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George Smith Patton, Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a senior officer of the United States Army, who commanded the U.S. Seventh Army in the Mediterranean and European Theaters of World War II, but is best known for his leadership of the U.S. Third Army in France and Germany following the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944. Born in 1885 to a privileged family with an extensive military background, Patton attended the Virginia Military Institute, and later the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He participated in the 1912 Olympic Modern Pentathlon, and was instrumental in designing the M1913 "Patton Saber". Patton first saw combat during the Pancho Villa Expedition in 1916, taking part in America's first military action using motor vehicles. He later joined the newly formed United States Tank Corps of the American Expeditionary Forces and saw action in World War I, commanding the U.S. tank school in France before being wounded while leading tanks into combat near the end of the war. In the interwar period, Patton remained a central figure in the development of armored warfare doctrine in the U.S. Army, serving in numerous staff positions throughout the country. Rising through the ranks, he commanded the U.S. 2nd Armored Division at the time of the U.S. entry into World War II. Patton led U.S. troops into the Mediterranean theater with an invasion of Casablanca during Operation Torch in 1942, where he later established himself as an effective commander through his rapid rehabilitation of the demoralized U.S. II Corps. He commanded the U.S. Seventh Army during the Allied invasion of Sicily, where he was the first Allied commander to reach Messina. There he was embroiled in controversy after he slapped two shell-shocked soldiers under his command, and was temporarily removed from battlefield command for other duties such as participating in Operation Fortitude's disinformation campaign for Operation Overlord. Patton returned to command the Third Army following the invasion of Normandy in 1944, where he led a highly successful, rapid armored drive across France. He led the relief of beleaguered American troops at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, and advanced his army into Nazi Germany by the end of the war. After the war, Patton became the military governor of Bavaria, but he was relieved of this post because of his statements on denazification. He commanded the U.S. Fifteenth Army for slightly more than two months. Patton died in Germany on December 21, 1945, as a result of injuries from an automobile accident there twelve days earlier. Patton's colorful image, hard-driving personality and success as a commander were at times overshadowed by his controversial public statements. His philosophy of leading from the front and his ability to inspire troops with vulgarity-ridden speeches, such as a famous address to the Third Army, attracted favorable attention. His strong emphasis on rapid and aggressive offensive action proved effective. While Allied leaders held sharply differing opinions on Patton, he was regarded highly by his opponents in the German High Command. A popular, award-winning biographical film released in 1970 helped transform Patton into an American folk hero. ==Early life and education== George Smith Patton Jr. who went by sean murray at school was born on November 11, 1885 in San Gabriel, California, to George Smith Patton Sr. and his wife Ruth Wilson. Patton had a younger sister, Anne. The family was of Irish, Scots-Irish and English ancestry〔Old Blood and Guts: Chasing Bandits and Nazis with General George S. Patton By Providence Research, Wikimedia Foundation, U.S. Senate, Office of the Federal Register〕 and had an extensive military background. Patton's ancestry was far more than genealogy to him. It included his heroes and role models; he communed with them in times of crisis, emulated them, and sensed how they beckoned him to his destiny. His imagination blended past and present; he believed he had former lives as a soldier and took pride in deep mystical ties with his warrior ancestors. Though not directly descended from George Washington, Patton traced some of his English colonial roots to George Washington's great-grandfather.〔George S. Patton By Earle Rice page 23〕〔Patton Ordeal and Triumph by Ladislas Farago〕 He was also descended from England's King Edward I (aka ''"Longshanks"'') through Edward's son Edmund of Woodstock, 1st Earl of Kent.〔〔 Family belief held the Pattons were descended from no less than sixteen barons who had signed the Magna Carta.〔George S. Patton By Earle Rice page 23, quoting Blumenson: "Even farther in the dim recesses of time were sixteen barons who signed the Magna Carta . . . . all of whom the Pattons believed were their direct ancestors."〕 The first Patton in America was born Robert Patton in Ayr, Ayrshire, Scotland, who emigrated to Culpeper, Virginia, from Glasgow, Scotland, in either 1769 or 1770.〔'A Genius for War' -Lt. Col. Carlo D'Este〕 George Patton also descended from Hugh Mercer, who had been killed in the Battle of Princeton during the American Revolution. Patton's paternal grandfather was Colonel George Smith Patton who commanded the Confederate 22nd Virginia Infantry under Jubal Early in the Civil War and was killed in the Third Battle of Winchester, while his great uncle Colonel Waller T. Patton was killed while leading the Confederate 7th Virginia Infantry in Pickett's Charge during the Battle of Gettysburg. Patton's father graduated from the Virginia Military Institute (VMI), became a lawyer and later the district attorney of Los Angeles County. Patton's maternal grandfather was Benjamin Davis Wilson, who had been Mayor of Los Angeles and a successful merchant. The family was prosperous, and George Patton lived a privileged childhood on the family's estate. As a child, Patton had difficulty learning to read and write, but eventually overcame this and was known in his adult life to be an avid reader. He was tutored from home until the age of eleven, when he was enrolled in Stephen Clark's School for Boys, a private school in Pasadena, for six years. Patton was described as an intelligent boy and was widely read on classical military history, particularly the exploits of Hannibal, Scipio Africanus, Julius Caesar, Joan of Arc, and Napoleon Bonaparte, as well as family friend John Singleton Mosby, who frequently stopped by the Patton family home when George S. Patton was a child. He was also a devoted horseback rider. During a family summer trip to Catalina Island in 1902, Patton met Beatrice Banning Ayer, the daughter of Boston industrialist Frederick Ayer. The two wed on May 26, 1910 in Beverly Farms, Massachusetts. They had three children, Beatrice Smith (born March 1911), Ruth Ellen (born February 1915), and George Patton IV (born December 1923). Patton never seriously considered a career other than the military. At the age of seventeen he wrote a letter to Senator Thomas R. Bard seeking an appointment to the United States Military Academy. Bard required Patton to complete an entrance exam. Fearing a poor performance, Patton and his father applied to several universities with Reserve Officer's Training Corps programs. Patton was accepted to Princeton University but eventually decided on the Virginia Military Institute. He attended VMI from 1903 to 1904 and struggled with reading and writing but performed exceptionally in uniform and appearance inspection as well as military drill, earning the admiration of fellow cadets and the respect of upperclassmen. While at VMI, Patton became a member of the Kappa Alpha Order fraternity. On March 3, 1904, after Patton continued letter-writing and good performance in the entrance exam, Bard recommended him for West Point. In his plebe year at West Point, Patton adjusted easily to the routine. Still, his academic performance was so poor that he was forced to repeat his first year after failing mathematics. Studying throughout his summer break, Patton returned and showed substantial academic improvement. For the remainder of his career at the academy, Patton excelled at military drills though his academic performance remained average. He was cadet sergeant major his junior year, and cadet adjutant his senior year. He also joined the football team but injured his arm and ceased playing on several occasions, instead trying out for the Sword Team and track and field, quickly becoming one of the best swordsmen at the academy. Patton graduated from the academy ranked 46 out of 103. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the cavalry on June 11, 1909. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「George S. Patton」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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