Product Description

For Lt. Gen. George S. Patton, Jr., the battle for Lorraine during the fall and winter of 1944 was a frustrating and grueling experience of static warfare. Plagued by supply shortages, critical interference from superiors, flooded rivers, fortified cities, and the highly determined German army, Patton had little opportunity to wage the type of fast armored campaign of which he was so enamored. Author John Rickard examines Patton's generalship during these bitter battles and suggests that Patton was unable to adapt to the new realities of the campaign, thereby failing to wage the most effective warfare possible. Relying on a broad range of historical sources, including personal papers and division after-action reports, this treatment of Patton's operational performance in Lorraine goes beyond the official history. It describes Patton's philosophy of war and explains why it failed him in Lorraine. Supplemented by full orders of battle, casualty and equipment loses, and excellent maps based on Hugh M. Cole's official U.S. Army history of the campaign,Patton at Bay,/i> is a penetrating study of one of America's best fighting generals.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #726272 in Books
• Published on: 2004-06-30
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: .0 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

From Kirkus Reviews
A detailed analysis of one of the few WWII campaigns led by General George S. Patton that could be called a failure. Rickard, a Ph.D. candidate in military history at the University of New Brunswick, looks at the period from September through December, 1944, when Patton, fresh from his successes in Normandy, attempted to race through the French province of Lorraine and cross the Rhine river into the German homeland. Contested by various forces throughout history in endless wars, Lorraine was held in 1942 by the Nazis; Patton was delayed in getting there by inclement weather, stronger-than-anticipated German resistance, and a countryside not well suited to the large, offensive tank campaigns Patton favored. Rickards writing is ponderous and academic, but he makes many relevant points. Revered for his bold and decisive strategic armored troop maneuvers, in which he swiftly swept through large amounts of enemy territory with a flair for capturing headlines and enemy troops, Patton in this case didnt adapt his usually successful style to a new situation. The author faults the general for failing to learn how to wage war on a static battlefield where the enemy was firmly entrenched, and for failing to fully see that his forces engagement in Lorraine was in part intended as a diversionary tactic while the Allies captured the German industrial heartland of the Ruhr. The campaign ended when Patton pulled out of Lorraine to come to the aid of the beleaguered American army at Bastogne in the famed Battle of the Bulge; the general died a year later after a car crash in occupied Germany. A strictly academic study of Pattons generalship in one significant battle. (maps) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review
.,."the best account of this long-overlooked campaign. Supplemented by full orders of battle, casualty and equipment losses, and excellent maps, Patton at Bay is a compelling and incredibly detailed account--a must read for professional soldiers and marines, and a penetrating study for anyone wanting to know why Patton's philosophy of war failed in Lorraine."-Military Heritage

About the Author
John Nelson Rickard is a Canadian army officer completing his Ph.D. in military history at the University of New Brunswick. His area of expertise is World War II with particular emphasis on the campaigns in northwest Europe. He lives in Alberta, Canada.