Alexander Patch
Encyclopedia
General Alexander McCarrell "Sandy" Patch (November 23, 1889 – November 21, 1945) was an officer in the United States Army
, best known for his service in World War II
. He commanded Army and Marine
forces during the invasion of Guadalcanal
, and the U.S. Seventh Army
in the invasion of southern France
(Operation Dragoon
).
, a military
post in Arizona
where his father commanded a detachment. He never considered any career other than the army, and received his appointment to West Point
in 1909. He wanted to follow his father into the cavalry
, but realizing that they were becoming obsolete, he was commissioned into the infantry
in 1913.
In World War I
Patch served as an infantry officer and as an instructor in the Army's machine gun
school. While commanding troops on the front line, his leadership came to the attention of George C. Marshall, then a member of Gen. John Pershing's staff.
During the buildup before the United States' entry into World War II
, Marshall was appointed Army Chief of Staff
. Marshall promoted Patch to brigadier general, and sent him to Fort Bragg
to supervise the training of new soldiers there.
. He took command of a loose collection of units, and formed them into the Americal Division
(a name adopted on Patch's suggestion after it was proposed by a soldier in the division.) This unit first saw action in the Guadalcanal campaign
. Starting in October 1942 they were brought in to relieve the valiant and malaria
-ridden 1st Marine Division. In December, Patch moved up to command of the XIV Corps, and he was given charge of the entire offensive on Guadalcanal
. Patch personally led troops under his command on a dangerous offensive in the Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse
to capture several fortified hills and ridges from the Japanese forces
. Under his leadership, by February 1943 the Japanese were driven from Guadalcanal.
Impressed by Patch's performance on Guadalcanal, General Marshall ordered him to Europe, where he took over command of the Seventh Army from General Mark Clark
. Under Patch, the Seventh Army landed in Southern France
on August 15, 1944. Patch led the Army in a fast offensive up the Rhone Valley
. On September 9, near Dijon, France, it met up with elements of Patton's US Third Army
that had driven east from the beaches of Normandy
. Patch suffered personal tragedy when his son, Captain Alexander M. Patch III, was killed in action on October 22, 1944, while serving as an infantry company commander in the U.S. 79th Infantry Division.
Patch retained command of the Seventh Army until the end of the war, crossing into Germany, over the Rhine River, leading the Seventh's attack on the German Siegfried Line
, and then into southern Germany.
, Fort Sam Houston
, Texas. He is buried at West Point Cemetery
.
Kurmärker Kaserne, in Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany
, was renamed Patch Barracks
in his honor on July 4, 1952. Patch Barracks is the home of Headquarters, United States European Command
(HQ USEUCOM), the supreme US military command in Europe. Patch Barracks also has an elementary and high school named after General Patch. The transport ship was also named for General Patch.
Patch was promoted to brigadier general on August 4, 1941, to major general on March 10, 1942, to lieutenant general on August 18, 1944 and to general on July 19, 1954, posthumously, under .
, Grand Cross with Palm, Belgium
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, best known for his service in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He commanded Army and Marine
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
forces during the invasion of Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal campaign
The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by Allied forces, was a military campaign fought between August 7, 1942 and February 9, 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of World War II...
, and the U.S. Seventh Army
United States Army Europe
United States Army Europe and Seventh Army, is an Army Service Component Command of the United States Army and the land component of United States European Command. It is the largest American formation in Europe.-Invasion of Sicily:...
in the invasion of southern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(Operation Dragoon
Operation Dragoon
Operation Dragoon was the Allied invasion of southern France on August 15, 1944, during World War II. The invasion was initiated via a parachute drop by the 1st Airborne Task Force, followed by an amphibious assault by elements of the U.S. Seventh Army, followed a day later by a force made up...
).
Early career
Patch was born on Fort HuachucaFort Huachuca
Fort Huachuca is a United States Army installation under the command of the United States Army Installation Management Command. It is located in Cochise County, in southeast Arizona, about north of the border with Mexico. Beginning in 1913, for 20 years the fort was the base for the "Buffalo...
, a military
Military
A military is an organization authorized by its greater society to use lethal force, usually including use of weapons, in defending its country by combating actual or perceived threats. The military may have additional functions of use to its greater society, such as advancing a political agenda e.g...
post in Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
where his father commanded a detachment. He never considered any career other than the army, and received his appointment to West Point
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
in 1909. He wanted to follow his father into the cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
, but realizing that they were becoming obsolete, he was commissioned into the infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
in 1913.
In World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
Patch served as an infantry officer and as an instructor in the Army's machine gun
Machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rounds in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
school. While commanding troops on the front line, his leadership came to the attention of George C. Marshall, then a member of Gen. John Pershing's staff.
During the buildup before the United States' entry into World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Marshall was appointed Army Chief of Staff
Chief of Staff of the United States Army
The Chief of Staff of the Army is a statutory office held by a four-star general in the United States Army, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, and as such is the principal military advisor and a deputy to the Secretary of the Army; and is in...
. Marshall promoted Patch to brigadier general, and sent him to Fort Bragg
Fort Bragg, North Carolina
Fort Bragg is a major United States Army installation, in Cumberland and Hoke counties, North Carolina, U.S., mostly in Fayetteville but also partly in the town of Spring Lake. It was also a census-designated place in the 2010 census and had a population of 39,457. The fort is named for Confederate...
to supervise the training of new soldiers there.
World War II
In 1942, Patch was sent to the Pacific to organize the reinforcement and defense of New CaledoniaNew Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
. He took command of a loose collection of units, and formed them into the Americal Division
Americal Division
The 23rd Infantry Division, more commonly known as the Americal Division of the United States Army was formed in May 1942 on the island of New Caledonia. In the immediate emergency following Pearl Harbor, the United States had hurriedly sent three individual regiments to defend New Caledonia...
(a name adopted on Patch's suggestion after it was proposed by a soldier in the division.) This unit first saw action in the Guadalcanal campaign
Guadalcanal campaign
The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by Allied forces, was a military campaign fought between August 7, 1942 and February 9, 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of World War II...
. Starting in October 1942 they were brought in to relieve the valiant and malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
-ridden 1st Marine Division. In December, Patch moved up to command of the XIV Corps, and he was given charge of the entire offensive on Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal is a tropical island in the South-Western Pacific. The largest island in the Solomons, it was discovered by the Spanish expedition of Alvaro de Mendaña in 1568...
. Patch personally led troops under his command on a dangerous offensive in the Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse
Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse
The Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse, part of which is sometimes called the Battle of the Gifu, took place from 15 December 1942 to 23 January 1943 and was primarily an engagement between United States and Imperial Japanese forces in the hills near the Matanikau River...
to capture several fortified hills and ridges from the Japanese forces
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
. Under his leadership, by February 1943 the Japanese were driven from Guadalcanal.
Impressed by Patch's performance on Guadalcanal, General Marshall ordered him to Europe, where he took over command of the Seventh Army from General Mark Clark
Mark Clark
Mark Clark or Clarke may refer to:*Mark A. Clark , Arizona state legislator*Mark Wayne Clark , United States World War II general*Mark Clark , Major League Baseball player...
. Under Patch, the Seventh Army landed in Southern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
on August 15, 1944. Patch led the Army in a fast offensive up the Rhone Valley
Rhône River
The Rhone is one of the major rivers of Europe, rising in Switzerland and running from there through southeastern France. At Arles, near its mouth on the Mediterranean Sea, the river divides into two branches, known as the Great Rhone and the Little Rhone...
. On September 9, near Dijon, France, it met up with elements of Patton's US Third Army
United States Army Central
United States Army Central is an Army Service Component Command of the United States Army and is also dual-hatted as the "United States Third Army". It is the Army Component of U.S...
that had driven east from the beaches of Normandy
Normandy
Normandy is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is in France.The continental territory covers 30,627 km² and forms the preponderant part of Normandy and roughly 5% of the territory of France. It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions:...
. Patch suffered personal tragedy when his son, Captain Alexander M. Patch III, was killed in action on October 22, 1944, while serving as an infantry company commander in the U.S. 79th Infantry Division.
Patch retained command of the Seventh Army until the end of the war, crossing into Germany, over the Rhine River, leading the Seventh's attack on the German Siegfried Line
Siegfried Line
The original Siegfried line was a line of defensive forts and tank defences built by Germany as a section of the Hindenburg Line 1916–1917 in northern France during World War I...
, and then into southern Germany.
Death and legacy
In August 1945, Patch returned to the U.S. to take command of the Fourth Army, but he was soon hospitalized with lung problems. He died of pneumonia on November 21 at Brooke General HospitalBrooke Army Medical Center
Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, San Antonio is part of the United States Army Medical Command. It is a University of Texas Health Science Center and USUHS teaching hospital and contains the Army Burn Center....
, Fort Sam Houston
Fort Sam Houston
Fort Sam Houston is a U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas.Known colloquially as "Fort Sam," it is named for the first President of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston....
, Texas. He is buried at West Point Cemetery
West Point Cemetery
West Point Cemetery is a historic cemetery on the grounds of the United States Military Academy in West Point, New York. It overlooks the Hudson River, and served as a burial ground for American Revolutionary War soldiers and early West Point inhabitants long before 1817 when it was officially...
.
Kurmärker Kaserne, in Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, was renamed Patch Barracks
Patch Barracks
Patch Barracks is a well-known US military installation in Stuttgart-Vaihingen in Germany. It is named after Alexander M. Patch.Patch Barracks was renamed from the German Kurmärker Kaserne in 1952; it was originally built for use by the German Army Wehrmacht in 1936/37...
in his honor on July 4, 1952. Patch Barracks is the home of Headquarters, United States European Command
United States European Command
The United States European Command is one of ten Unified Combatant Commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers and 51 countries and territories, including Europe, Russia, Iceland, Greenland, and Israel...
(HQ USEUCOM), the supreme US military command in Europe. Patch Barracks also has an elementary and high school named after General Patch. The transport ship was also named for General Patch.
Patch was promoted to brigadier general on August 4, 1941, to major general on March 10, 1942, to lieutenant general on August 18, 1944 and to general on July 19, 1954, posthumously, under .
External links
, Grand Cross with Palm, Belgium