![]() ![]() He visited the French Army’s tank school, the Renault tank factory, and studied the Battle of Cambrai, a major British offensive that utilized 476 tanks. There he became interested in a new invention called the “tank,” and he was assigned to establish the AEF Light Tank School. ![]() entered World War I in 1917, Patton – now a captain – was sent to Europe with the American Expeditionary Force (AEF). (See the photo at the top of the article.)Īfter the U.S. When not on front lines, Patton took to removing the actual steel part of his M1 “steel pot” helmet (Read our earlier article - The "steel pot") and only wore its lighter lining, which he had lacquered and polished. Another feature of Patton’s attention-grabbing appearance, which he adopted later, was his distinctively shining helmet. It should be added, though, that Patton actually carried a rather wide variety of pistols with him through his career. The injury he almost inflicted on himself prompted him to favor the revolvers that would become his distinguishing mark. 45 Colt stuck into his belt, rather in a holster, on one occasion and the gun went off by accident. Supposedly, it was also during the expedition that Patton took to carrying ivory-handled revolvers. Patton in Mexico during the Pancho Villa Expedition Whatever the case was, the judges’ ruling was upheld. 38’s larger hole through the target obscured the fact that one of his bullets went precisely through a hole left by an earlier shot. After his attempt, the judges ruled that one of his shots missed the target altogether. 38 caliber in keeping with the martial origins of the sport. He would have finished even better, as a medalist, had it not been for the shooting event. Patton came 5th out of 43 competitors, and was the highest-ranked non-Swedish pentathlete. Like its ancient Greek ancestor, the modern pentathlon was developed to showcase martial skills: fencing, pistol shooting, riding, swimming and running. Patton was an excellent fencer and represented the United States in the first-ever Olympic modern pentathlon event at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. He also pursues sports despite several accidents – in fact, it’s been speculated that his temper and foul language later in life might have been caused by a skull injury suffered at West Point. ![]() He initially struggled academically and had to repeat his first year after failing at mathematics, but was also noted to excel at military drills. Patton at the Virginia Military Institute He attended first the Virginia Military Institute, then, thanks to the help of a Californian senator, West Point. As a child, Patton had difficulties reading and spelling (possibly due to undiagnosed dyslexia), but still came to love history, especially military history. Additionally, Patton also frequently met former Confederate soldier John Singleton Mosby, the famous “Gray Ghost” who led a Southern ranger unit during the war (Read our earlier article – Birth of the Army Rangers), as the man was a friend of the family. was born in 1885 into a Californian family with a proud martial tradition, whose ancestors have fought both in the War of Independence and for the Confederacy during the Civil War. Today’s article pays homage to the man by presenting an overview of his military career. An imperfect, captivating human being, Patton is fondly remembered as a representative of the wild martial spirit of military heroes. He was an aggressive and spirited commander, loved by his men for his colorful language and recognized by his superiors as a necessary, if sometimes troublesome, asset. Patton, also known as “Old Blood and Guts,” is one of the three most recognized American generals of World War II, alongside Dwight Eisenhower and Douglas McArthur, even today, eight decades after the war. (Photo: National Archives and Records Administration) ![]()
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