Who was George S. Patton?

He was a U.S. Army general in the Second World War (1885 to 1945), best known for leading the Third Army across France and relieving Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge.

What is Patton famous for?

For his fast, aggressive armored warfare, the Third Army's rapid advance across France in 1944, and the drive that broke through to the besieged town of Bastogne.

What did Patton do in the Battle of the Bulge?

When German forces surrounded Bastogne in December 1944, Patton rapidly turned his army north and attacked through harsh winter conditions to relieve the trapped Americans.

Why was Patton controversial?

He was outspoken and blunt, and in 1943 he slapped two hospitalized soldiers suffering from combat stress, a scandal that nearly ended his career, but his skill as a field commander was widely recognized.

He survived the war but died in December 1945 from injuries sustained in a car accident in occupied Germany.

How is Patton remembered?

As the boldest and fastest-moving American general of the Second World War, a master of armored warfare whose Third Army covered enormous ground.

George S. Patton: America's fighting general

George S. Patton believed the way to win was to attack, and keep attacking. Brash, profane and utterly confident, he drove his Third Army across France faster than the enemy could react, and when a German offensive surrounded American troops at Bastogne, he wheeled his army north and broke through to relieve the defenders. Few generals so completely embodied speed and aggression in war.

Compare: Patton vs Rommel, Patton vs Montgomery

A soldier born for war

Born in California in 1885, Patton was a West Point graduate¹, an Olympic athlete and a pioneer of armored warfare² who commanded American tanks in the First World War³, where the weapon had first appeared. Between the wars he championed the tank when few listened, convinced that fast armor would decide the next war.

Patton in First World War uniform standing in front of a small Renault tank — Lieutenant Colonel George S. Patton Jr. of the 1st Tank Battalion beside a French Renault FT tank in France, summer 1918. US Army Signal Corps photograph. Public domain

The dash across France

After leading American troops in North Africa and Sicily, Patton took command of the Third Army in 1944 and drove it across France with breathtaking speed¹ after the First Army's Cobra breakout tore open the German line, outrunning his own supplies as the enemy reeled backward.

Portrait of General George S. Patton — George S. Patton, U.S. Army photograph. Public domain.

His answer to almost any problem in war was to attack.

Bastogne and the Bulge

In December 1944 a surprise German offensive in the Ardennes surrounded the American garrison at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. The 101st Airborne held the encircled town, refusing to surrender⁴, until, in a feat of staff work and drive, Patton turned his army ninety degrees and struck north⁴ through winter weather to break through to them, one of the most celebrated actions of a much larger battle.

Map of the German salient in the Ardennes in December 1944 — The German advance into the Ardennes during the Battle of the Bulge, December 1944, around the encircled town of Bastogne. Redrawn from a map in the US Army official history The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge. Public domain

A sudden end

Blunt and often controversial, Patton was as famous for his temper as for his victories. In 1943 in Sicily he slapped two hospitalized soldiers⁵ suffering from combat stress and accused them of cowardice, a scandal that nearly ended his career and forced a public apology. He survived the war only to die in December 1945 from injuries in a car accident in Germany¹. He is remembered as the most aggressive American field commander of the Second World War.

White cross marking Patton's grave in a military cemetery — Patton's grave at the American military cemetery in Hamm, Luxembourg, photographed in May 1949. US Army photograph. Public domain

See his greatest fight at the Battle of the Bulge, or explore the greatest battles of the Second World War.

Sources and notes

Numbered notes in the text point to the works below.

Encyclopaedia Britannica, “George S. Patton” ↩ a b c
Carlo D'Este, Patton: A Genius for War (HarperCollins, 1995). ↩
Martin Blumenson, Patton: The Man Behind the Legend, 1885-1945 (William Morrow, 1985). ↩
Hugh M. Cole, The Ardennes: Battle of the Bulge (United States Army in World War II) (Office of the Chief of Military History, Department of the Army, 1965). ↩ a b
Encyclopaedia Britannica, “George S. Patton slapping incidents” ↩
Wikipedia, “George S. Patton, Wikipedia”