George S. Patton (George Smith Patton Jr.) was a distinguished U.S Army officer known for his strict discipline, toughness, and self-sacrifice during World War II. His prowess in the mobile tank warfare saw him rise into the military ranks in the interwar years leading to World War II. Patton was a colonel in 1938, promoted to temporary brigadier general in1940, became an interim major general on 4 April 1941. Wellard (2017) states that he was eventually made the commander of the 2nd Armored Division on 11 April 1941 when the United States first entered into World War II after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
George S. Patton his expertise in mobile tank warfare in Operation Torch in the Mediterranean theatre and successfully invaded Casablanca in November 1942. As a commanding general of the western task force, George Patton’s success during the Casablanca invasion made him get promoted to the temporary rank of lieutenant general. In August 1943, He led troops of the U.S Seventh Army into Sicily and became the first commander of the Allied forces to have reached Messina (Nowowiejski, 2015).
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During his illustrious and colorful career as a commander during World War II, George Patton maintained his philosophy of inspiring his troops by leading from the front. He, however, at times used attention-seeking vulgar and aggressive public statements which almost overshadowed his success. His hard-driving personality and vulgarity at one point made leaders remove him from the battlefield after slapping two soldiers under his command. However, his aggressive, offensive armored action proved effective and got a vital role in the allied forces hoax and misleading campaign for Operation Overlord (Sanderson, 2015).
While Commanding the Third Army after the end of the Battle of Normandy in 1944, his decisive leadership was instrumental in the armored drive against the Germans who had successful invaded France. Paris attained its liberation after the Allied troops routed the Germans. Patton’s troops swept across France driving the Germans away and liberating town after town. Patton had an apparent lust for battle and was nicknamed “Old Blood and Guts.” He was often heard telling his troops to keep on advancing, and it did not matter whether they were to go over, under, or through the enemy to achieve victory (Wellard, 2017).
Before the Normandy Invasion, Patton commanded the first United States Army Group (FUSAG). FUSAG managed to trick German Commanders that the Allied invasion was to take place in the Pas-de-Calais and not Normandy. The confusion caused distraction in German army camps and Allied troops managed to make a successful landing on the beaches of Normandy with minimal resistance from the enemy. Patton’s Third Army became operational two months after the D-Day (6 June 1994), that is, after the First Army broke the German line. The Third Army aggressively swept through northern France in pursuit of German forces. Patton’s Third Army managed to capture Mayenne, Laval, Le Mans, Reims, and Chalons away from the frustrated Nazi Forces (Sanderson, 2015).
After the collapse of German resistance in Normandy, Patton’s Third Army marched straight towards the German border. However, supply shortages and resistance from German defenses at Nancy and Metz slowed their advance in November. The Germans launched a massive counterattack in December 1944 in the Ardennes Forest and successfully managed to encircle U.S 101st Airborne Division at Bastogne. Following the order of Supreme Allied Commander Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, Patton repositioned troops in the Third Army to relieve Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge (Ardennes Counteroffensive) (Wellard, 2017).
The Battle of the Bulge happened to be German’s last offensive warfare campaigns on the Western front against the Allied forces. Ardennes Counteroffensive, which was in the densely forested Ardennes in northeast France, took place from 16 December 1944 to 25 January 1945 (Sanderson, 2015). The Germans became offensive to split the allied forces and to stop the Western Allies from using the Belgium port of Antwerp. A surprise attack from the Western Allies on the morning of 16 December 1944 severely depleted Germany’s armored forces making it impossible for them to find a replacement in time. The Battle of the Bulge turned out to be the bloodiest battle the United States engaged in during World War II.
Elements of Patton’s Third Army reached Bastogne on 26 December and acted as additional reinforcement to the Allied forces. Patton’s troops were aggressive and pushed the enemy back until they reached the German frontier by the end of January 1945. Patton’s forces were relentless until they took Trier on 1 March 1945. Patton took Trier with two divisions, yet some other Allied commander had instructed him to bypass the Trier city. The commanders thought that it would take a total of four division for the Allied forces to take the town successfully. For almost two weeks, Patton’s Third Army swept the entire region north of Moselle River and captured thousands of enemy soldiers. Later, the Third Army joined forces with the Seventh forces, and together they swept the regions of Saar and Palatinate (Nowowiejski, 2015). The two Army division captured more than one hundred German soldiers as prisoners of war.
The Third Army, under the command of George S. Patton, fought four nine months and managed to capture more than two hundred thousand square Kilometer from the Germans. Patton and his Third Army crossed the Rhine River into Germany and became pivotal in liberating Germany from Nazi rule. Germany eventually surrendered on 7 May 1945, there was a defeat of the Axis powers, and World War II finally ended on 2 September 1945.
References
Nowowiejski, L. C. D. A. (2015). Concepts Of Information Warfare In Practice:: General George S. Patton And The Third Army Information Service, Aug.-Dec., 1944 . Pickle Partners Publishing.
Sanderson, J. R. (2015). General George S. Patton, Jr.: Master of Operational Battle Command. What Lasting Battle Command Lessons Can We Learn From Him? . Pickle Partners Publishing.
Wellard, J. H. (2017). General George S. Patton, Jr.: Man under Mars . Pickle Partners Publishing.
