90 Facts About George Patton

George Patton entered combat during the Pancho Villa Expedition of 1916, the United States' first military action using motor vehicles.

At the start of the Western Allied invasion of France, George Patton was given command of the Third Army, which conducted a highly successful rapid armored drive across France.

The George Patton family resided at Lake Vineyard, built by Benjamin Wilson, on 128 acres in present-day San Marino, California.

Patton was described as an intelligent boy and was widely read in classical military history, particularly the exploits of Hannibal, Scipio Africanus, Julius Caesar, Joan of Arc, and Napoleon Bonaparte, as well as those of family friend John Singleton Mosby, who frequently stopped by the Patton family home when George was a child.

George Patton graduated number 46 out of 103 cadets at West Point on June 11,1909, and received a commission as a second lieutenant in the Cavalry branch of the United States Army.

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At age 24, George Patton married Beatrice Banning Ayer, the daughter of Boston industrialist Frederick Ayer, on May 26,1910, in Beverly Farms, Massachusetts.

George Patton family was of Irish, Scots-Irish, English, Scottish, French and Welsh ancestry.

George Patton'sgreat-grandmother came from an aristocratic Welsh family, descended from many Welsh lords of Glamorgan, which had an extensive military background.

George Patton believed he had former lives as a soldier and took pride in mystical ties with his ancestors.

George Patton believed in reincarnation, stating that he had fought in previous battles and wars before his time, additionally, his ancestry was very important to him, forming a central part of his personal identity.

The first George Patton in America was Robert George Patton, born in Ayr, Scotland.

George Patton descended from Hugh Mercer, who had been killed in the Battle of Princeton during the American Revolution.

George Patton'sfather was a wealthy rancher and lawyer who owned a one-thousand-acre ranch near Pasadena, California.

George Patton's first posting was with the 15th Cavalry at Fort Sheridan, Illinois, where he established himself as a hard-driving leader who impressed superiors with his dedication.

In late 1911, George Patton was transferred to Fort Myer, Virginia, where many of the Army's senior leaders were stationed.

George Patton was the only American among the 42 pentathletes, who were all military officers.

George Patton placed twenty-first on the pistol range, seventh in swimming, fourth in fencing, sixth in the equestrian competition, and third in the footrace, finishing fifth overall and first among the non-Swedish competitors.

George Patton then returned to Saumur to learn advanced techniques before bringing his skills to the Mounted Service School at Fort Riley, Kansas, where he would be both a student and a fencing instructor.

In 1915 Lieutenant George Patton was assigned to border patrol duty with A Troop of the 8th Cavalry, based in Sierra Blanca.

George Patton'sfirearm discharged accidentally one night in a saloon, so he swapped it for an ivory-handled Colt Single Action Army revolver, a weapon that would later become an icon of Patton's image.

Chagrined to discover that his unit would not participate, Patton appealed to expedition commander John J Pershing, and was named his personal aide for the expedition.

George Patton modeled much of his leadership style after Pershing, who favored strong, decisive actions and commanding from the front.

George Patton was promoted to captain on May 15,1917, and left for Europe, among the 180 men of Pershing's advance party which departed May 28 and arrived in Liverpool, England, on June 8.

George Patton was dissatisfied with the post and began to take an interest in tanks, as Pershing sought to give him command of an infantry battalion.

On November 10,1917, George Patton was assigned to establish the AEF Light Tank School.

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The only US soldier with tank-driving experience, George Patton personally backed seven of the tanks off the train.

Around 09:00, George Patton was wounded while leading six men and a tank in an attack on German machine guns near the town of Cheppy.

George Patton commanded the battle from a shell hole for another hour before being evacuated.

George Patton stopped at a rear command post to submit his report before heading to a hospital.

George Patton sent notes and assistance to help Eisenhower graduate from the General Staff College.

On September 30,1920, then-Major George Patton relinquished command of the 304th Tank Brigade and was reassigned to Fort Myer as commander of 3rd Squadron, 3rd Cavalry.

In July 1921 George Patton became a member of the American Legion Tank Corps Post No 19.

George Patton left this office in 1931, returned to Massachusetts and attended the Army War College, becoming a "Distinguished Graduate" in June 1932.

In July 1932, George Patton was executive officer of the 3rd Cavalry, which was ordered to Washington by Army Chief of Staff General Douglas MacArthur.

George Patton was promoted to lieutenant colonel in the regular Army on March 1,1934, and was transferred to the Hawaiian Division in early 1935 to serve as G-2.

George Patton followed the growing hostility and conquest aspirations of the militant Japanese leadership.

Depressed at the lack of prospects for new conflict, George Patton took to drinking heavily and allegedly began a brief affair with his 21-year-old niece by marriage, Jean Gordon.

George Patton developed phlebitis from the injury, which nearly killed him.

George Patton was promoted to colonel on July 24,1938, and given command of the 5th Cavalry at Fort Clark, Texas, for six months, a post he relished, but he was reassigned to Fort Myer again in December as commander of the 3rd Cavalry.

The schooner's name comes from George Patton saying he would sail it "when and if" he returned from war.

George Patton was promoted to brigadier general on October 2, made acting division commander in November, and on April 4,1941, was promoted again to major general and made Commanding General of the 2nd Armored Division.

George Patton earned a pilot's license and, during these maneuvers, observed the movements of his vehicles from the air to find ways to deploy them effectively in combat.

George Patton'sexploits earned him a spot on the cover of Life magazine.

General George Patton led the division during the Tennessee Maneuvers in June 1941, and was lauded for his leadership, executing 48 hours' worth of planned objectives in only nine.

George Patton'sdivision executed a 400-mile end run around the Red Army and "captured" Shreveport, Louisiana.

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George Patton chose a 10,000-acre expanse of desert area about 50 miles southeast of Palm Springs.

From his first days as a commander, George Patton strongly emphasized the need for armored forces to stay in constant contact with opposing forces.

Under Lieutenant General Dwight D Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander, Patton was assigned to help plan the Allied invasion of French North Africa as part of Operation Torch in the summer of 1942.

George Patton commanded the Western Task Force, consisting of 33,000 men in 100 ships, in landings centered on Casablanca, Morocco.

George Patton oversaw the conversion of Casablanca into a military port and hosted the Casablanca Conference in January 1943.

On March 6,1943, following the defeat of the U S II Corps by the German Afrika Korps, commanded by Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel, at the Battle of Kasserine Pass, Patton replaced Major General Lloyd Fredendall as Commanding General of the II Corps and was promoted to lieutenant general.

Two high-profile incidents of George Patton striking subordinates during the Sicily campaign attracted national controversy following the end of the campaign.

George Patton apologized to both soldiers individually, as well as to doctors who witnessed the incidents, and later to all of the soldiers under his command in several speeches.

On January 26,1944, Patton was formally given command of the U S Third Army in England, a newly formed field Army, and he was assigned to prepare its inexperienced soldiers for combat in Europe.

George Patton was ordered to keep a low profile to deceive the Germans into thinking that he was in Dover throughout early 1944, when he was actually training the Third Army.

George Patton flew to France a month later, and then returned to combat command.

George Patton's force was supplemented by Ultra intelligence for which he was briefed daily by his G-2, Colonel Oscar Koch, who apprised him of German counterattacks, and where to concentrate his forces.

George Patton's offensive came to a halt on August 31,1944, as the Third Army ran out of fuel near the Moselle River, just outside Metz.

George Patton expected that the theater commander would keep fuel and supplies flowing to support successful advances, but Eisenhower favored a "broad front" approach to the ground-war effort, believing that a single thrust would have to drop off flank protection, and would quickly lose its punch.

Guessing the intent of the Allied command meeting, George Patton ordered his staff to make three separate operational contingency orders to disengage elements of the Third Army from its present position and begin offensive operations toward several objectives in the area of the bulge occupied by German forces.

George Patton had insisted upon an immediate crossing of the Saar River against the advice of his officers.

Once again, George Patton found other commands given priority on gasoline and supplies.

George Patton later boasted he had urinated into the river as he crossed.

On March 26,1945, George Patton sent Task Force Baum, consisting of 314 men, 16 tanks, and assorted other vehicles, 50 miles behind German lines to liberate the prisoner of war camp OFLAG XIII-B, near Hammelburg.

George Patton reported this attempt to liberate Oflag XIII-B as the only mistake he made during World War II.

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George Patton later said he felt the correct decision would have been to send a Combat Command, which is a force about three times larger.

George Patton asked for a command in the Pacific Theater of Operations, begging Marshall to bring him to that war in any way possible.

George Patton then drove to Hatch Memorial Shell and spoke to some 20,000, including a crowd of 400 wounded Third Army veterans.

George Patton spent time in Boston before visiting and speaking in Denver and visiting Los Angeles, where he spoke to a crowd of 100,000 at the Memorial Coliseum.

George Patton was appointed as military governor of Bavaria, where he led the Third Army in denazification efforts.

George Patton attracted controversy as military governor when it was noted that several former Nazi Party members continued to hold political posts in the region.

When responding to the press about the subject, George Patton repeatedly compared Nazis to Democrats and Republicans in noting that most of the people with experience in infrastructure management had been compelled to join the party in the war, causing negative press stateside and angering Eisenhower.

George Patton had accepted the post because of his love of history, but quickly lost interest.

Gay and others were only slightly injured, but George Patton hit his head on the glass partition that separated the front and back seat.

George Patton spent most of the next 12 days in spinal traction to decrease the pressure on his spine.

George Patton cultivated a flashy, distinctive image in the belief that this would inspire his troops.

George Patton cultivated a stern expression he called his "war face".

George Patton'sjeep bore oversized rank placards on the front and back, as well as a klaxon horn which would loudly announce his approach from afar.

Historian Alan Axelrod wrote that "for George Patton, leadership was never simply about making plans and giving orders, it was about transforming oneself into a symbol".

George Patton intentionally expressed a conspicuous desire for glory, atypical of the officer corps of the day which emphasized blending in with troops on the battlefield.

George Patton had a preoccupation with bravery, wearing his rank insignia conspicuously in combat, and at one point during World War II, he rode atop a tank into a German-controlled village seeking to inspire courage in his men.

George Patton was a staunch fatalist, and he believed in reincarnation.

George Patton reportedly had the utmost respect for the men serving in his command, particularly the wounded.

George Patton remained outspoken but unabashed in his feelings of racism throughout his life.

George Patton'sattitudes were likely cultivated from his upbringing and family roots in the Confederate South.

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In spite of his views, George Patton called heavily on the black troops under his command.

Historian Hugh Cole notes that George Patton was the first to integrate black and white soldiers into the same rifle companies.

George Patton was impressed with the Soviet Union but was disdainful of Russians, saying.

Many German field commanders were generous in their praise of George Patton's leadership following the war, and many of its highest commanders held his abilities in high regard.

George Patton had developed tank warfare into an art, and understood how to handle tanks brilliantly in the field.