Patton at Bay: The Lorraine Campaign, 1944

by John Nelson Rickard

Book Overview

For Lt. Gen. George S. Patton, Jr., the battle for Lorraine during the fall and winter of 1944 was a frustrating and grueling experience of static warfare. Plagued by supply shortages, critical interference from superiors, flooded rivers, fortified cities, and the highly determined German army, Patton had little opportunity to wage the type of fast armored campaign of which he was so enamored. Author John Rickard examines Patton's generalship during...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1574887823
• ISBN13: 9781574887822
• Release Date: June 2004
• Publisher: Potomac Books
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.9" x 8.9"
• Age Range: 20 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

happy customer

The book was shipped on time and the condition as described. I would gladly use this seller again in the future.

an extraordinary book

This is a book of precisely the quality that Patton himself read voraciously during the two decades between WWI and WWII. The author, John Nelson Rickard, is himself an officer in the Canadian Army. So he brings a military perspective to the subject in the same way that Patton sought in his extensive reading between the wars. Most people forget how much of a scholar Patton was and instead focus on his decisions in the moment, but -- like the repairman who knows through great preparation just where to kick something -- Patton's decisions were built upon thousands of hours of diligent scholarly study of books just as this one. The research that Rickard did is nothing less than phenomenal. The bibliography alone is worth buying the book for anyone wanting to learn about Patton or about the events along the Moselle River in late 1944. There is no other compendium of such breadth and depth in any other book on these subjects. But what makes the book even more impressive is that Rickard, just as Patton would have done, has immersed himself in reading and understanding these sources in order to place himself and the reader within the historical context as it was -- and not in hindsight. Having established this solid context of the hour, he then is able to examine it both from the point of view of one who had to make difficult decisions within the reality of that context and also of one who can look back and examine the situation in light of information that allows realistic examination of the complex situation to see what might have been done differently. This sort of analysis is precisely what Patton sought in his own reading and which was the foundation for his own perspectives. Many simplistic views of what happened at Metz have been propagated and persist. Some of them can be seen in other reviews here. For example, the notion has persisted that the problems at Metz were so great because Patton was not given enough gas. Such simplistic notions do not make for solid decisions by future officers seeking to truly understand what happened, which is exactly the perspective that Rickard brings to the subject. This is the kind of book upon which future officers can depend for a realistic and not a simplistic evaluation of what happened and of what the real circumstances were that led to so many American dead and wounded. When those future officers go into battle, it is solid work such as this book that will make their decisions better.

Patton revealed

If our generals of WW2 had been under the spotlight of today many of our "great heads would roll". This book unravels some of the misleading "successes" we were feed by the journalists of that era. See also "An Army At Dawn" to read about more of our human costs to glorify men's egos.

Academic yes, all swoon for Patton no, but fair representation and analysis of a less famous period

John N. Rickard's "Patton At Bay: Lorraine Campaign, September to December, 1944" is certainly an academic tour-de-force examination of the Lorraine Campaign and the role of US Third Army. Readers should not expect descriptions of small-unit actions but rather Corps (sometimes Division) level action, as well as analysis of decisions made by Patton and his subordinate commanders that dictated the pace and 'style' of combat in the Lorraine region in the fall of 1944. In particular "Patton At Bay" mainly covers the period from Sept to early Dec as the Third Army's mobile armored drive of Aug shifted to several, often disjoined, ground to a largely attritional and mostly static push against defensive positions to which the Germans fell back during their rout from France. Rickard not only provides the reader with a considerable amount of historical detail but also attempts to inject perspective and unbiased analysis. At least one reviewer has criticized "Patton At Bay" as being 'overly academic' and 'lacking in true understanding of military tactics and strategy' - this reviewer certainly cannot argue against "Patton At Bay" being a serious piece of academic historiography, but it is a bit strong to flatly state that Rickard misses the boat on the real outcome of Patton's leadership in the Lorraine Campaign. In fact Rickard is up front in saying that despite problems that arose, as Rickard concludes, largely from Patton's over optimism, underestimation of German resilience, and decision to set siege to Metz and associated 'forts', the campaign was largely successful in that the Germans lost proportionately larger numbers of men, machines and equipment and were ultimately forced all the way to the West Wall (Siegfried Line). What Rickard does is criticize the venerated Patton and Third Army as not being faultless - this upsets some. It is in fact the duty of the historian to provide a fair and balanced judgment and assessment of events and decisions, and in this Rickard fully succeeds. "Patton At Bay" is a solid piece of historical literature that is recommended highly for those who want a more "academic" less "visceral and parochial" view of the US Third Army in NW Europe during one of its less press-popular periods of action. 4 solid stars.

An Academic critique of an American icon

This is one of the only books I've ever read that critique General Patton. This book, to me the layman seems extremely well researched, and worthy of academic exaltations. The author is brave to look at the Lorraine Campaign with such a critical eye, not always welcome on American icons of war.