General Patton Leadership Analysis

In WWII leading up to the battle of Bastogne, Patton’s leadership style and keen ability to continuously assess the battlefield enabled him to visualize and articulate to his subordinates what his vision was. The innate ability of Patton choosing the right subordinates to help lead his 3rd Army enabled him to have great success on the battlefield. Many things went right for Patton, most of all was his successful implementation of mission command. He was able to understand quickly his environment and formulate a successful plan and seamlessly articulate it to his subordinate officers. Was it luck or skill that facilitated the General to achieve all his success during this one single battle? Patton's intuition and perhaps the best thing that

went right was that the allied forces were able to cut off the Germans from getting more fuel. The German’s Tiger and Panzers consumed a copious amount of gasoline. The Germans logistics supply lines kept them from resupplying and inevitably had the Nazis resorting to trying and capture American fuel depots, to attempt to keep the tanks running, without success. Failure of resupply proved to be crucial to the overall success of the allies just as it did during Rommel’s battle in North Africa (Andrews, 2014; FM 5-0, 2010; Harvey, 2008).
This single act left the German armies without means of necessary fuel re-supply. For Patton, another thing that went right was his asking the chaplain for prayer for the weather. He understood that it would take a bit of luck for him to accomplish this feat if the weather did not cooperate. The weather went right for Patton, but I am sure it was all about luck more so than a divine intervention that it did. Weather-break allowed the allies to begin the bombing of the Germans on the outskirts of Bastogne. The 101st Airborne would hold the city and famously defend the town. The Third Reich had surrounded the allies and demanded the surrender of the US forces. General McAuliffe famous “Nuts!” response did not concede and held Bastogne until Patton’s 3rd Army arrived and liberated the city (Andrews, 2014; Harvey, 2008 p. 359).
Things that went wrong for General Patton were mostly verbal, and his crazy actions albeit inspired the troops but caused problems with his peers, the American media, and public.

During the push by the 3rd Army to Bastogne and after its liberation Patton said many derogatory things to the press that undermined his leadership and also demonstrated things like urinating in the Rhine River. These actions perhaps inspired and rallied the troops but were also derogatory for his overall success of command that made it difficult for the leaders to utilize his skills in anything but warfare. Often he was described as a bully and insubordinate to his peers and superiors and brutal towards his subordinates. Patton was a necessary warrior out of time. When WWII began he was at the end of his fifties and this fact alone was a huge generation gap between the troops and him. As I instruct young lieutenants, captains, and senior leaders today, I see the generation gap in how today’s Army leads, communicates and disseminates information. My goal is to try and be that legacy leader that can perhaps reach a few to reignite that teambuilding spark of leadership that modern military has lost. Few remain that remember the overwhelming odds that a genuine team can accomplish as to what an average, mediocre group might (Harvey,

2008).
Patton’s age and generation gap remind me of a soldier I knew briefly from sight and social passing. Major Steven Hutchinson was the oldest soldier to die in Iraq at age 60 back in 2009. I knew of him while stationed at the same forward operation base in Basra Iraq. Hutchinson was known by everyone and was a Vietnam veteran who had wanted to reenlist after the attacks on 911 but could not until after his wife’s untimely death. Three years later, after a tour in Afghanistan he was put in charge of a small detachment in Iraq. Major Hutchinson was an inspiration to all because he was simply doing the job for the right reasons to defend our country and his impact on the local Iraqi government was enormous. Some believed this was the reason his vehicle was targeted. All knew of him, if not personally then by purely visually. Hutchinson was truly a leader out of time and regulations, and his actions consistently infuriated the senior commanders while simultaneously rallying the troops even out of his command regardless if it were detrimental to his career that he seemed to care not for. He wore his super short out of regulation physical fitness shorts to the dining facility and whenever he pleased, was constantly out of uniform, and totally disregarded all senior officers. He like Patton was there for the greater good of the mission and to inspire and lead troops by any means he possessed. All attended his memorial ceremony in Basra, as he was one of the last true warrior soldiers who died like he wanted to, a warrior’s death in battle (Weaver, 2009).