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In the summer of 1944, the war in Europe was raging in full capacity. The Allies had landed in France and were pressing their forward through very much difficulty.

     By the month of August breakouts from key locations had taken place across France in various sectors as the hedgerows were crossed. The Americans through hard combat with the Germans secured the town St.-Lo and with it were able to begin moving to the flat open ground beyond. While the British forces under General Bernard Montgomery were at last able to secure the city of Caen which was more than nuisance to try to secure from the Germans since the start of landing in Normandy.

     With the success the Americans had they now turned to unleashing one of their generals who had a reputation for getting the job done for the army, but also for doing so in a way that was not traditional. George S. Patton had been in England and kept from out of action since he slapped two American soldiers in the Sicily campaign, actions that surely would have caused him, or any other general to be sent home. But General Dwight Eisenhower saw that he had a fighting capability unlike any other general and that he would be needed in due time after the landings in Normandy.

George Patton in Sicily during 1943

     Starting on August 1, 1944, Patton’s 3rd Army became operational and from that moment on they began fighting operations the likes of which the Allies had not seen before. Throughout the summer the 3rd Army under Patton’s leadership raced its way along France from one position to the next, they did so with such speed they plotters could not accurately record their positions on the map and supplies had a hard time reaching them. All the while Germans were either killed in combat or captured.

    As the fall came though the momentum slowed down and there was a struggle Patton found himself in with British General Bernard Montgomery. The two fought for gasoline, Patton made the point that if he had the gasoline he needed, he could drive his men all the way to Berlin. But Montgomery won through and got what he needed as he started to ready for Operation Market Garden.

     Patton meanwhile drove southward. Given the fact that gasoline had been allotted to Montgomery, his efforts were slowed. He entered the Lorraine area, and ahead lay brutal combat to secure key cities like that of Metz, though the capital of Nancy fell more quickly. But now the weather changed and the harsh conditions of northern European climate set in.

     In December of 1944, American troops were caught in a surprise attack by the Germans in the Ardennes Forest. The shockwaves reverberated and there was little time to react or prepare.

     At a conference in Verdun not long after the German counterattack commenced, some of the American generals were present to discuss the situation. And Eisenhower saw, this was a moment not to be neglected as the Germans were in the open and could be attacked.

     He turned to Patton and asked his opinion on the matter. Patton stated that he could attack three divisions within forty-eight hours. And to everyone’s startlement that is what happened. In what historians would later term his “finest hour” Patton turned his troops ninety-degrees in winter and sent them north and they broke through the German resistance and reached the 101st Airborne at the town of Bastogne, giving them support.

     As the winter of 1944 turned to spring of 1945 Patton’s forces worked clear out German resistance where it was, the Ardennes was re-secured once again. And as spring came and the snow gradually melted Patton’s 3rd Army resumed its drive in speed and by March and early April of 1945 were over the Rhine River and dealing a death blow to German positions where they were. However, no American forces, including Patton’s 3rd Army, were able to advance on Berlin as that was given over to Russians.

George Patton’s leadership in World War II was unlike any other. He saw an opportunity to pursue the enemy and he took it, but he not only did that, but he also ensured the enemy was entirely defeated in the process. Patton’s role in World War II was more than instrumental; it was vital to helping win the war.

Sources

Carlo D’Este, Patton: A Genius for War (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1995).

—. Decision In Normandy (New York: Dutton, 1983).

Photo Credits

The above pictures are taken from the public domain of Picryl.com