Customer Reviews

Cold War Casualty: The Court-Martial of Major General Robert W. Grow

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Everybody knows about Gen. George Patton and his Third Army, but few people have heard of Gen. Robert Grow and his 6th Armored Division. Grow's 6th AD was one of the units that was responsible the success and fame of the Third Army.

You might expect General Grow to return from World War II and enjoy accolades and well-deserved retirement. Instead, he was court-martialed and railroaded in the 50's, and at least one of his persecutors was a fellow general with whom he had a conflict during the Battle of the Bulge.

Author Dr. Hofmann has produced a meticulous study of the case and the events leading up to it, and provides a disturbing look at Pentagon rivalries and politics.

This is a relatively small book about a minor incident of the Cold War. Even though I had a personal and professional interest in the subject matter (the trial of the highest ranking U.S. officer ever court-martialed), the book did not hold my interest and it was a chore to finish it. The book should have had an appendix with key documents--the actual content of MG Grow's diary, the excerpts of the diary as published in what was then East Germany (the German Democratic Republic), et cetera. Also, there's no exploration of the possibility that MG Grow was prosecuted because of the enemies he had made in his career. I found found the author's argument that Grow was prosecuted to protect various higher-ups decidedly unconvincing. In retrospect, I'm sorry I purchased the book.

One of the best books I have read on the military court-martial process during the MaCarthy/Cold War era. Very revealing, especially regarding unlawful command influence.