Customer Reviews

The Armies of George S. Patton

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Patton commanded the US 3rd Army in the Second World War. He was the USAs best armour general, a master of fluid warfare, always attacking in the most unlikely places, constantly surprising the enemy. This excellent book gives a detailed account of the strength and structure of Pattons armies.

In France during the First World War, Patton established a tank training school and commanded a tank brigade. At this time, the US Army treated tanks as a support to foot infantry. Patton made them the main component of a balanced, fully mobile, combined arms division made up of tanks, armoured infantry, armoured field artillery and armoured engineers, supported by tactical air, signals and logistics units.

In 1942 and 1943, during the Second World War, he commanded US forces in Morocco, Tunisia, and Sicily. Early in 1944 he was given command of the 250,000 strong 3rd Army. He made them one of the best organised, armed and equipped armies of the Allied armed forces and instilled them with great fighting spirit. Success in battle proved how good his preparations were. 3rd Army played a key role in the headlong Allied armoured thrust to Germany after D-Day. In the summer of 1944 they broke through the Nazi defences in Normandy and advanced rapidly across France; in March 1945 they crossed the Rhine into Germany. They fought across France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Austria and Czechoslovakia, liberating 82,000 square miles of territory including 1500 cities and towns.

They captured 1.28 million prisoners of war, killed 47,500 and wounded 115,700 enemy soldiers.

Packed into one volume is everything you might want to know: the Order of Battle of the Third Army, structure of its divisions, brief bios of the major commanders, staff, training, weapons, equipment, uniforms, services, tactics, a brief but thorough chronology of the Third's battle history, and more!

This is an essential book for Patton students, and will prove endlessly useful for readers and writers of military history, WWII buffs, reenactors, and anyone else interested in one of America's greatest feats of arms.

Admirably organized, with summaries of decorations, POW's taken, territory liberated, photos, maps, diagrams, bibliography. The only regret: that there is no similar book for every Army.

The author has put together a complete order of battle and interesting information about the many formations and leaders that served with the 3d Army. Unfortunately, there are errors that call to question the accuracy of everything in the book. At least 2 and perhaps 3 pictures are completely misidentified as to the people included and their role in the war. The authors take on the Knutsford Incident is different than every other historian of note and contrary to what is known from Pattons own diaries. All-in-all readers should be highly suspect of some of the conclusions reached in the book and seek other views of Patton as well.

Patton was a great General!!! Need to know when this book was written. Looking for a book written in 1945 about Gen. Patton.