72-WW2-243 U.S. ARMY GENERAL PATTON WITH DOG WILLIE, DRIVER + 4 OFFICERS FOR THE DODGE COMMAND CAR

George Patton (actually George Smith Patton Junior) was born in 1885 and died in 1945. He was one of the most recognizable and, in the opinion of many, one of the best American generals of the Second World War. He gained his first military experience during the General Pershing mission to Mexico in 1917, and later participated in the First World War in Europe. He was the main organizer of the American armored corps in this conflict, but also fought on the front lines where he was badly wounded. For bravery in the face of the enemy, decorated with the orders of Purple Heart and Distinguished Service Cross. General George Patton began his participation in World War II with participation in Operation Torch, i.e. the Allied landings in North Africa (late 1942). He then fought in Sicily (1943), but there was an incident with the slap of a soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. As a result, he was removed from command for a long time. He returned to the front line at the head of the US 3rd Army during Operation Cobra in August 1944, where he showed considerable tactical sense and skillful coordination of the actions of the ground forces and aviation. Probably the greatest fame came from the 3rd Army during the operation in the Ardennes at the turn of 1944-1945, when he was able to quickly change the front lines of his army and proceed to a counterattack. He died in a car accident in occupied Germany. General George Patton was an unconventional figure, with great organizational talents, considerable tactical and operational skills, showing great personal bravery. At the same time, he was nicknamed "blood and guts", believed that he was the reincarnation of a Roman legionnaire and a Napoleonic general.At the outbreak of World War II in Europe, the American army - including the aviation component - numbered approx. 190,000. people, including 3 infantry divisions, a cavalry division, a Hawaiian division, a Filipino division and the Panama Canal Garrison. Obviously, this was a very small number compared to the Japanese or German troops. However, in the course of World War II, this army grew more than 40 times[!] to approx. 8.3 million people in mid-1945. Of course, this leap in growth also entailed a leap in the size of the US Army Corps. For example, between the summer of 1941 and the summer of 1947, as many as 67,000 candidates completed officer courses at the Officer Candidate School for infantry. Of course, most senior officers (from colonel and above) had higher military education before the summer of 1941. If we tried to assess the American officer cadre in the period 1941-1945, one could indicate a relatively small number of cardinal errors committed on the battlefield (see: General John Lucas' actions at Anzio in 1944 or, at a lower level, the attack of the 2nd Battalion of the 1st Armored Regiment of Sidi bou Zid during the Battle of the Kasserine Pass in 1943), sparing his soldiers, rather skilfully using a significant material advantage (especially during the fighting in Normandy in 1944), but also the ability to react fairly quickly to unforeseen actions of the enemy (vide : German counteroffensive in the Ardennes of 1944/1945). At the same time, however, it cannot be ignored that often American officers acted in a conservative, low-risk manner, striving for a certain victory. The exceptions included, above all, General Patton.