Patton: Man, Myth, and Movie
November 11th, aside from being Veteran’s Day, is also General George S. Patton’s birthday. It seems a complete coincidence that one of America’s greatest military commanders would share his birthday with America’s holiday celebrating its war veterans, but sometimes history just works out that way.
Patton served with distinction in the war that gave us Veteran’s Day — the Great War of 1914–1918. He was one of the U.S. Army’s first tank commanders, on the cutting edge of a new type of mechanized warfare that called for a fresh approach and bold thinking. He was wounded just days before the armistice, which fell on Patton’s 33rd birthday.
After World War II started, the Great War would forever be known as World War I. No one in 1918 could have imagined that such a brutal meat grinder would be repeated (and greatly surpassed) just 21 years later. Which was partly why the Great War was also known at the time as the War to End All Wars.
Patton didn’t buy all that “war to end all wars” business. He had no taste for politics and no love for politicians who had a nasty habit of leaving the military with yet one more war to fight. This is a view he would hold all his life, and it would come back to haunt him in later years.
Patton spent his time between the wars learning everything he could about modern warfare and sharing his…
