Book description
In the winter of 1944--1945, Hitler sought to divide Allied forces in
the heavily forested Ardennes region of Luxembourg and Belgium. He
deployed more than 400,000 troops in one of the last major German
offensives of the war, which became known as the Battle of the Bulge,
in a desperate attempt to regain the strategic initiative in the West.
Hitler's effort failed for a variety of reasons, but many historians
assert that Lieutenant General George S. Patton Jr.'s Third Army was
ultimately responsible for securing Allied victory. Although Patton
has assumed a larger-than-life reputation for his leadership in the
years since World War II, scholars have paid little attention to his
generalship in the Ardennes following the relief of Bastogne.
In Advance and Destroy, Captain John Nelson Rickard explores the
commander's operational performance during the entire Ardennes
campaign, through his "estimate of the situation," the U. S.
Army's doctrinal approach to problem-solving. Patton's day-by-day
situational understanding of the Battle of the Bulge, as revealed
through ULTRA intelligence and the influence of the other Allied
generals on his decision-making, gives readers an in-depth, critical
analysis of Patton's overall effectiveness, measured in terms of
mission accomplishment, his ability to gain and hold ground, and a
cost-benefit analysis of his operations relative to the lives of his
soldiers. The work not only debunks myths about one of America's most
controversial generals but provides new insights into his renowned
military skill and colorful personality.
""This book examines his strategy and actions during the
Battle of the Bulge."--WWII History" --
John Nelson Rickard, a captain in the Canadian Armed Forces and
the Directorate of Army Training in Ontario, Canada, is the author of
Patton at Bay: The Lorraine Campaign, 1944. He lives in Kingston, Ontario.
