Fighting Patton

George S. Patton Jr. Through the Eyes of His Enemies

Harry Yeide

• Publisher: Zenith Press
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN:
  9780760341285
• eBook ISBN:
  9781610597470
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Military Biographies
• Index: History

He is remembered as an officer with few equals. A leader who attained legendary status while commanding corps and armies as a general during World War II. He was also well known for his eccentricity and controversial outspokenness. But no matter the opinion or label attached to his name, few can argue George S. Patton's place as a truly legendary figure in the annals of military history.

George S. Patton Jr. was only five years old when he informed his parents he intended to become "a great general." When he learned to read, the first book he bought was a history of decisive battles. In school he was always organizing sham battles. On his honeymoon in France, he took his young bride to historic battlefields and fortresses. Waging war was Patton's passion and all his life he trained himself to fight. Nothing else really mattered to him.

Many books have been written about Patton. Fighting Patton: George S. Patton Jr. Through the Eyes of His Enemies is the first to examine the legendary general through the eyes of his enemies, the opposing German commanders. During his extensive research through German wartime records, noted historian and author Harry Yeide has uncovered hundreds of unpublished unit reports, officer accounts, and telephone transcripts to illuminate the German perspective on how and why they lost their battles with Patton's forces.

This truly unique study follows Patton's rise through the ranks in the Mexican Expedition and World War I, as well as his many campaigns throughout World War II, from Tunisia, Sicily and Normandy to Lorraine, the Bulge, and into the heart of Germany. The result is a fresh take on one of the most storied figures of twentieth-century warfare.

 

ONE

From Kid to Killer

GENERAL GEORGE S. PATTON JR. lost his life on 21 December 1945 as a legend, praised in retrospect as an armored commander even by a defeated enemy. Patton’s daring and leadership had few equals among the Allied warlords, and some of his triumphs were magnificent. He earned his place in military history and popular lore. But was he really, as one of his most knowledgeable biographers, Martin Blumenson, suggested, a “hero even to professional German officers who respected him as the adversary they most feared in battle?”1 Was it true, as Patton’s World War II G-2, Col. Oscar Koch, asserted, that “where Patton was and what he was doing was of constant interest to the enemy high command?”2 What did his mortal enemies really make of Patton and his skills as a combat commander?

How might an enemy come to know of and judge Patton as a military adversary? A man might meet him personally on the battlefield, close enough to look him in the eyes and see the sweat on his brow. Such meetings are rare in modern warfare, yet one antagonist briefly knew Patton in that way. Patton believed fervently in leading in combat from the front, and so an enemy might not see him as an individual on a faceless battlefield, yet know his hand from the tactical and moral performance of men under his command. To the extent that Patton could shape a plan executed by his subordinates, an enemy would learn his ways through the daring and conception of his schemes.

Asked about his views of American commanders after the war, Hitler’s operations chief, Generaloberst Alfred Jodl, commented, “It is difficult, except through some very unusual stroke, to make oneself well known to the opponent.” He praised Lt. Gen. Omar Bradley’s strategic planning and execution of the breakout from Normandy and First Army’s bold seizure of the Remagen bridge. He doubtless knew who Gen. Dwight David “Ike” Eisenhower was, but Patton appeared to be the only other American general he could identify.3

Other, less direct considerations might come into play. The quality of soldiers and formations trained by Patton, compared with the quality of those shaped by other American officers of equivalent station, could say much. So, too, would the combat-leadership merits of the officers selected by Patton to be his chief subordinates. Patton’s skill at extracting the best from his most competent subordinates and overcoming the weaknesses of those who needed corrective guidance would be particularly well understood by German opponents, because their principle of Auftragstaktik was nearly identical to Patton’s philosophy of giving mission-type orders to subordinates. Both relied on the individual initiative of subordinates, on those subordinates’ independent decision making, and on thinking leaders responding to their own tactical situations.4 Patton had become familiar with German mission-type orders in 1935, when he read Adolf von Schell’s Battle Leadership, though it was one part of the text where he made no marginal notes.5 Patton believed, “a general should command one echelon down and know the position of units two echelons down.”6 By his own standard, an enemy could judge him by how he handled his immediate subordinate commanders.

Many soldiers who had experienced the fickle fortunes of war might consider Patton’s luck—anathema, perhaps, to modern historians, but understood to be a decisive force in war by the likes of the ancient Romans and Napoleon Bonaparte (and, as we shall see, Eisenhower). In all these things, an enemy could consider whether Patton won or lost under odds that greatly favored or disfavored him, whether his battles were fierce crucibles of the military art or tests that any moderately competent commander could face and overcome.

We will examine the formative experiences of Patton’s enemies to understand the context in which they interpreted his performance, in addition to the battle lessons and skills they brought to their fights against him. They almost invariably knew more of actual war than Patton did. Some of them were his full equals or better in the art of mobile warfare.

THE ENEMY’S ENEMY

This is not a biography of Patton, but no work about him can succeed without some picture of the man. Though it may seem odd, let us jump ahead to Patton’s future to gain a sense of what he became as a man and military leader, and then let’s return to a more chronological tour through his personal history, wherein his enemies appeared, one war after another.

Master of Battle, If Not Always Himself

Colonel Robert Allen, who served on Patton’s staff at Third Army at the height of the general’s military puissance and was able to observe his commander closely in good times and bad, concluded that to understand Patton, one had to grasp two primary characteristics: “His all-inclusive absorption in war coupled with his natural combativeness.”

Outstanding effectiveness in battle requires steel-hard ruthlessness and aggressiveness. Patton had these qualities in full measure.... A West Point classmate once summed up Patton as “purebred gamecock with brains....”

He did not become a soldier by accident or to earn a livelihood. He was five years old when he informed his parents he intended to become “a great general.” When he learned to read, the first book he bought was a history of decisive battles. In school he was always organizing sham battles. On his honeymoon in France, he took his young bride to historic battlefields and fortresses....

Waging war was Patton’s passion and avocation. All his life he consciously and purposely molded and trained himself to fight. Nothing else really mattered to him.7

Martin Blumenson, biographer and the organizer of Patton’s papers, said of his personal character:

He was, in fact, a complex, paradoxical, and many-faceted figure.

He was unpredictable, capricious, at the same time dependable, loyal. He was brutal yet sensitive. He was gregarious and a loner. Enthusiastic and buoyant, he suffered from inner anguish. He displayed... an astonishing mixture of arrogance and humility.

He was driven by ambition, tortured by self-doubt....

During his early years, even though he sought to epitomize violence, force, and drive, he was relatively stable, well-balanced, and usually mild-mannered. He played and worked hard, he was outspoken and could be blunt, but he tried to live by the code of the gentleman, the creed of the knight. . . .

Part of the transformation was cultivated, self-willed. He undertook consciously to alter his image.... [H]e cultivated the ferocious face because he was probably concerned and worried about his voice, which was high-pitched, almost like a woman’s, and because he believed that only he-men inspired troops to fight.8

Blumenson theorized that a head injury from a horse’s kick had resulted in a subdural hematoma, which created a physiological predisposition to extreme mood swings.9

The result was a leader whom some adored and some loathed, at times simultaneously. General Omar Bradley, who served as Patton’s subordinate and superior, recalled, “[W]hile he was profane, he was also reverent. And while he strutted imperiously as a commander, he knelt humbly before his God.... Patton believed that profanity was the most convincing medium of communication with his troops. But while some chuckled delightedly over the famed expletives he employed with startling originality, the majority, it seemed to me, were more often shocked and offended.... Patton chose to drive his subordinates by bombast and by threats. Those mannerisms achieved spectacular results.”10

Blumenson argued that Patton’s “battle proficiency flowed from his character and personality. Much of his martial ability was innate....”11

A sketch of Patton’s military qualities is best created by the prominent historians who have deeply considered his writings and deeds. Among the first was Douglass Southall Freeman, who in 1947 observed, “He was a man to win, to intrigue, and sometimes to enrage his fellow-commanders. Always he fulfilled the Napoleonic mandate of supplying by picturesque conduct the causerie de bivouac that makes soldiers swear at their commander and then swear by him. In the larger qualities of leadership, Patton’s daring reminds one of ‘Stonewall’ Jackson. His determination to push straight to the Rhine of course recalls Sherman’s march to the sea. Patton was cast in the mold of great American soldiers....”12

Carlo D’Este concluded, “As a tactician, Patton ranged from superb to average in situations beyond his control. However, what separated him from his peers and cemented his reputation was his daring, freewheeling approach to modern warfare. His grasp of the capabilities of the weapons and equipment at his disposal was unexcelled.”13

Blumenson summarized, “His exploits, there is no doubt, shortened the conflict. By his ardor and know-how, his seemingly reckless activity transformed campaigns, turning static, casualty-ridden warfare into exciting, mobile operations virtually free of losses. Many thought he moved instantaneously, on the spur of the moment without deliberation. He preferred to be so regarded. In reality, he used his staff to study the options open to him, discussed with them the probable results beforehand—all this in private—then acted as though the decision was off-the-cuff.... No one dominated the field of battle like Patton.”14

The Making of the Warrior

Patton was born in San Gabriel, California, on 11 November 1885, an auspicious date for a future soldier who would see his first real combat in the Great War. Patton’s mother, Ruth Wilson, was the wealthy daughter of one of southern California’s founding fathers. His father, George Smith Patton II, was a Virginian and an alumnus of the Virginia Military Institute (as was his grandfather, a Confederate colonel killed in action) who had made a comfortable life for himself in California as a lawyer and politician. Patton’s step-grandfather, (Confederate) Col. George Smith (known to Patton as Papa), and a family friend, the great Confederate raider Col. John Singleton Mosby, imbued in the young Patton a worship of his Southern ancestors and fascination with military matters. His boyhood readings were the classics, the Bible, and military history. His games were of war, and he inscribed one toy sword with “Lt. Gen. G. S. Patton.” As early as grammar school, his papers showed a grasp of tactics, troop concentration, and maneuvering. He became a fearless young horseman.

Suffering from dyslexia, which made academics exceptionally challenging, Patton enrolled in the Virginia Military Institute in 1903, which he hoped would be merely preparation for the U.S. Military Academy in West Point. His determined labors and lobbying by his father paid off, and in 1904 Patton was accepted into the cadet corps. Academics remained a challenge, and Patton had to repeat his plebe year. He excelled at the details of military life, however, and rose to become cadet adjutant. In 1909, Patton graduated 46th out of 103 in his class and received a commission as a second lieutenant in the cavalry. His classmates included William Simpson and Jacob Devers, and Courtney Hodges had dropped out of the class. These four men would form the majority of the top-level American ground-force chieftains in the European theater in World War II.

Patton reported to the 15th Cavalry Regiment at Fort Sheridan, Illinois. It was dull garrison duty, but Patton used his spare time to further his study of the military arts and to write the first of a years-long string of professional journal articles.

In 1910, Patton married Beatrice Ayer, a beautiful, smart, and musically talented debutante from an extremely wealthy Boston family. In 1911, the couple was blessed with the first of three children, a daughter named Beatrice. That year, Patton arranged a transfer to the 15th Cavalry’s detachment quartered at Fort Myer, Virginia, which plugged him into the Washington social scene. The doors that opened for him there influenced the course of his professional career, starting with a chance horse-riding encounter with Secretary of War Henry Stimson that later blossomed into a lasting relationship.

Patton was a gifted polo player, and he built a competitive personal stable. In 1912, he participated in the Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden, where he placed fifth in the military pentathlon. The following year, Patton attended the French cavalry school in Saumur for lessons in swordsmanship. On his return, he became the army’s first master of the sword and designed the M-1913 saber.

Patton graduated from the advanced course at the Cavalry School in Fort Riley, Kansas, in 1914. When war broke out in Europe in August, Patton sought permission to serve with the French cavalry as an observer, but was turned down by the U.S. War Department.

The 15th Cavalry shipped to the Philippines in 1915, and Patton used his influence in Washington to get an assignment with the 8th Cavalry, just returning from the islands, at Fort Bliss, Texas, near the Mexican border. There he came under the authority of Brig. Gen. John Pershing, who commanded the 8th Cavalry Brigade. Mexico was in the throes of civil conflict, and the self-styled revolutionary leader Francisco “Pancho” Villa was raiding American-owned properties on the Mexican side of the border. On 9 March, Villa’s troops raided the town of Columbus, Texas, where they killed ten civilians and eight soldiers. Pershing received orders to mount an immediate punitive expedition into Mexico, and when Patton learned that his regiment would not accompany the expedition, he pulled every string he could—even appearing unannounced at Pershing’s doorstep—to get assigned to Pershing’s staff. As he did in so many thing...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title Page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• Chapter One: From Kid to Killer
• Chapter Two: All Violent on the Western Front
• Chapter Three: Between the Wars
• Chapter Four: The Enemy Goes to War
• Chapter Five: French North Africa: La Guerre des Trois Jours
• Chapter Six: Tunisia: Patton Tangles With Hitler’s Legions
• Chapter Seven: Intermezzo: The Brotherhood of Kursk
• Chapter Eight: Sicily: Empty Glory
• Chapter Nine: Bait and Wait
• Chapter Ten: Normandy: Patton Returns to War
• Chapter Eleven: Lorraine: Patton Faces Germany’s Best
• Chapter Twelve: Battle of the Bulge: Patton’s Greatest Moment
• Chapter Thirteen: Patton Flattens Germany’s Remnants
• Chapter Fourteen: A Footnote to the Panegyric
• Appendix Table of Equivalent Ranks
• Notes
• Glossary
• Bibliography
• Index
• Copyright Page