General Patton example essay topic

General George S. Patton was a great man, and accomplished many great things in his career as a military officer. He was hard-nosed and didn't stand for coward ness. For these reasons he made a great General. He would not let his troops quit, and he never quit himself, and for that he got much admiration.

Patton was an undeniable motivator; his speeches got to the heart of the issue and could motivate even the weakest men to engage in battle. General Omar Nelson Bradley was a different kind of man. He is regarded as "the soldier's general". He showed care and compassion to his men, even those who were too scared to fight. Bradley like Patton were both highly regarded generals and did there jobs well each being promoted throughout their career. But, they each had their own methods of motivation and leadership.

The opening scene in Patton shows General Patton's unquestionable ability to motivate his troops. He is on a stage with a huge American flag behind him, dressed in his military uniform which has almost every medal or ribbon that a military officer can achieve and he is speaking to his troops. In the speech he makes it very clear his goals for the war. He tells the men that "no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country" (Patton). That line in particular shows Patton's knowledge of motivation.

He says that "Battle is the most magnificent competition in which a human being can indulge. It brings out all that is best and it removes all that is base" (Patton). He makes it clear to his men that they are here to fight and to win. Patton says "I don't want to get any messages saying, 'I am holding my position.

' We are not holding a goddamned thing. Let the Germans do that. We are advancing constantly and we are not interested in holding onto anything, except the enemy's balls" (Patton). The men were to advance at all times and to kill as many enemy soldiers as possible.

The way that Patton delivered this speech would make even the softest recruit fresh from boot camp ready to tear an enemies head off without a second thought. As the movie went on General Patton showed both his caring side and his meaner side. Patton was a devoted soldier and loved what he did, and the only thing that made him anger was cowards. In a scene in the movie he kneeled down next to a wounded solider, and looked like he was about to cry as he whispered in the soldiers ear. Not a minute later he was pointing a gun and yelling in the face of a solider who was too scared to fight.

The soldiers knew that Patton would not stand for weakness and because of that they were motivated to fight for their General. General Omar Nelson Bradley was a different kind of General. He was not nearly as imposing a figure as General Patton. He did not wear a flashy uniform and didn't have custom made pistols around his waste. He looked like an average soldier.

General Bradley not only looked like a regular soldier, he also acted like one. He did not threaten his soldiers with violence if they did not fight, and he did not give great motivational speeches. Instead General Bradley led by example. He went to the battlefield and did his duties as a soldier, never acting like he was better than any of his fellow men. This is a form of motivation as well, the soldiers see that their General is fighting right along side of them, then they have no reason to quit themselves.

Bradley was a foot soldier who happened to excel in the army; Patton loved the glory and praise of being a general, and was a better motivator. In the movie General Bradley said it best "There's one big difference between you and me, George. I do this job because I've been trained to do it. You do it because you love it" (Patton). Motivation is a concept that is often associated with leadership but it is far different. One person or a group of people can be extremely motivation to do a certain task but, if proper leadership is not in place nothing will ever be accomplished.

With Patton's speeches and imposing stature he was undoubtedly a great motivator but, he may have not been a great leader. In the movie he disobeyed a direct order from President Eisenhower to guard the Allies flank when they were invading Italy. Instead of obeying orders like a General should, he moved endangered the lives of thousands of troops so that he could beat the Allied general to a city in Northern Italy in order to get praise and glory. This was a selfish and self-centered move by Patton and showed his lack of leadership ability. General Bradley would have never done such a move because he was not concerned with praise and glory; instead he followed the orders given to him and did what was best for his men. He didn't endanger the lives of thousands so that he could advance his career.

General Bradley was a far better leader which was shown by him becoming a five star general, which is the highest rank available. Bradley was a better leader because he had a far better personality then Patton. Personality is an important factor in leadership effectiveness because it allows others to relate to their leader (McCormack 192). Patton did not have a personality that others could relate to, this is not a bad thing but it may have hindered his leadership skills. Although Patton died as the result of a car accident, he never received the rank of five stars general and if he has lived he probably never would have.