In World War II Patton commanded a corps in North Africa and then the 7th Army in Sicily. He lost his command in 1944 after a publicized incident in which he hit a soldier suffering from battle fatigue, but later led the 3rd Army in the Normandy Campaign. His tendency to make rapid military advance, at times with no regard for supporting units or allies, became evident in 1944 in his spectacular sweep through France, across the Rhine, and into Czechoslovakia. As military governor of Bavaria, he was criticized for his leniency to Nazis. He was killed in a road accident while commanding the US 15th Army.