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In August 1943, the impulsive Patton slapped two shell-shocked soldiers under his command in an Italian field hospital and General Dwight Eisenhower thought Patton too undisciplined to lead the Allied invasion of Normandy. However, Nazi military leaders believed him the Allies’ best commander. They also expected Patton would lead a cross-channel invasion. As part of…

Patton received orders from Douglas MacArthur, U.S. Army Chief of Staff, on July 28, 1932, to disperse the World War I veterans who were seeking cash payments for their veterans’ bonus certificates. The veterans had occupied Washington, D.C., for two months. Patton led 600 cavalry troops on horseback through the streets of the national capital….

On September 26, 1918, Patton was personally leading an attack on German machine gun positions as part of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. He was struck by a round that tore into his left thigh. Wounded, Patton continued to command the battle for the next hour from a shell hole and filed his report at division headquarters…

In 1916, Pancho Villa made a deadly raid on Columbus, New Mexico. In response to it, President Woodrow Wilson ordered American troops across the Mexican border to kill the Mexican revolutionary. George S. Patton served as aide-de-camp to the mission’s commander, General John J. Pershing, and participated in the attack on May 14, 1916. Pancho…

Patton struggled academically during his first year at the U.S. Military Academy. He failed mathematics and was required to repeat his first year after failing. George began working with a tutor and redoubled his efforts to get adequate grades, eventually graduating 46th in his class of 103 cadets.

Patton stated he had seen the fight several times before in previous lives. He fought as a Roman legionnaire and as part of the 14th-century army of John the Blind of Bohemia. Patton also believed that after he died, he would return to once again lead troops into battle. Once, British General Harold Alexander told…

In 1912, Patton was a 26-year-old Army cavalry officer and competed in the first-ever Olympic modern pentathlon at the Summer Games in Stockholm. Of the 42 competitors, he finished in fifth place, although he might have medaled if not for controversy in the pistol-shooting event. While the judges believed Patton missed the target with one…