Major General Maurice Rose: World War II's Greatest Forgotten Commander

This is a compelling narrative of a man whose name should be among the great generals of WWII. General Rose became a trusted leader by both his men & his superiors. In fact, in my opinion, he was far better than some of those above him in command.If it wasn’t for the freak decision of a single German soldier, General Rose might have survived the war & become more well known. Either purchase the book or the Audio version and come to appreciate a man who led well.

I equate Maurice Rose's military exploits when other great WWII generals such as Patton. He was truly a generals general, humble and effective, always at the head of his men and armor. He was indeed the SPEARHEAD of 3rd Armor. I wish there were more books about this amazing man, although he is often mentioned in The Panzer Killers.

I found this book after reading Rick Atkinson's The Guns at Last Light. He mentions that MG Maurice Rose is buried at the American cemetery in Holland where there was some confusion whether his headstone should be a Star of David or a Latin Cross. He was born Jewish but married an Episcopalian in a Christian ceremony. After reading the Oassad and Marsh book, I know longer care. Rose was a great general who led from the front and died with his boots on.This book is really about the life and times of Maurice Rose. Because his personal correspondence was ruined in a flood, the book is short on personal insights. We only have a glimpse of the man in three dimensions. It would be nice to read about him in his own words. Still, the book captures the urgency and uncertainty of war far better than most.I'm sorry my copy was not delivered with a short note inserted explaining why all references to jeeps are misspelled as "peeps." It would be more comforting to see a picture of the person's corpse responsible for misusing the computer's ability to "change all." Fortunately, there is humor too. "I was the bridgemaster, and during a lull in the traffic, a single peep came from across the river. Lt. General George S. Patton, accompanied by his driver....." (pg 200) And "Back in the peep and shaking with fear, T/4 Shaunce put the peep into low gear...." (pg 201) Yes, this is a cheap shot, but it's very disconcerting for the reader.

I've never understood antisemitism. The Jewish experience in America and Jewish contributions to America make our country much of what it is today. Upon hearing of the flight of the Jewish community from France one the ministers high up in the Macron administration lamented that when a nation loses it's Jews it loses a part of itself that can only be filled by a safe vibrant Jewish community. What does that have to do with a WW2 U.S. Army general you may ask. Maurice Rose was hand picked by George Patton as his chief of staff and later as a divisional commander not BECAUSE Rose was Jewish but inspite of that fact. Patton knew Rose was a fighter and a Jew but most of all an American. Demonstrating that the Jewish community was as American as any plank owning English settler descended family or any other immigrant community member. That Rose was a tactical and operational genius selected by one of the most controversial Generals in U.S. history speaks volumes for General Rose namely he fought, he fought smart and well and he fought as an American dedicated to ending the war, Nazi Germany and the unnecessary deaths of American soldiers in a war that could have been and should have been stopped by someone other than Iowans, New Yorkers, Texans and Californians. Regardless of faith...as any good American general would.

I finished the book believing Rose to be a thoroughly nasty and bullying piece of work, overwhelmingly ambitious and profligate with others lives in order to enhance his own image. That he was profligate with his own life is immaterial, he clearly subordinated the lives of others to his own ambition and ended up getting what he thoroughly deserved. The most interesting part of the book was towards the end when his Jewish family and the Jewish community arrogantly assumed him once more into their fold despite the fact that he lived for twenty years as a Christian, married twice as a Christian and died as a professed Christin albeit hardly a good example of one. He had elements of Patton in him without the humour and elements of Rommel without the compassion. The investigation into his death being a possiblewar crime was extraordinary given Rose's own cavalier attitude to trhose about to surrender. To go into the detail of his death that the author does smacks of being misguided and I found elements of the detail contradictory.

Gentlemen: I had heard of a General Rose in my history readings but didn't know much about the man. At the reading of this document it described an Army officer akin to George Patton under whom he served. Third Armoredbecame famous because of Gen. Rose. He had apathy for his men, but completing the job, in front of his forces, waswhat he did. He wanted this from childhood. His ultimate end was tragic, even to the point of being an atrocity.His record should be made known to more citizens. He is on the back pages of WWII history. His efforts certainly weren't.. Author did a fabulous job describing the General...A VERY GOOD BIOGRAPHY....

This was my father's C.O. , his general. My father loved him. My father wrote about the day Gen. Rose was ambused and they were separated. My father survived, by perhaps luck and God. This is the General that was never recognized by the US gov't but was beloved by his men. I have that proof in the letters where my father looked up to him, as his second father.