Stephen L. Moore's "Patton's Payback"

Stephen L. Moore, a sixth generation Texan, is author of more than twenty books on World War II and Texas history.

He applied the “Page 99 Test” to his new book, Patton's Payback: The Battle of El Guettar and General Patton's Rise to Glory, reported the following:

The ninety-ninth page of Patton’s Payback is a segue that sets up the final failure of the U.S. Army’s campaign commander in North Africa, Lieutenant General Lloyd Fredendall, thereby setting the stage for the introduction of a fiery new leader, Lieutenant General George S. Patton.

Page 99 ends with: “The Americans had been stunned with the bold Axis thrust at Faid Pass. This time the alert Ranger patrols at Dernaia Pass were bypassed and the Allies would be surprised again at a different Tunisian mountain pass called Kasserine.”

Lieutenant Les Kness and his squad of Darby’s Rangers have just completed a grueling twenty-mile march through the Tunisian desert. The elite Army special forces group under Lieutenant Colonel Bill Darby would soon face the taunting rants of their new commander-in-chief for their failure to be in proper uniforms. But over the course of the next two months, Darby, Kness, and their Rangers would earn the respect of “Old Blood and Guts” for their daring assaults against German and Italian outposts.

George Patton’s rise to campaign commander is set up by the U.S. Army’s terrible showing at Kasserine Pass, which is hinted at on Page 99. In the six weeks that followed the introduction of Patton as the Army’s new leader, his Rangers, artillerymen, armored divisions, and infantry would face the best of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps in the desert near El Guettar.

Visit Stephen L. Moore's website.

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--Marshal Zeringue