Overview

"Patton's Way is a unique approach to the legend of General George S. Patton Jr. and his development and application of modern warfare. Rather than a biography, Patton's Way argues that popular representations of Patton are built on misconceptions and incomplete understandings about his approach to battle. Morningstar addresses the contradiction between the historiographical criticism of Patton's methods and popular appreciation for his successes. The author identifies several schools of thought offering explanations yet, he notes, they all fail to fully comprehend the real Patton. The secret to Patton's success was a radical and purposely-crafted doctrine developed over several decades. The author identifies four core principles in Patton's creed: targeting the enemy's morale through shock; utilizing highly practiced combined arms mechanized columns; relying on mission tactics and flexible command and control; and employing multi-layered and synthesized intelligence systems to identify enemy capabilities and weak spots. These precepts directly contradicted official U.S. Army doctrine and created misunderstandings that led commanders to truncate Patton's operations in Tunisia, Sicily, and France. Morningstar details how Patton developed and applied each principle and uses the breakout from Normandy as a case study to illustrate Patton's Way in application. This book discusses the ""death and resurrection"" of Patton's ideas in the U.S. Army directly following World War II to the present and comments on the status of Patton' ideas in the Army today."

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9781612519791

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�Patton's Way is a must read for any U.S. or allied course that deals with leader development! West Pointer, combat veteran, and teacher, James Kelly Morningstar has done superb primary research to make this a must-have addition for any officer or leader development program, as well as for any scholar of warfare. . . . Patton had it right; if the U.S. Army had listened to him, the war in North Africa, Sicily, and Europe might had been won faster and at less cost. This book is so well written and researched that I am going to read it again!� �Maj. Donald E. Vandergriff, USA (Ret.), author of The Path to Victory: America's Army and the Revolution in Human Affairs �Morningstar makes a comprehensive and persuasive case for Patton�s development of an approach to war-making based on �shock and awe� intelligence that focuses on weaknesses; planning that targets morale; execution that emphasizes initiative. . . . Anomalous in a World War II Army based on management, inapplicable to a current emphasis on counterinsurgency, Patton�s Way is no panacea. It remains, however, a powerful instrument of conventional land war�which remains a factor in the new century.� �Dennis Showalter, retired professor of history and past president of the Society for Military History, and author of Patton and Rommel: Men of War in the Twentieth Century �To most historians, George Patton�s legacy died with him at the end of World War II. Thankfully, James Kelly Morningstar has resurrected and extended Patton into the modern era. I�ve always suspected that Patton�s long shadow is with us still. Morningstar proves it with brilliant scholarship and an amazingly contemporaneous thesis that makes Patton�s genius relevant to today�s generation of soldiers.� �Maj. Gen. Robert Scales, USA (Ret.), author of Scales on War: The Future of America�s Military at Risk �Patton�s Way is a compelling and thought-provoking study of Patton�s leadership and his revolutionary methods of planning and preparing for war�and how, since his untimely death in 1945, his ideas and principles have continued to have an influential impact on the Army�s postwar leaders.� �Carlo D�Este, author of Patton: A Genius for War Patton's Way is a must read for any U.S. or allied course that deals with leader development! West Pointer, combat veteran, and teacher, James Kelly Morningstar has done superb primary research to make this a must-have addition for any officer or leader development program, as well as for any scholar of warfare. . . . Patton had it right; if the U.S. Army had listened to him, the war in North Africa, Sicily, and Europe might had been won faster and at less cost. This book is so well written and researched that I am going to read it again! --Maj. Donald E. Vandergriff, USA (Ret.), author of The Path to Victory: America's Army and the Revolution in Human Affairs Morningstar makes a comprehensive and persuasive case for Patton's development of an approach to war-making based on 'shock and awe' intelligence that focuses on weaknesses; planning that targets morale; execution that emphasizes initiative. . . . Anomalous in a World War II Army based on management, inapplicable to a current emphasis on counterinsurgency, Patton's Way is no panacea. It remains, however, a powerful instrument of conventional land war--which remains a factor in the new century. --Dennis Showalter, retired professor of history and past president of the Society for Military History, and author of Patton and Rommel: Men of War in the Twentieth Century To most historians, George Patton's legacy died with him at the end of World War II. Thankfully, James Kelly Morningstar has resurrected and extended Patton into the modern era. I've always suspected that Patton's long shadow is with us still. Morningstar proves it with brilliant scholarship and an amazingly contemporaneous thesis that makes Patton's genius relevant to today's generation of soldiers. --Maj. Gen. Robert Scales, USA (Ret.), author of Scales on War: The Future of America's Military at Risk Patton's Way is a compelling and thought-provoking study of Patton's leadership and his revolutionary methods of planning and preparing for war--and how, since his untimely death in 1945, his ideas and principles have continued to have an influential impact on the Army's postwar leaders. --Carlo D'Este, author of Patton: A Genius for War

Patton's Way is a must read for any U.S. or allied course that deals with leader development! West Pointer, combat veteran, and teacher, James Kelly Morningstar has done superb primary research to make this a must-have addition for any officer or leader development program, as well as for any scholar of warfare. . . . Patton had it right; if the U.S. Army had listened to him, the war in North Africa, Sicily, and Europe might had been won faster and at less cost. This book is so well written and researched that I am going to read it again! --Maj. Donald E. Vandergriff, USA (Ret.), author of The Path to Victory: America's Army and the Revolution in Human Affairs Morningstar makes a comprehensive and persuasive case for Patton's development of an approach to war-making based on 'shock and awe' intelligence that focuses on weaknesses; planning that targets morale; execution that emphasizes initiative. . . . Anomalous in a World War II Army based on management, inapplicable to a current emphasis on counterinsurgency, Patton's Way is no panacea. It remains, however, a powerful instrument of conventional land war--which remains a factor in the new century. --Dennis Showalter, retired professor of history and past president of the Society for Military History, and author of Patton and Rommel: Men of War in the Twentieth Century To most historians, George Patton's legacy died with him at the end of World War II. Thankfully, James Kelly Morningstar has resurrected and extended Patton into the modern era. I've always suspected that Patton's long shadow is with us still. Morningstar proves it with brilliant scholarship and an amazingly contemporaneous thesis that makes Patton's genius relevant to today's generation of soldiers. --Maj. Gen. Robert Scales, USA (Ret.), author of Scales on War: The Future of America's Military at Risk Patton's Way is a compelling and thought-provoking study of Patton's leadership and his revolutionary methods of planning and preparing for war--and how, since his untimely death in 1945, his ideas and principles have continued to have an influential impact on the Army's postwar leaders. --Carlo D'Este, author of Patton: A Genius for War

Author Information

A twenty-year Army veteran, James Kelly Morningstar served in a wide range of assignments in Germany, the Gulf War, the National Training Center, the US Navy, Bosnia, and Washington, D.C. He has studied and written several award winning essays on military operations, but this is his first book.

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