Ted H. Kim's Weblog

Tuesday September 27, 2005

Patton: A Genius for War

After reading his excellent Normandy account a year ago, I decided to try another one of Carlo d'Este books. This time I chose one of his biographies, Patton: A Genius for War. First off, I should say that this book is quite detailed and roughly a thousand pages! Patton not only lived an extraordinary life, he documented it extensively and preserved this record. Whether from a sense of vanity or even destiny, Patton carefully kept all of his papers including personal journals and correspondence. While the personal papers of his wife were burned after her death, his sometimes twice daily letters to her are preserved. However, all this material was not made available to researchers until some 30 years after his death. By the time d'Este wrote this book, he had access to an unusually complete record of his subject's thoughts and actions as he personally perceived them.

d'Este points out that Patton's popular image is summarized in the famous opening scene of the 1970 Patton movie. This profane, aggressive, and confident image was what Patton sought to project. At the same time, this image was an authentic reflection of his beliefs. But the picture is incomplete. In reality, Patton was far more complex than that.

Patton was afflicted with dyslexia. He could not even read until he was 11. Unfortunately, dyslexia was not recognized or understood in those times. (Patton lived from 1885 to 1945.) His affliction led to self-doubt and possibly even depression. Patton did overcome his dyslexia through tremendous determination and perseverance. But he also overcompensated and had a need to prove himself and a sense of insecurity. Patton also romanticized and idolized his Virginia Confederate military ancestors as the model for his life. Patton's single minded ambition was to strive to live this idealized military persona. At times, he was convinced of a glorious military destiny for his life. At other times, his ambition led to deep frustration. His overcompensation sometimes led to taking foolish risks with his personal safety both in battle and even while riding horses.

In trying to live up to this image, Patton obscured the other aspects of his life. He was described by some as sensitive child. Patton completely ignored the legacy of his wealthy businessman grandfather. He composed poetry, though sometimes it was rather morbid. And even when he was high ranking general, he was embarrassed to admit he that he cried like a baby on several occasions. Patton could be gracious and warm to friends. But he was awkward towards women and as a father.

True to his legend, Patton was in fact a brilliant commander with an especially keen understanding of mechanized warfare. While meticulous in his analysis of warfare, his temperment was ill-suited to the administrative and political dimensions of senior command. The famous slapping incidents and his problems as military governor of occupied Bavaris illustrate those issues. On a personal level, while many commanders disliked Patton, the feelings were apparently not reciprocated. Contrary to the movie and other accounts, he was not in competition with Montgomery. While Patton's style seemed to grate on Bradley, apparently Patton bore no ill will towards Bradley despite the reversal of their command hierarchy. While frustrated with Eisenhower's actions, Patton regarded Eisenhower as a friend.

Patton: A Genius for War is comprehensive, revealing and is perhaps the definitive account of both Patton's personal and military life. I enjoyed this book both from the military history perspective and from a general curiosity about one of America's legendary figures.

Patton participated in many US Army World War II European theatre operations. So there are numerous wargames that portray his commands. Some of the campaigns include Torch, North Africa, Sicily, the post-Cobra breakout from Normandy and the relief of Bastogne in the Battle of the Bulge.

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(2005-09-27 17:15:44.0) Permalink Comments [0]