Patton Essay, Research Paper

Old Blood and Guts

“No bastard has ever won a war by dying for his country, he won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country”. These were the words spoken by General George Patton. He was a man that was renown for his tactical knowledge and his eloquently foul language. You probably asking yourself what dose he mean by eloquently foul language. He could, when necessary, open up with both barrels and let fourth such blue flamed phrases that they seemed almost eloquent in their delivery (Province 1).

There is a lot that you don’t know about General Patton. Most likely you only know about the incident when General Patton hit a solider in the hospital when the solider was diagnosed with battle Fatigue. Patton said “I will not have a coward sitting next to or even in the same tent with these brave men that were wounded in battle”, He then hit the solider. There is another side to him though. He had a love for His Wife and two children., and also for his poetry. Patton was a excellent writer. He believed in reincarnation, and thought that he lived in Rome in a past life.

Patton was born on November 11, 1885 in San Gabriel California (Axelrod 13). Patton had loving parents. His father taught him how to Shoot a rifle, Ride a horse and fence. In school Patton was falling behind. He had a disorder called Dyslexia. His parents feared that once he got into the primary grades that his Classmates would make fun of him, so they pulled him out of school and began home schooling him. Patton took a great interest in History especially the Calvary’s of the Civil War. After Patton had defeated his Dyslexia disorder he enrolled in the Virgin Military Institute for a year of preparation for West Point Military College. In West Point he struggled academically. He was forced to repeat his first year. Although he was falling behind in his academic studies he excelled as an athlete. He was an expert fencer and had a type of determination that singled him out from all the other students.

He graduated from West Point in 1909 with a Second Lieutenants Commission. After graduation He served at a number of military Posts and gained a reputation for energy and ability.

He competed on the Men’s U.S. Pentalathon team in the 1912 Olympics in Stockbeam, Sweden. His fifth place finish overall didn’t get him a medal but Swedish papers said that his fencing was calm and calculated.

With all of his fencing skills and experience he served as an instructor at Fort Riley and was appointed “Master of the Sword”. With his new title, Patton now had the responsibility to write the armies new saber manual. He designed a new Sword that was officially named the M-1913 But was unofficially known as “the Patton Sword”

After he left fort Riley he decided to Join the army and become the leader of a Military army Division. By this time Patton was General Patton and was married.

While he was leading his army through North Africa, The great WWII was beginning. Right after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor and America declared war on Germany and its allies, General Patton was sent into Germany with his army. By this time Patton had a Reputation for a bad mouth. He also had a unique ability regarding profanity. He could liberally sprinkle four letter words into what he was saying and the listeners would hardly take notice of it. (Province, Page 1) When Pattons nephew asked his about profanity Patton replied

“When I want my men to remember something important, I really make it stick, I give it to them double dirty. You cant run an army without profanity; and it has to be eloquent profanity. An army without profanity couldn’t fight its way out of a piss soaked paper bag.” (Shafin, Page 1) Patton always knew what he wanted to say. We always spoke to his troops Extemporaneously. He was nicknamed Old Blood and Guts by his men because he loved the sting of battle and always used the phrase Blood and guts in his speeches. The greatest Speech that anyone has ever given was his famous speech to the Third army. This speech Gives the best example to show that Patton knew how to motivate men and how to get his point across.

Patton’s military achievements caused Authority to overlook strong civilian criticism of some of his methods. Including this wildly reported striking of a battle fatigued solider in august 1943, for with Patton formally apologized for to the Third army.

Many of the things that Patton did were extraordinary. In one month Pattons Armored units (tanks) captured Mayenne, Laval, Le Mans, and Chalons. Which was a task that was unheard of by the American army. In December his forces played a strategic role in defending Bagstone in World War Two’s largest battle *The battle of the Bulge*. By the end of January Nineteen Forty-five Patton’s Forces had reached the German frontier. On March First they took Trier and in ten days they cleared all of north Germany. Pattons army joined with the seventh army and swept through Saar and the Palatinates, Taking one hundred thousand prisoners. As you can see Pattons achievements were not matched and will probably not be matched by anyone else for a long time.

After the war was over Patton settled down with his family and began to live like any other citizen. Like Any other citizen He was subject to the most common cause of death. After surviving two world wars, bullets flying past him inches from his head for almost 4 years. George Patton died in a car accident on December 21, 1945. This was truly one of America’s finest leaders, and he will never be forgotten