Patton And Rommel: Men of War in the Twentieth Century

General George S. Patton. His tongue was as sharp as the cavalry saber he once wielded, and his fury as explosive as the shells he’d ordered launched from his tank divisions. Despite his profane, posturing manner, and the sheer enthusiasm for conflict that made both his peers and the public uncomfortable, Patton’s very presence commanded respect. Had his superiors given him free rein, the U.S. Army could have claimed victory in Berlin as early as November of 1944.

General Erwin Rommel. His battlefield manner was authoritative, his courage proven in the trenches of World War I when he was awarded the Blue Max. He was a front line soldier who led by example from the turrets of his Panzers. Appointed to command Adolf Hitler’s personal security detail, Rommel had nothing for contempt for the atrocities perpetrated by the Reich. His role in the Führer’s assassination attempt led to his downfall.

Except for a brief confrontation in North Africa, these two legendary titans never met in combat. Patton and Rommel is the first single-volume study to deal with the parallel lives of two generals who earned not only the loyalty and admiration of their own men, but the respect of their enemies, and the enmity of the leaders they swore to obey. From the origins of their military prowess, forged on the battlefields of World War I, to their rise through the ranks, to their inevitable clashes with political authority, military historian Dennis Showalter presents a riveting portrait of two men whose battle strategies changed the face of warfare and continue to be studied in military academies around the globe.

Dennis Showalter, recipient of the Pritzker Military Museum and Library Literature Award for Lifetime Achievement in Military Writing, was a professor of history at Colorado College, president of the Society for Military history, and joint editor of the publication, War in History, specializing in comparative military history. His works include Instrument of War: The German Army 1914–1918, Patton and Rommel: Men of War in the Twentieth Century, If the Allies Had Fallen: Sixty Alternate Scenarios of World War II, and many other titles related to modern warfare. He passed away in 2019.