Unorthodox Success of Patton, Rommel

American General George S. Patton, Jr., and German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel both demonstrated the masterful employment of armored forces in many World War II military campaigns. Both combat commanders, as described and assessed in Dennis Showalter's highly readable Patton and Rommel: Men of War of the Twentieth Century were unorthodox military leaders with colorful personalities. Their military accomplishments generally earned them the loyalty of their soldiers and the respect of their adversaries.

Prominent military historian Showalter has written an interesting and somewhat provocative dual biography of these iconic field commanders. His goal is to concentrate on three major areas in this parallel biography: “the men, their wars, and the system they served.”