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George S. Patton Biography, Jr. (November 11, 1885 - December 21, 1945), was a leading American general in World War II.
Early life - George Patton
Patton came from a long line of soldiers who fought and often died in many conflicts, including the American Revolution and, in particular, the Confederate side in the American Civil War.
Born in San Gabriel, California, George Patton attended Virginia Military Institute for one year, then transferred to and graduated from West Point. Although he attended VMI for only one year, he apparently found commonality and brotherhood with the men of the now dormant Beta chapter of Kappa Alpha Order. in 1904 he pledged and became a knight of KA. In 1995 he was posthumously given the Distinguished Achievement Award. It was accepted by his son George S. Patton, IV.
From an early age, the young George Patton sought to become a general and hero. George Patton was an intelligent child, intensively studying classical literature and military history from a young age, but likely suffered from an undiagnosed case of dyslexia, the consequences of which would haunt him throughout his schooling. He learned to read at a very late age as a child, and never learned basic skills such as proper spelling. Because of these difficulties, it took him five years to graduate from West Point.
After graduating from West Point, George Patton participated in the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, representing the United States in the first-ever Modern Pentathlon. Patton finished fifth in the event.
George Patton, along with many other members of his family, often saw vivid, lifelike visions of his ancestors. General George Patton was a staunch believer in reincarnation, and much anecdotal evidence indicates that he held himself to be the reincarnation of the Carthaginian General Hannibal; a Roman legionnaire; a Napoleonic field marshal; and various other historic military figures.
Early military career - George Patton
During the Mexican Border Campaign of 1916, George Patton, while assigned to the 13th Cavalry Regiment in Texas, accompanied then-Brigadier General John J. Pershing as his aide during the Punitive Expedition into Mexico in his pursuit of Pancho Villa. During his service, George Patton, accompanied by ten soldiers of the 6th Infantry Regiment, killed General Julio Cardenas, commander of Villa's personal bodyguard. Patton's success in this regard gained him a level of notoriety back in the United States.
World War I - George Patton
At the onset of the Americans joining the fighting of World War I, General John Pershing promoted Patton to the rank of Captain. While in France, George Patton requested that he be given a combat command and Pershing assigned him command within the newly-formed U.S. Tank Corps. Depending on the source, he either led the U.S. Tank Corps., led the British or was an observer at the Battle of Cambrai, the first battle where tanks were used in a significant force. As the U.S. Tank Corps did not take part in this battle and it is extremely unlikely that a U.S. officer would have commanded British troops, the role of observer is the most likely. From his successes (and the organization of a training school for American tankers in Langres, France), George Patton was promoted twice to the rank of lieutenant colonel and was placed in charge of the U.S. Tank Corps, which was part of the American Expeditionary Force and then the First U.S. Army. He took part in the St. Mihiel offensive of September 1918 and was wounded by machine gun fire as he sought assistance for tanks that were mired in the mud.
For his service in the Meuse-Argonne operations, George Patton received a Purple Heart, a Distinguished Service Cross and was given a battlefield promotion to a full colonel. While Patton was recuperating from his wounds, hostilities ended.
The interwar years - George Patton
While on duty in Washington in 1919, George Patton met and became close friends with Dwight D. Eisenhower, who would play an enormous role in Patton's future career. In the early 1920s, Patton petitioned the U.S. Congress to appropriate funding for an armored force, but had little luck doing so. George Patton also wrote professional articles on tank and armored car tactics, suggesting new methods to use these weapons. He also continued working on improvements to tanks, coming up with innovations in radio communication and tank mounts. However, with little money in the peacetime military for innovation, George Patton eventually transferred back to the cavalry—still a horse-borne force in this era—for career advancement.
George Patton served in Hawaii before returning to Washington to once again ask Congress to allocate funding for armored units. In the late 1930s, Patton was assigned command of Fort Myer, Virginia. Shortly after Germany's blitzkrieg attacks in Europe, Patton was able to finally convince Congress of the need for armored divisions. Shortly after its approval, George Patton was promoted to brigadier general and put in command of the armored brigade.
The brigade eventually grew into the US 2nd Armored Division and George Patton was promoted to major general.
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