Patton's Peers: The Forgotten Allied Field Army Commanders of the Western Front, 1944-45 Review

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Patton's Peers: The Forgotten Allied Field Army Commanders of the Western Front, 1944-45 ReviewAuthor English has written a very useful book on the Allied army commanders other than George Patton who served in France and Germany during 1944 and 1945. For reference, the organization was as follows:
SHAEF Commander - Eisenhower
21st Army Group - Montgomery
British 2nd Army - Dempsey
Canadian 1st Army - Crerar
12th Army Group - Bradley
US 1st Army - Hodges
US 9th Army - Simpson
US 3rd Army - Patton
6th Army Group - Devers
US 7th Army - Patch
French 1st Army - De Lattre
As the author states, there are many books on Patton, but only one biography of Patch, Hodges, and Crerar, only one in English on De Lattre, and none on Simpson or Dempsey. This work brings these other commanders to life in a comparative framework.
The author's biases are a little too apparent -- namely he downgrades Patton (even mentioning non-combatant correspondent Andy Rooney's less than flattering appraisal of Patton) and only Montgomery and Dempsey really get high marks. Although a Canadian, the author's treatment of Crerar left me puzzled as he evidently preferred Crerar's understudy Simonds to Crerar. His passing remarks on Eisenhower are generally negative, and the conflict over Dever's effectiveness receives more coverage than I believe it deserved in this context (except when Devers wanted to cross the Rhine in 1944.) Of the Americans, only Simpson came off well, and specifically his ability to get along with Montgomery was a big plus. In fact, the constant carping by one commander about another (such as Haislip's comments on Patch which the author dismisses) made me want to say in rebuttal, "OK, but they were good enough to win!"
The writing was often redundant when more than one army was involved in a campaign, and the reader can skip over reiterations where desired. In addition, a lot of space is devoted to troop movements that add little to biographies of the commanders, especially when the battles did not reflect positively or negatively on the army commander being discussed. I was also put off by the author's treatment of Montgomery (was always right -- Eisenhower got blamed for allowing Market-Garden to precede the opening of the Scheldt.) The presentation of command and staff organizations was unusual in that the British (Canadian) organization was given first and the American then compared to it.
All that being said, this book is a very useful introduction to Crerar, Simonds, Dempsey, Simpson, Hodges, Patch and De Lattre who are usually just names in the campaign on the Western Front. For that the author is to be commended, but the reader will probably feel the need to delve further into these commanders to answer many questions the author implies concerning their effectiveness. Pehaps the problem was space in this volume, but I definitely wanted more information on Simpson and Dempsey. Patch had seen action in the Pacific, and his record there important but only mentioned in passing. In short, the author left me wanting much more. He could also have included the two army commanders in Italy to complete the picture.
I recommend this book to those interested in the Western Front in World War II as an introduction to the Allied army commanders. There is much valuable information here, but don't expect to go away feeling that you have a handle on all the commanders. That will take additional reading and study, and some of the author's comments definitely require more research before being accepted at face value. Like I said, this is a good introduction.Patton's Peers: The Forgotten Allied Field Army Commanders of the Western Front, 1944-45 OverviewThrough the force of his personality and the headline-grabbing advance of his U.S. Third Army, General George S. Patton has eclipsed the other six men who, like him, led field armies in the great Allied campaign to liberate northwest Europe in 1944-45. Certain to rank among the classics of World War II history like Eisenhower's Lieutenants by Russell Weigley, Patton's Peers presents a masterful reassessment of the eleven-month struggle from D-Day to Germany's surrender, shedding long overdue light on the contributions of these forgotten Allied field army commanders.
Seasoned military historian John A. English unearths the vital roles played by these six generals. As the leader of an army of several hundred thousand troops, each had to plan operations days and weeks in advance, coordinate air support and assess intelligence, give orders to corps commanders, manage a staff of sometimes difficult subordinates, and deal with superiors like Eisenhower, Bradley, and Montgomery. Some performed less ably than the rest while others rivalled Patton in their achievements. All deserve to be lifted from Patton's shadow.

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