Why was george c Patton a hero?

Answer 1

George Patton
George Patton was the U'S.'s most distinguished combat commander. He was outstanding at training and staff work. His ability to command a staff went back to his experience with General Pershing in Mexico. Again in France during WW1 Pershing appointed Patton to the command of the new Tank Corps.
George Patton was born in San Gabriel, California, on 11th November, 1885. He attended West Point but along with his friend Hodges, was forced to leave after a year because of poor test results. Patton restarted the course and graduated in 1909 (46/103) and won a commission in the cavalry
Patton's first real exposure to battle occurred when he served as a member of legendary General John J. Pershing's staff during the expedition to Mexico. He accompanied Pershing as an aide on his expedition against Francisco "Pancho" Villa into Mexico.
Impressed by Patton's determination, Pershing promoted him to Captain and asked him to command his Headquarters Troop upon their return from Mexico.

"In France In 1917, Pershing selected Patton to become the first member of the newly established United States Tank Corps, where he served until the Corps were abolished in 1920. He took full command of the Corps, directing ideas, procedures and even the design of their uniforms. Along with the British tankers, he and his men achieved victory at Cambrai, France, during the world's first major tank battle in 1917".

NOTE: The above italicized section is a well known, yet notoriously fictional account.

The Real deal:

• George S. Patton Jr. did not lead any U.S. Tanks or troops or anyone else at the Battle of Cambrai. He was certainly not a combatant and almost certainly not even there. The U.S. Tank Corps didn't exist - it was formed at the end of December 1917, a month after the battle, with Samuel Rockenbach in command. At the time of Cambrai the USA had no Tanks, and the only American troops involved were some railroad engineers who got caught in a German counter-attack. On the morning of the attack Patton's Diaries state that he was at the French Tank Training School at Champlieu, 75 miles away. Ten days later, after the offensive had stalled, he visited British Tank H.Q. at Albert, 30 miles from Cambrai. His diaries make no mention of his having observed or in any way participated in the battle.

• Cambrai was not the world's first major tank battle, merely the largest so far. The French used over 130 of their own tanks in April 1917, and the British 200+ in July. Nor was it a victory. After an initial success, almost all the ground gained was retaken by German counter-attacks and more than 70 tanks captured. After 17 days the Front remained almost exactly where it had been.

• The U.S. Tank Corps received its first Tanks in May 1918. Patton first saw action on September 12th, 1918.

Using his first-hand knowledge of tanks, Patton organized the American tank school in Bourg, France and trained the first 500 American tankers. He had 345 tanks by the time he took the brigade into the Meuse-Argonne Operation in September 1918. When they entered into battle, Patton had worked out a plan where he could be in the front lines maintaining communications with his rear command post by means of pigeons and a group of runners. Patton continually exposed himself to gunfire and was shot once in the leg while he was directing the tanks. His actions during that battle earned him the Distinguished Service Cross for Heroism, one of the many medals he would collect during his lifetime.

An outspoken advocate for tanks, Patton saw them as the future of modern combat. Congress, however, was not willing to appropriate funds to build a large armored force. Even so, Patton studied, wrote extensively and carried out experiments to improve radio communications between tanks. He also helped invent the co-axial tank mount for cannons and machine guns.

After WWI, Patton held a variety of staff jobs in Hawaii and Washington, D.C. He graduated from the Command and General Staff School in 1924, and completed his military schooling as a distinguished graduate of the Army War College in 1932.

When the German Blitzkrieg began on Europe, Patton finally convinced Congress that the United States needed a more powerful armored striking force. With the formation of the Armored Force in 1940, he was transferred to the Second Armored Division at Fort Benning, Georgia and named Commanding General on April 11, 1941. Two months later, Patton appeared on the cover of Life magazine. Also during this time, Patton began giving his famous "Blood and Guts" speeches in an amphitheater he had built to accommodate the entire division.
The United States officially entered World War II in December 1941, after the attack on Pearl Harbor. By November 8, 1942, Patton was commanding the Western Task Force, the only all-American force landing for Operation Torch, the Allied invasion of North Africa. After succeeding there, Patton commanded the Seventh Army during the invasion of Sicily in July 1943, and in conjunction with the British Eighth Army restored Sicily to its citizens.

Patton commanded the Seventh Army until 1944, when he was given command of the Third Army in France. Under Patton's command the third army moved rapidly across Europe after the battle of Normandy and exploited German weaknesses with great success, covering the 600 miles across France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia. When the Germans launched the massive offensive that began the Battle of the Bulge it was Patton who shifted third Army hundred's of miles in the middle of a severe winter storm to smash into the German flank and relieve Bastogne.
When the Third Army liberated the Buchenwald concentration camp, Patton slowed his pace. He instituted a policy, later adopted by other commanders, of making local German civilians tour the camps. By the time WWII was over, the Third Army had liberated or conquered 81,522 square miles of territory.

In October 1945, Patton assumed command of the Fifteenth Army in American-occupied Germany. On December 9, he suffered injuries as the result of an automobile accident. He died 12 days later, on December 21, 1945 and is buried among the soldiers who died in the Battle of the Bulge in Hamm, Luxembourg.


In addition (More corrected facts to replace common inaccuracies):

• Patton was in command of the Light Tank Brigade, not the Tank Corps (that was Col. Rockenbach). He was in command of about 144 Renault FT tanks, not 345. That appears to be a confusion with the fact that Patton was in command of the 345th Battalion in September 1918.
• Patton did not design the Tank Corps uniform. The U.S. Army did that. Patton asked some of his officers to design a sleeve badge for their existing uniforms and the Tank Corps adopted the result - a triangle divided into red, yellow, and blue arrowheads.

Remembered for his fierce determination and ability to lead soldiers in Battle, Patton is now considered one of the greatest military figures in history. Patton was a scholar of military theory and history. He wrote poetry. He believed he was a reincarnated warrior fated to lead troops in battle.
The movie Patton captured some of his outstanding characteristics and one scene was of him discussing his memories of a historical Battle in Africa.

Answer 2

George Patton was a General in World War 2 who had served in other wars too. He had a bigger than life personality with traits that made him capable of being a hard charging officer who fought with his men. In Europe he led the US Army tank division against the German Nazi army. He could move his forces fast and far ahead of the supply lines. Some Germans greatly feared him. They would run when they heard he was coming. He was ONE of the reasons the Allied Forces won World War 2.

He was smart enough to adopt the blitzkrieg method of the Germans against the Germans. No one could get along with him because he was so ill-mannered but they could not do without him because he was not afraid to fight and secure victories in battle. Suggestion: If you can find the movie Patton or parts of it on You Tube or a video you should watch it. You can see plenty of films from World War 2 of the real Patton on the History Channel and their web site. He is a man not to miss observing and learning from.

Answer 3

The most important by far was insistent on using armor in warfare. He saw early the advantage of armor and the importance it would be in upcoming wars. At the time of the start of WW2 he was the go to guy about armor warfare. It was decided that he would be the obvious choice to lead the US in it's first battles in WW2 against Germany in North Africa. The African campaign was largely an armor clash.
He was also known for aggresive battle doctorines. He did not believe an Arny should defend or hold positions, always attack and be on the offensive. He is also known for turning his army 90 degrees in a matter of days in terrible winter conditions to relieve the forces surrounded at the town of Bastogne in he Battle of the Bulge. No army ever turned direction and traveled as fast as his did in that battle or has one since.

Answer 4

There can be little doubt that Patton's aggressive style helped break Nazi Germany's back. Patton's brilliant campaign as commander of the US Third Army was spectacular to say the least.

Also, Patton was the Allied commander most feared by the Germans.

Answer 5

George Patton led troops into Italy's mainland during World War II.

Answer 6

Patton was probably the US's best field commander. Aggressive and combative, Patton almost single handed ripped the heart of the Germans with his lightening fast armored attacks in 1944.