The Rising Tide - I gained a new fascination...

My last fasination that I have developed was from reading the historical fication books about Caeasar and Brutus (Julius and Marcus). I was amazed at the the ambition that Caesar had in these books and how far he made it in such a short time. I compared what I read about to the actual facts and I felt satisfied that the books were close to enough to give respect to someone who deserved it. This book, the Rising Tide has done the same thing. The book is about WWII and the prominent characters are Ike Eisenhower, George Patton, Montgomery, Rommel, FDR, and Winston Churchill. And then you have your other characters who could either be made up or lower rank soldiers who fought and sometimes died in WWII. The focus of the book was always on the leadership of these main characters/heros/enemy/etc. The fascination that I now have is on Erwin Rommel. Before this book I have never heard of him although I have come to find out that he is quite famous for his leadership ability and tactical brilliance, much like Caesar. The only problem he had was that he was not Hitler. Hitler had the final say so in what happened on the battlefield. Sometimes Hitler listened to the demands Rommel said were necessary to be met if they were to win certain battles. The fight starts of in the desert of North Africa. Rommel is kicking everyones butts and could've continued if not for the fact that people simply didn't like his arrogance and toughness. He always seemed to know the exact thing that needed to be done. Thankfully he was not listened to. He kept off the allied forces with beat down tank battalions, barely enough food, water and fuel, and quite a bit less troops. Now the book portrayed him as someone who could not stand those in Berlin, including Hitler. So it helps you continue to have respect for him. He simply was a genius. A tough, arrogant, genius.

Now onto the Allied Forces. Certain chapters were dedicated to described the experiences Eisenhower had leading Great Britain and the US as they fought together. His weaknesses and his strengths were shown through certain chapters. Then you had Patton who was as people continue to describe him. Someone who did not respect authority but demanded respect himself. He may not be a genius but he was tough enough to get done anything that was asked of him. He just did it, no questions asked by himself or anyone he commanded. His rival was Montgomery. They had many similarities other than the fact Patton just went in to fight and Montgomery took his time, planned everything out many different times, then would fight, pull back, reasses, and then make some more plans, and then fight again. In the end they still would win. Just different ways to get there. Some of the cooler characters were the privates and majors and lieutenants included in some of the battles. The paratroopers being dropped in on Siciliy and the fight they had and the tanks rolling in on Italy, Siciliy and North Africa. The guys in this book, if describing real people, were heros. However, I know real guys are out there that did similar things that these guys did. Young leaders, 20, 24, 27, etc. that led men into battles and made decisions with mortars, bombs, bullets, tanks, etc. surrounding them. It was all amazing.

The thing that impressed me the most is that when the US entered the war, we were the least experienced in battle. Germany was rolling over everyone. They had experience, they had the machines, they had the weapons. Great Britain had more experience than us and they were responsible for quite a bit of the allies pulling out the victory in this war. But the US caught up quick. The guys gained their experience, they proved themselves, and they were the reason Hitler and his army lost.

A side note, only references were made towards what was going on out in the Pacific and with Japan. North Africa, Sicily, and then into Italy was all that was talked about. I need to find out if there's a volume II. I don't think there is but there should be.

My next book I'm going to read when it's released as a soft copy next month is Killing Rommel. I refuse to look up how he dies b/c I want to find out as I read "Killing Rommel". Like I said, the guy is amazing!