General Patton Leadership during War - Research Paper Example

General Patton leadership during war Command of military forces is an integral part of any war, and war is without doubt a significant event in the history of any nation, and battle command is a vital component for both the commander and the nation. The major focus of a commander is to fulfill his mission of defeating the enemy by strategies that will cause minimum loss of life. While the nation is also concerned with the number of casualties in a war, it is as well as concerned with the strategies of commanders in a war that will achieve the national goals. Victory in a war means a political victory of the entire nation and enhancement of its glory in the global arena. Defeat in a war not only means political and also cultural loss of a nation but also massive loss of youth life with no purpose gained. A war commander’s purpose is to visualize enemy’s approach and accordingly formulate strategies to achieve victory on the battlefield. For this, he has to efficiently and effectively communicate his visions and missions to his subordinates. An able commander is largely responsible for a nation’s success or failure in a war (Sanderson, 1997, pp.1-2). This paper explores the leadership strategies and attitude of one of the most renowned American war commandant George S. Patton Jr. The initial phase Considered as one of the most successful military men of all times, General George Smith Patton, Jr. was born on November 11, 1885 in San Gabriel, California. He is famous for his commanding power of any war and his strong leadership style. He used to carry pistols with ivory handles and was known for his temper. He showed immense persistence in driving his troops to acquire excellence in their wartime skills. Even during his childhood days, Patton nurtured the dream of becoming a military man, and he never indulged in any other career option. His passion for war and weapons was born from hearing stories of bravery and successful missions about his ancestors who were involved in various wars like the Revolutionary War, the Mexican War and the Civil War. After attending Virginia Military Institute for one year, he completed his graduation from the United States Military Academy at West Point on June 11, 1909. After that he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the 15th cavalry Regiment. In the year 1912, George Patton participated in the Olympics that was held in Stockholm. As a representative of the United States, he competed with other rivals in the first Modern Pentathlon. This event initially was open only for military officers, and it was a stringent test to assess the skills that should belong to a soldier. Patton, who was twenty six when he participated in the Olympics proved to be extremely efficient in Penthalon which consisted of various events like “pistol shooting from 25 meters, sword fencing, a 300 meter free style swim, 800 meters horse back riding and a 4-kilometer cross country run” (General George Smith Patton, Jr.: Biography, n.d.). He ended up becoming fifth in the entire event although his performance in the shooting event was not up to the mark. After completing his performance in the Olympics, Patton remained engaged in taking lessons at the French Cavalry School and studying French sword drills. During the summer of the year 1913, Patton was summoned to report to the commandant of the Mounted Service School in Fort Riley, Kansas and was appointed as the school’s first Master of the Sword. Even though he was a student of the school, he formed a lesson in swordsmanship and taught the same to other students (General George Smith Patton, Jr.: Biography, n.d.). The beginning of his military career George Patton gained his first experience in the field of battle when he got the opportunity to become a member of the staff of the renowned Brigadier General John J. Pershing during the expedition to Mexico. In the year 1915, Patton was posted at Fort Bliss which was situated along the border of Mexico where he commanded the regular cavalry patrols. There he was assigned to the 8th Cavalry Regiment where he participated in General Pershing’s Punitive Expedition against Panchi Villa in 1916. Patton displayed valor to get the attention from the press when he made several attacks on men in the Villa with three armored cars. General Pershing was pleased with the integrity exhibited by Patton, and Pershing promoted Patton to give him the Captain’s designation. Patton earned the responsibility to command Pershing’s troop at his headquarters after their return from Mexico (General George Smith Patton, Jr.: Biography, n.d.; World War II: General George S. Patton, n.d.). United States Tank Corps In the year 1914, when the World War I started and the United States became involved in the war, the concept of using tanks against the enemy was not widely popular. It was in the year 1917 that the United States Tank Corps was established and one of its first members was George Patton. He remained a member of the Corps till it was closed down in the year 1920. While he was member of the Corps, he held the commanding position. His contribution was immense since he designed ideas, formulated procedures and even created the designs of the uniforms. Patton commanded the use of tankers and along with the British tankers, he and the Corps’ members attained success at Cambrai, France, during the world’s major tank battle in the year 1917 (General George Smith Patton, Jr.: Biography, n.d.). Patton’s contribution as American commander George Patton’s contribution as American commander gained even more fame during the World War II. Unlike most of the other American war commanders during his time who had sober style of management, Patton had made his name as a popular war commander even before the Pearl Habor in the year 1941. He was the leader of Operation Touch which was executed in November 1942. He commanded the Western Task Force landings in the French North Africa. However, the most important mission that he successfully executed during this time was when he was appointed as a diplomat to persuade the Vichy French Army into the Allied fold. In the year 1943, Patton had some strategic victories that restored some of the lost glory of the US army. The first victory that he achieved was against Wehrmacht at El Guettar in March the same year. In July 1943, there was a temporary setback faced by his seventh army in Sicily in the hands of the British army. However, with extreme strength of mind he managed to push US units to Palermo that eventually helped US to capture Messina. Patton was also known for his extreme rude behavior especially at times when he used physical violence on his men. Towards the end of 1943, his good name was curbed when he was accused of slapping two shell- shocked soldiers. In spite of his frequent misdemeanors that threatened his military career, the then US President Dwight D. Eisenhower supported him for his strong sense of commandment which is a requisite for war operations. Several times Eisenhower tactfully managed to retain his services as military commander by severely reprimanding for his violent and aggressive manner. It was because of the President’s support that today Patton is known for his significant contributions in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) in the years 1944 and 1945. Patton was made the commanding officer of the Third Army which was first deployed in the wake of Operation Cobra in late July of 1944. The Third Army many times pulled the US army from difficult situation which otherwise seemed hopeless. The Third Army under the command of Patton successfully detained many prisoners from the enemy camp and released many territories that were captured by the enemies that any other Allied field army in the ETO. Although Patton had experienced many near death incidents during war missions, he eventually died in an auto accident in December 1945. Patton’s leadership qualities George S. Patton Jr. was born in a family with ancestral history of successful military career. He grew up listening to stories of bravery and heroism of his ancestors who were generals and colonels during their times. Although Patton always nurtured the dream of joining the military, he was however a sensitive man with the fear that he would not be successful as a soldier and would end up damaging the reputation of his family name. During Word War I at the age of thirty two he was in command of a tank division on the Argonne. At one point of time during the battle, he succeeded in taking some of the American infantrymen as part of his strategy to keep a close watch on a German town. However, soon their position was revealed and the Germans used fire on them as a result of which all the Americans were forced to take cover. Patton soon realized that his men were cornered. They had no place to retreat without getting fired down by the German nor could they advance without coming in front of the German machine guns. At the time of making decision, Patton decided to advance and face death instead of retreating. However, he was consumed with fear and his legs trembled. He soon lost his nerve due to intense fear. It was at that moment that he had the vision of all his ancestors in military uniforms staring at him and commanding him to join the company of dead heroes. This gave him the strength to order his men to advance as a result of which he got shot in the thigh. Nevertheless, he survived the battle. After this, in all of his military career Patton made sure to visit the front lines to face the danger of getting attacked by the enemies. This was his strategy to strength his willpower to lead himself and his men in every battle. This strategy helped him to overcome his fears and make rights decisions for his men. This was Patton’s way of conquering deep- rooted fear to gain confidence and presence of mind which are requisites for every military man (Greene, 2010, p.34). At one of his military career he had slapped a soldier who was hospitalized and later made a controversial speech in England. As punishment he was almost stripped off his military career but was saved by Eisenhower. However the President demoted him to a minor role during the historic Normandy landings. During that time he felt frustrated to miss all the glory and this he expressed in a letter to his wife. Patton did not feel that fear is any kind of weakness since it is inherent in every man but the need is to overcome the fear with courage. He once wrote a letter to his son in which he quoted “All men are timid on entering any fight whether it is the first fight or the last fight all of us are timid. Cowards are those who let their timidity get the better of their manhood. Your knees may shake but they will always take you towards the enemy” (Carroll, 2009, p.15). Patton as a war commander was a threat for his enemies. His strategies bordered into unpredictability and surprise attacks. The questions that revolved within the minds of every German general were where is his Third Army hiding and from where it will attack and how. He is regarded as the “most modern general and the best commander of armored and infantry troops combined” (Yeide, 2011, p.395). His Death Although, apparently he died from severe injuries caused by a car crash in Manheim, there were suspicions surrounding his death since he was soon recovering after being hospitalized. In 2008, some diaries were revealed that belonged to an assassin who claimed that Patton was demanded to be killed by American spy chiefs as “he was threatening to expose allied collusion with the Russians that cost American lives.” On investigations it has been concluded that Patton was killed by a marksman Douglas Bazata after getting the order from Office of Strategic Services (Shipman, 2008). References Carroll, A. (2009). A Sidelined General Shares His Philosophy on Leadership. World War II, 24(2), 15-16 General George Smith Patton, Jr.: Biography (n.d.), generalpatton, retrieved on February 27, 2014 from: http://www.generalpatton.com/ Greene, R. (2010) The 33 Strategies of War. Profile Books Sanderson, J.R. (1997) General George S. Patton, Jr.: Master of Operational Master Command. What Lasting Battle Command Lessons can we learn from him? Defence Technical Information Center, retrieved on February 27, 2014 from: http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a331356.pdf Shipman, T. (2008), General George S. Patton was assassinated to silence his criticism of allied war leaders claims new book, The Telegraph, retrieved on February 28, 2014 from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/3869117/General-George-S.-Patton-was-assassinated-to-silence-his-criticism-of-allied-war-leaders-claims-new-book.html World War II: General George S. Patton (n.d.), militaryhistory, retrieved on February 27, 2014 from: http://militaryhistory.about.com/od/1900s/p/patton.htm Yeide, H. (2011) Fighting Patton: George S. Patton Jr. Through the Eyes of His Enemies, Zenith Imprint Zaloga, S.J. (2010) George S. Patton: Leadership, Strategy, Conflict. Osprey Publishing Read More