Patton 360

World War II U.S. Army Gen. George S. Patton Jr. and his soldiers embark on the road to Germany by invading North Africa Nov. 8, 1942, in the face of opposition by pro-Nazi French forces.

After the Germans defeat U.S. forces at Kasserine Pass, Gen. George S. Patton Jr. takes command, whips the poorly trained troops into shape and the Allies achieve victory in North Africa by May 1943.

Patton's success in North Africa leads to his being given command of the 7th Army for the Allied invasion of Sicily in a combined amphibious and airborne assault.

Frustrated by British forces' slow progress in Sicily, Patton ignores orders to stay by their side and pushes on to capture Palermo in 1943; Patton is relieved of command for slapping a pair of shell-shocked soldiers.

Patton is given command of a fictitious army in England to fool the Germans about the Allies' real plans for the D-Day invasion of Normandy in 1944; Patton helps spearhead the breakout as U.S. forces smash through the German lines.

As American forces fight their way across France, Patton is ordered to halt before completely trapping a German army, and he is denied the glory of liberating Paris; Patton's troops come within 60 miles of the German border by summer's end in 1944.

Patton's blitzkrieg is so successful that he hopes to invade Germany before Christmas, but his army's rapid advance outruns its supply lines and enemy opposition stiffens.

The slow and brutal slugfest in Lorraine continues as Patton orders his troops to capture the heavily fortified city of Metz, triggering a siege that goes on for weeks.

Despite the worst weather in 20 years, Patton's Third Army races north to smash through German lines and relieve besieged Americans defending Bastogne, Belgium, during the Battle of the Bulge.