Patton, Montgomery, Rommel: Masters of War »

TERRY BRIGHTON is a master historian and curator of the Queen's Royal Lancers Regimental Museum. He is also the author of Hell Riders: The True Story of the Charge of the Light Brigade. He lives in England.

Through previously unreleased research and historical reinterpretation, Patton, Montgomery, Rommel presents the Second World War as it was experienced by three of its most controversial and influential commanders.

Publishers Weekly

In WWII the U.S., Great Britain and Germany each produced a ground commander who stood out from the rest and who has come to define their countries' respective ways of war. Brighton combines archival and published sources with his experience as curator of the Queen's Royal Lancers Museum to compare these three men of war: George Patton, Bernard Law Montgomery and Erwin Rommel. All were showmen. All had “[s]wollen egos... easily bruised.” And all possessed “an unrivaled enthusiasm for combat.” Montgomery emerges as not only a battle manager but a battle captain ready to stay the course and accept the accompanying losses. Rommel's will took a different form, responding directly to the new demands of armored warfare. He took chances against odds and against orders—and his willpower overcame the risks from the enemy and the inertia imposed from his superiors. The “rollicking, mocking” Patton epitomized the dash of the cavalry in his willingness to dare, then dare again, pursuing outcomes that could not be calculated in advance. Clausewitz called audacity essential for greatness. Brighton demonstrates it in action, moving into the top rank of general audience military writers with this effervescent, perceptive triple biography. 4 maps. (Nov.)