, and he was selected to represent 2 the United States of America in the Modern
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Pentathlon at the 1912 Stockholm Olympic Games.
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He would compete at riding, shooting, fencing, running and swimming, all things that Patton
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excelled at.
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Interestingly, in the event it was Patton’s shooting that may have let him down.
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He fired twenty bullets, but the judges ruled that three of them had missed the target.
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Patton remained adamant that his aim had actually been too good and his shots had passed through
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the hole he had already made in the bullseye.
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It’s possible he was correct, but the judges ruled against him.
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At the end of the first day Patton was placed in a slightly disappointing 21st from 41 competitors.
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Strong performances in each of the remaining events saw him climb all the way to fifth
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place.
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It was the first and last time he competed in the Olympic Games, but he didn’t have
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to wait long to test the accuracy of his shooting in a combat situation…
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Bandit Hunting By 1916 most of the world’s great powers
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were locked together in seemingly interminable combat.
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Only the United States had thus far succeeded in avoiding being drawn into the slaughter.
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However, America did suffer a surprise attack from the direction of Mexico.
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On 9 March 1916 four-hundred heavily-armed bandits led by the notorious Francisco “Pancho”
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Villa stormed across the border.
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For two hours they ransacked and looted the border town of Columbus, before finally being
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chased away by the cavalry.
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If Villa believed he could hide out safely back in Mexico, he was sorely mistaken.
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President Woodrow Wilson ordered the US Army to cross the border and put an end to the
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threat posed by Villa and his bandits.
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John Pershing 3 was given command of the expeditionary force, and he chose Patton to serve as his
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aide.
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Patton would go on to become famous for his skill at commanding fast-moving motorized
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forces, so it’s perhaps fitting that while in Mexico he took part in the first motorized
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action in the history of warfare 4.
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Travelling in three Dodge Touring cars, Patton and his men launched a raid on Villa’s henchmen.
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When the smoke cleared at the end of a brief firefight, three of Villa’s bodyguards lay
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dead.
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Patton ordered their bodies to be strapped to the cars for the drive back to headquarters.
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Pershing was apparently impressed, reportedly saying: “This Patton boy, he’s a real
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fighter!”
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World War I On 6 April 1917 the United States of America
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declared war on Germany and entered World War One.
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Pershing was given command of the American Expeditionary Force, and once again he took
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George Patton at his side.
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Not content to serve as an aide for long, Patton pushed to be given a command of his
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own.
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Pershing offered him an infantry battalion but by that time Patton had become fascinated
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by tanks – powerful yet unreliable weapons still in their infancy since being unleashed
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by the British at the Somme in September of 1916.
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Patton became the first officer assigned to the American Expeditionary Force Tank Corps,
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was one of the first Americans to learn how to operate a tank, and personally taught the
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first crews to be assigned to the Tank Corps.
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The American Expeditionary Force Tank Corps finally went into action in September 1918,
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with Patton riding into battle clinging onto the outside of one of the machines.
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Later that same month he would be badly injured in an act of near-suicidal bravery.
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World War I tanks were seriously underpowered, unreliable, and vulnerable without infantry
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support.
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So when his tanks became isolated during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive 5, Patton called for
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volunteers to help him storm the German lines.
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Only five men stepped forward.
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They were quickly cut down by a hail of German bullets.
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Patton himself was badly injured by a piece of shrapnel which hit him in the thigh.
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He continued to direct the battle from a shell hole, he later refused medical treatment until
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he had completed and submitted his report.
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Patton’s injuries weren’t life threatening, but they were serious.
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By the time he had recovered sufficiently to return to combat the armistice had been
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signed and the guns fallen silent.
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While Patton’s time at the frontlines had been brief, he had done more than enough to
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demonstrate that he possessed the kind of raw courage he expected and demanded of those
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who served under him.
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Between the Wars With the Great War at an end Patton returned
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to the United States of America where he found a good deal to keep him busy.
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He learned to fly, drove the latest automobiles, sailed his yacht, mixed with high society,
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kept a stable of horses, and won hundreds of trophies and ribbons in numerous sporting
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events.
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Such an extravagant lifestyle would ordinarily be well out of reach on a major’s salary.
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However, in 1910 Patton had married Beatrice Ayer, the extremely wealthy heiress of a Boston
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industrialist.
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The Pattons had more than enough money to do almost anything they wanted, but George
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had never wavered from his belief that he was destined to be a great soldier.
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He maintained a special interest in armored warfare, and some visionaries were proclaiming
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that tanks would become the decisive weapon in any future conflict.
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Heinz Guderian in Germany and Charles de Gaulle in France argued that tanks would return mobility
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to the battlefield, punching through enemy positions to create havoc in the rear.
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Patton was thinking along similar lines, and he got the chance to test out some of his
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ideas in 1941 when the US Army held vast wargames 6 across the states of Louisiana and Carolina.
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More than 400,000 soldiers and 1,000 aircraft took part in mock battles held over 30,000
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square miles.
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With Germany once again at war with Britain and Russia, and no guarantees that America
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would be able to remain neutral, it was a much needed opportunity to test out tactics
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and equipment.
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It also served as a test of the men who would lead America’s armies into battle.
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The battles weren’t real, but they were a close enough approximation for sixty-one
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men to lose their lives.
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However, despite these losses, the US Army gained valuable experience, and Patton staked
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his claim to be arguably the US Army’s finest exponent of armored warfare.
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Africa On 7 December 1941 Japan attacked the United
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States of America at Pearl Harbor.
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Four days later Germany declared war on America.
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And with that World War II became a truly global war.
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With plans for a 1942 Allied invasion of Western Europe having been shelved, the Allied High
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Command instead chose to strike at Hitler’s Vichy French allies in North Africa.
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Three separate task forces were launched, with General George Patton taking command
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of 35,000 men of the Western Task Force, sailing for Casablanca from Virginia.
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If Patton had any fears or doubts, he certainly wasn’t showing them, and he wrote in his
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diary: “When I realize what I am, I am amazed,
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but on reflection, who is as good as I am?
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I know of no one 7.”
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Modest too…
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The amphibious landings of 8 November were largely unopposed, and despite some fierce
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resistance as Patton’s men pushed inland, the Vichy French signed an armistice later
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that day.
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Far more formidable than the French, however, was Germany’s Erwin Rommel and his Afrika
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Korps.
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On 14 February 1943 they attacked in force, striking at US forces in Tunisia’s Atlas
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Mountains.
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By the 20th February the immediate crisis was over, but the Americans had been pushed
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back 50 miles.
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Huge amounts of equipment had been abandoned, and 4,000 Americans, including Patton’s
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own son-in-law, had been captured by the Germans.
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With morale on the floor, Eisenhower sacked the commander he held responsible and placed
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all American troops in Tunisia under Patton’s command.
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Patton immediately subjected his men to an intensive drill routine and a strict disciplinary
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code.
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His methods were far from universally popular, but they got results and within a month Patton
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was on the offensive defeating the formidable German 10th Panzer Division at the Battle
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of El Guettar 8.
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Patton rapidly built a reputation for himself in North Africa, but it was here that he began
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his rivalry with Bernard Montgomery, the commander of the British Eighth Army.
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While Patton was bold, aggressive, and often acted on gut instinct, Montgomery was by nature
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a far more cautious man who put great stock in meticulous planning.
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Patton believed Eisenhower deferred to Montgomery far too often, a feeling that was only strengthened
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when the British commander was given the go-ahead to plan the invasion of Sicily…
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Sicily and Scandal The invasion of Sicily was to be a joint operation
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conducted by the British Eighth Army led by Montgomery and the Seventh US Army commanded
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by George Patton.
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Much to Patton’s disgust, Montgomery’s plan placed the main emphasis on the British
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contingent and cast the Americans in the supporting role.
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“This is what you get,” fumed Patton, “when your commander-in-chief (Eisenhower)
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ceases to be an American and becomes an ally.”
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The invasion force landed on the beaches of Sicily on 10 July 1943.
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By nightfall the Allies had put 80,000 men and 300 tanks ashore.
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The next day Patton himself came to inspect the beachhead, wading in through the surf
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even as artillery shells exploded around the beach.
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While it soon became clear that the Germans would not be able to hold Sicily, they fought
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a fierce rear-guard action as they began to evacuate their army to the Italian mainland.
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As Montgomery’s army became bogged down, Patton decided to take a loose interpretation
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of his orders.
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He was expected to support the British, but surely the best way to do so would be to hit
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the Germans hard.
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Patton drove the Seventh Army on, his goal now was to beat Montgomery to the city of
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Messina in the north of the island.
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He was driven not just by personal ambition, but by a desire to prove the American soldier
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was the best in the world…
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The Sicily campaign 9 was fought at a blistering pace in blazing heat; casualties were inevitable…
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On 3 August 1943 Patton visited the wounded at a field hospital.
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When he discovered that one of the patients was physically unhurt but suffering from shellshock,
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he exploded with rage.
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Patton slapped the unfortunate man, dragged him from the tent, kicked him in the backside,
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and threatened to shoot him for cowardice.
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Unfortunately for Patton, this extraordinary display had been conducted under the noses
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of a number of journalists.
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Patton didn’t seem to realize he’d done anything wrong, but striking a subordinate
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was a court martial offence.
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Eisenhower ordered Patton to apologise, begged the witnesses not to report on the incident,
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and hoped that would be enough to protect his most dangerous weapon in the war against
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the Nazis.
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While Patton won his race to Messina and threw the Nazis out of Sicily, his vicious temper
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came back to bite him as word of his assault leaked out in the press.
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There was little more that Eisenhower could do.
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Patton was removed from his command; and with that it seemed as if his career might be over…
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Operation Overlord The invasion of Italy followed on almost as
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a natural consequence of the conquest of Sicily.
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Patton, who was ill-suited to inactivity, could only watch on in frustration.
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Of even greater importance than the campaign in Italy was the long-awaited invasion of
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Western Europe.
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This would take place in June of 1944.
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It was one of the most difficult operations of the war, but Patton would have no direct
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role to play in the invasion…
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Instead he was used as a decoy, given command of an entirely fictitious army 10 intended
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to fool the Germans into believing that a second invasion force was preparing to strike.
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The ruse totally worked.
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The Germans never imagined that the Allies would leave their best offensive general back
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in Britain while such a vital offensive was being fought in France…
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Breakout Patton’s greatest fear was that the war
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would be over before he could get back into it.
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He needn’t have worried though…
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While the success of the initial Allied invasion exceeded expectations, the British and Americans
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made slow progress as they attempted to push inland.
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It wasn’t until the end of July that the Americans finally punched a small hole through
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German lines.
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Omar Bradley, commander of the US ground forces, knew that this was the moment to get Patton
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back in the fray.
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Bradley regarded Patton as difficult to control, unpredictable, and vulgar, but he recognized
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his talents.
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Patton was given command of the newly formed Third Army, a highly mobile force equipped
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with plenty of armor.
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He was ordered to go and break through the German lines…
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Patton quickly got to work, squeezed his armored divisions through the narrowest of gaps in
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the German lines, reformed them on the other side, and within a matter of days his Third
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Army was tearing through open country into Brittany.
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The speed of Patton’s advances often worried his superiors, since he was a risk taker who
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rarely worried about the danger of an attack to his flanks.
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Hitler himself thought he had sniffed out an opportunity to exploit the Allied breakout,
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launch a counterattack, and cut off Patton’s armored spearheads.
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Now this idea did have its merits in theory, but the German Army lacked the strength to
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execute the operation in practice…
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It was instead the Germans who found themselves in danger of being completely encircled at
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Falaise 11.
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Patton believed he was in a position to slam the jaws of the trap shut.
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Bradley, a far more cautious commander than Patton, ordered the Third Army to halt at
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Argentan.
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Patton was furious but complied with the order, even though he suspected Bradley had been
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influenced by Montgomery…
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Race to the Rhine and the Battle of the Bulge Hitler’s failed counterattack led to the
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near collapse of the German Army in France.
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With that, Patton was free to launch his blitzkrieg assault.
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His philosophy was relentless attack and unrelenting pressure that kept the enemy constantly off
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balance and minimized the Third Army’s casualties.
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Patton argued that if he was properly backed he could be across the River Rhine in a matter
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of weeks.
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But he once again found himself in competition with Montgomery as each man attempted to secure
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enough supplies to keep their army moving.
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As Patton complained, “My men can eat their belts, but my tanks have gotta have gas.”
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Although there were still disagreements amongst the leading Allied generals, they were united
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in the belief that Hitler’s armies were all but beaten.
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Germany’s Fuhrer, however, had one last surprise in store.
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On 16 December 1944 the Germans launched a vast counterattack aimed at a thinly held
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section of the American lines at the Ardennes.
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This was the beginning of the battle that would become famous as the Battle of the Bulge.
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The sudden, furious assault badly rattled most Allied commanders, but Patton recognized
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at once that Hitler had made a serious strategic error.
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“Let the sons of bitches go all the way to Paris if they like,” he joked, “then
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we can really cut them off and chew them up.”
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Eisenhower summoned his senior commanders to an emergency conference, where he asked
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how long it would take Patton to divert his Third Army to the Ardennes.
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Patton told him he could have three divisions there within 48 hours.
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This seemingly fantastical claim was met with a mixture of laughter and disbelieving stares,
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but Patton was entirely serious.
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He’d anticipated Eisenhower’s request and his staff were already making preparations
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to disengage the part of the Third Army, wheel it around, and race to the rescue 12 along
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narrow icy roads.
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The Battle of the Bulge gave the Allied High Command a shock, but as Patton had predicted
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it accomplished nothing and cost Hitler his last reserves.
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Now the River Rhine was the last significant obstacle the Western Allies had to tackle.
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The main crossing was to be launched by Montgomery, and he spent two months planning every last
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detail of the operation, which called for an airborne assault, a huge artillery bombardment,
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and even the assistance of specialized US Navy vessels.
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Montgomery’s crossing was launched on 23rd March, by which time Patton had already stolen
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his thunder by quietly sneaking a division across under cover of darkness and establishing
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a bridgehead on the other side.
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He phoned Bradley to let him know what he’d done: “But don’t tell anyone because the
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krauts haven’t realized yet.”
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Controversial in Life and Death With the defeat of Germany, Patton tried and
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failed to secure a posting to the Far East to play a part in the war against Japan.
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Instead he was appointed as Governor of Bavaria, a political post to which he was not well
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suited.
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He fell out with the Russians, refused to remove Nazi personnel from key administrative
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positions on the basis that there was nobody else qualified to do the job, and got tricked
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by a reporter into agreeing Nazis joined their party in more-or-less the same way as Americans
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became Democrats or Republicans.
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Patton’s military abilities were not matched by his political instincts, and he had once
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again succeeded in outraging the press.
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His subsequent apology was deemed insufficient and he was removed from his post for the second
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time.
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But at this point, although he didn’t know it, he only had a few months left to live…
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On 9 December 1945 Patton was being driven towards a hunting expedition when the vehicle
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he was travelling in was struck by a truck travelling in the opposite direction.
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Nobody else was hurt, but Patton was paralyzed from the neck down.
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The injured general was rushed to hospital where he died eleven days later.
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He was buried in Europe alongside the fallen soldiers of his beloved Third Army.
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Patton had always wanted to die in battle, instead he’d lost his life as a result of
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a low speed collision in peacetime.
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Not everybody accepts the official version of Patton’s demise.
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It has been suggested that Patton may have been assassinated 13 by the Russians, possibly
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even in collusion with the US Government, as a result of his outspoken opposition to
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the Soviet Union.
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He was 60 years old.
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