The Hot Headed General George S. Patton Jr: The Tank Pioneer; “Our Unfortunate Duty”

A Great Commander Loses His Temper 
Did you know that George S. Patton was in danger of being fired during World War II? After reorganizing, re-energizing, and leading American troops to victory in the North African desert, Lieutenant General Patton was placed in command of the U.S. Seventh Army in the summer of 1943. Patton’s army, in cooperation with the British Eighth Army under General Bernard Montgomery, invaded the island of Sicily, in Italy, in July 1943, and quickly took the city of Palermo and then part of Messina. The joint American and British campaign in Sicily was a dramatic success and lasted only 38 days. 

The hard-fought victory in Sicily increased Patton’s popularity at home in the United States, but may have stressed the great commander to the breaking point. Twice, in August 1943, Patton lost his temper when he encountered hospitalized soldiers who, while not physically wounded, were suffering from battle fatigue (stress). He accused both soldiers of cowardice, struck one across the mouth with his glove, and threatened to have the other shot. When doctors and hospital staff complained, General Dwight D. Eisenhower (later to be President of the United States) asked Patton for an explanation and directed him to apologize if reports of the incidents were true. Patton apologized to both men, the hospital staff, and his divisions, but when the incidents became public there were loud cries for Patton’s removal. In the end, General Eisenhower accepted Patton’s apologies and Patton went on lead his troops to dramatic victories in France and Germany later in the war. 

Patton and the Bonus March of 1932 
Did you know that George S. Patton once battled fellow World War I veterans in the streets of Washington, D.C.? The Great Depression of the 1930s spread economic misery, despair, and heartbreak across America. By 1932, nearly one-third of working Americans were unemployed and desperate for relief. Many veterans of World War I felt that the federal government owed them a particular debt for their sacrifice and service during the war. They began to organize and demand that Congress approve an early payment of pension funds that was not due until 1945. 

Patton and the Bonus March of 1932 
In the summer of 1932, about 20,000 unemployed veterans and their families traveled to Washington, D.C., from across the United States to lobby Congress. Some of these “Bonus Marchers” camped out in shacks and tents, which they mockingly called “Hoovervilles” after President Herbert Hoover. Others occupied abandoned and partially dismantled buildings near the Capitol. Although the marchers were not disorderly or unruly, the Hoover administration and local officials feared this group of around 5,000 might turn into a mob. The tense situation exploded on July 28, 1932, when a marcher was killed during a scuffle with police, and federal troops were called in to restore order. 

One of the first federal officers to arrive in Washington, D.C., was Major George S. Patton. His cavalry troops met up with infantry at the Ellipse, near the White House. Patton and the federal troops, equipped with gas masks, bayonets and sabers, marched up Pennsylvania Avenue, firing gas grenades and charging and subduing the angry crowd. Later that night, Patton and the federal troops cleared out the marchers’ camp in Anacostia, with some tents and shacks catching fire in the process. By the following morning, most marchers had left Washington, but the incident left bitter memories and affected Patton deeply. He called it the “most distasteful form of service” and later wrote several papers on how federal troops could restore order quickly with the least possible bloodshed. 

Why did George Patton lose his temper and nearly his command? No one knows for sure. Some historians think that Patton was stressed by terrible scenes of the wounded and dying in the hospital, his sometimes difficult relationship with the British, and several “friendly fire” incidents in which Allied aircraft had bombed American troops by mistake. Patton himself probably explained the strong feelings leading to his explosive behavior best, saying, “I love and admire good soldiers and brave men. I hate and despise slackers and cowards.” 

George S. Patton Jr., Tank Pioneer 
Can you imagine that the U.S. Army had almost no tanks when America entered World War I in 1917? The tank was then a new weapon that had only occasionally been used in battle. When the U.S. Army decided to form a Tank Corps in late 1917, Captain George S. Patton volunteered to help create this completely new force. Patton learned all he could about tank design, operation and repair from the leading Allied experts and observed the first large-scale use of tanks by British forces at Cambrai, France, in December 1917. A quick learner, Patton soon set out to establish the first training school for U.S. tank crews at Langres, France. 

After founding the first U.S. tank training school, Patton was immediately presented with a major problem–he didn’t have any tanks to train his troops with! The entire United States Army had only two tanks based on French designs; one of them powered by a steam engine.

Finally, in February 1918, the French loaned the Americans 22 tanks for the school. Patton personally drove each one from the rail depot; there was no one else at the school who knew how to operate one! Once the tanks had arrived, Patton set about frantically training his troops on the new technology and preparing them for battle. 

The war had been raging in Europe for four terrible years by the time Patton’s tank crews were ready to fight. A stalemate (fighting to a draw) had set in years before and soldiers on both sides were dug into trenches that ran for hundreds of miles along the front lines. Patton and his American tank crews fought in the battle of St. Mihiel and in the massive Meuse-Argonne offensive during September 1918; helping to achieve the ultimate Allied victory that November. Patton himself was wounded in the Meuse-Argonne offensive, awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, and promoted to the rank of colonel. 

Born: November 11, 1885
Died: December 21, 1945

Born into a proud military tradition, George S. Patton Jr. was a pioneer in tank warfare and one of the best known and most effective American generals of World War II. A brilliant battlefield commander and inspiring and colorful leader, Patton was admired by his troops for his great determination. In a series of masterful campaigns, Patton led American forces in World War II to decisive victories in the deserts of North Africa, the fields of Sicily and the plains of Europe. Ironically, this great warrior fought and survived the heat of battle in two world wars, only to die in a traffic accident at the height of his fame and accomplishment.