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Western tank force patton7/23/2023 ![]() Patton’s first impulse was to resign his commission on the spot, but he held his tongue. ![]() It was an important job, Eisenhower insisted, and the Fifteenth required a good commanding general. The so-called Fifteenth Army-really nothing more than a small headquarters and staff-had been formed to compile the history of the war in Europe. After a heated exchange among Patton, Eisenhower, and Bedell Smith, Eisenhower quietly, even gently, made what he carefully termed a suggestion. To this day, Patton is considered one of the most successful field commanders in U.S history.On September 28, 1945, Eisenhower summoned Patton to his headquarters in the IG Farben Building in Frankfurt. In 1970 the film Patton explored Patton’s complex character, which ran the gamut from seemingly ruthless to surprisingly sentimental. In 1947, his memoir, War as I Knew It, was published posthumously. He died at the hospital in Heidelberg 12 days after, on December 21, 1945. Patton broke his neck in a car crash near Mannheim, Germany. In 1945, Patton and his army managed to cross the Rhine and charge straight into the heart of Germany, capturing 10,000 square miles of enemy territory along the course of the 10-day march, and liberating Germany from the Nazi’s in the process. Nicknamed “Old Blood and Guts” due to his ruthless drive and apparent lust for battle, he wrote home to his wife, “When I’m not attacking, I get bilious.” “Keep on advancing… whether we go over, under, or through the enemy,” Patton told his troops. Under Patton’s leadership, the 3rd Army swept across France, capturing town after town. On D-Day in 1944, when the allies invaded Normandy, President Roosevelt granted Patton command of the 3rd U.S. army to victory at the invasion of Sicily. In 1943 he used daring assault and defense tactics to lead the 7th U.S. It was during WWII that Patton hit the high point of his military career. He was later wounded in the battle of Meuse-Argonne and later earned the Distinguished Service Medal for his leadership of the tank brigade and establishing the tank school. ![]() He organized the American tank school in Bourg, France, and trained American tankers to pilot the French Renault tanks. Patton studied this battle and established himself as one of the leading experts in tank warfare. Tanks had proven effective in France at the Battle of Cambrai. In 1917, during WWI, Patton was the first officer assigned to the new American Expeditionary Force tank corps. Pershing promoted Patton to captain and invited him to lead Pershing’s Headquarters Troop once they left Mexico. In Mexico, Patton impressed Pershing by personally shooting Mexican leader Julio Cardenas during the Battle of Columbus. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces in Mexico. Patton had his first real taste of battle in 1915, when leading cavalry patrols against Pancho Villa at Fort Bliss along the Mexican border. Some even speculate that his explosive temper and incessant cursing were the result of a skull injury in his 20s. Despite his grace with a sword, Patton had a reputation for being an accident prone young man. In 1913 he was ordered to the post of Master of the Sword at the Mounted Service School in Kansas, where he taught swordsmanship while also attending as a student. He did well in the fencing portion and placed fifth overall. In 1912 Patton competed in the Pentathlon at the Stockholm Olympics. In 1910 he married Beatrice Ayer, a childhood friend. Military Academy at West Point, graduating on June 11, 1909. Striving to follow in their footsteps, he enrolled in Virginia Military Institute in 1904. During his childhood, he heard countless stories of his ancestors’ victories in the American Revolution and Civil War. Born November 11, 1885, in San Gabriel, California, as a young boy, George Patton set his sights on becoming a war hero.
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