Patton; Ordeal and Triumph

New York: Ivan Obolensky, Inc, 1964. First Printing. Hardcover. Good. [6], 885, [3] pages. Maps. Notes. Bibliographies. References. Index. Spine creased, some soiling and wear to boards. Ladislas Faragó or Faragó László (21 September 1906 - 15 October 1980) was a Hungarian military historian and journalist who published a number of best-selling books on history and espionage, especially concerning the World War II era. He was the author of "Patton: Ordeal and Triumph", that formed the basis for the film Patton and wrote "The Broken Seal", one of the books that formed the basis for the movie Tora! Tora! Tora!. Faragó's book "Aftermath: The Search for Martin Bormann" details the Nazi presence in South America and was based on both Faragó's own personal investigation and interviews in South America, and Argentinian intelligence documents. This biography of General George S. Patton, Jr., covers Sicily, North Africa, the breakout at Avranches and the restraint preventing total victory, among other areas. Ladislas Farago has made a definitive biography of General George S. Patton, Jr., who was an extraordinary man. Its bibliography of both Patton's own writings and up to now untapped primary sources is impressive. The "source supreme" is an official of the New York City school system who, as if to prepare for the nervewracking job he holds, served in World War II as Patton's confidential secretary. The variety of informants to this biography (parents of the martyred GIs of the "Slapping Incidents," the Virginia foxhunting set, Allen Dulles, Waffen SS officers, Elsenhower's G-2 chief, Von Rundstedt's Chief of Staff, Rommel through his papers) is overwhelming. George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 - December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France and Germany after the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944. Born in 1885, Patton attended the Virginia Military Institute and the United States Military Academy at West Point. He studied fencing and designed the M1913 Cavalry Saber, more commonly known as the "Patton Saber", and competed in modern pentathlon in the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. Patton first saw combat during 1916's Pancho Villa Expedition, America's first military action using motor vehicles. He saw action in World War I as part of the new United States Tank Corps of the American Expeditionary Forces: he commanded the U.S. tank school in France, then led tanks into combat and was wounded near the end of the war. In the interwar period, Patton became a central figure in the development of the army's armored warfare doctrine, serving in numerous staff positions throughout the country. At the American entry into World War II, he commanded the 2nd Armored Division. Patton led U.S. troops into the Mediterranean theater with an invasion of Casablanca during Operation Torch in 1942, and soon established himself as an effective commander by rapidly rehabilitating the demoralized II United States Corps. He commanded the U.S. Seventh Army during the Allied invasion of Sicily, where he was the first Allied commander to reach Messina. There he was embroiled in controversy after he slapped two shell-shocked soldiers, and was temporarily removed from battlefield command. He then was assigned a key role in Operation Fortitude, the Allies' military deception campaign for Operation Overlord. At the start of the Western Allied invasion of France, Patton was given command of the Third Army, which conducted a highly successful rapid armored drive across France. Under his decisive leadership, the Third Army took the lead in relieving beleaguered American troops at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge, after which his forces drove deep into Nazi Germany by the end of the war. During the Allied occupation of Germany, Patton was named military governor of Bavaria, but was relieved for making aggressive statements towards the Soviet Union and trivializing denazification. Severely injured in an auto accident, he died in Germany twelve days later, on December 21, 1945. Patton's colorful image, hard-driving personality and success as a commander were at times overshadowed by his controversial public statements. His philosophy of leading from the front, and his ability to inspire troops with attention-getting, vulgarity-ridden speeches, such as his famous address to the Third Army, was met favorably by his troops, but much less so by the Allied high command. His emphasis on rapid and aggressive offensive action proved effective, and he was regarded highly by his opponents in the German High Command.