The Commanders: The Leadership Journeys of George Patton, Bernard Montgomery, and Erwin Rommel

Historian Clark (Blitzkrieg) presents a fascinating group portrait of three of WWII’s most innovative and illustrious generals. A fierce advocate for tank warfare, George Patton commanded the Western Task Force’s invasion of Morocco in 1942, fought his way across Algeria and Tunisia, and helped conquer Sicily. Despite his often excessive behavior, including slapping and verbally abusing “battle-stressed” soldiers, Patton “led instinctively and authentically,” according to Clark, especially during the Battle of the Bulge, when he repulsed a last-ditch onslaught by German forces. Elsewhere, Clark notes that Bernard Montgomery’s decisive and “instinctively paternalistic” leadership style earned him a reputation as “the most difficult general in the British Army,” but credits Montgomery’s tactical skills and “fervent, rousing, and reassuring” words to Allied troops for the success of the D-Day invasion and the crucial victory at El Alamein in Egypt, where he tangled with Germany’s “Desert Fox,” Erwin Rommel. A “courageous, caring, and charismatic officer” with a reputation for keeping his troops alive, Rommel evacuated Axis forces from North Africa after El Alamein and saw his defensive efforts across France undermined by rival Axis commanders and Hitler’s misjudgments. Falsely implicated in a plot to kill Hitler, he committed suicide in October 1944. Brimming with incisive character sketches and strategic analysis, this is a captivating study of leadership in action. (Nov.)