The Battle for the Rhine

by Robin Neillands

In what may be his last book, the late Neillands, a distinguished British military historian, covers the campaign in northwestern Europe that commenced with the breakout from Normandy and ended with the Battle of the Bulge. It is a story familiar even to many nonspecialist readers, but in retelling it Neillands points up for a general audience the strategic conflict between Eisenhower and Montgomery. Montgomery favored a single concentrated thrust under his command, whereas Eisenhower favored several thrusts across a broad front. Neillands argues cogently (though without conclusively proving his case) that admiration of Eisenhower's affability and American bias against Montgomery's lack of the same quality have obscured the technical superiority of Montgomery's generalship, in particular as a strategist. Thoroughly researched and equipped with superior maps, Neillands' volume has a place in any collection serving World War II history students and buffs.