Book Review: Fighting Patton: George S. Patton Jr. Through the Eyes of His Enemies

Archives

by Harry Yeide

Minneapolis: Zenith Press, 2011. Pp. xiv, 514. Illus., maps, append., notes, biblio, index. $30.00. ISBN: 0760341281

Fighting Patton explores an aspect of Patton’s career that has been largely neglected, what the enemy thought about him.

Yeide, author of several works on the Second World War, examined German after-action-reports from both world wars, the transcripts of postwar interviews with German officers, and many memoirs. The result is interesting, thought-provoking, and iconoclastic.  Yeide finds that the Germans believed Patton to be a good officer and sound tactician, certainly better than most of the Allied commanders.  Overall, however, they ranked him as only equal to most of their own above average commanders, and believed him no match for their Guderians and MansteinsMoreover, Yeide found the Germans believed that while Patton was a much better tactician than his rival Montgomery, they also believed Monty was the better strategist. 

A book that is absolutely essential for anyone interested in the U.S. Army in World War II, the campaign in northwestern Europe, and George S. Patton, 
Fighting Patton will no doubt stimulate much controversy

---///---



Reviewer: A. A. Nofi, Review Editor   


Buy it at Amazon.com

X

ad

Help Keep Us From Drying Up

We need your help! Our subscription base has slowly been dwindling.

Each month we count on your contribute. You can support us in the following ways:

  1. Make sure you spread the word about us. Two ways to do that are to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
  2. Subscribe to our daily newsletter. We’ll send the news to your email box, and you don’t have to come to the site unless you want to read columns or see photos.
  3. You can contribute to the health of StrategyPage.
Subscribe   contribute   Close