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

by Don R. Marsh and Steven L. Ossad

Book Overview

Major General Maurice Rose (1899-1945) is the highest-ranking American Jewish officer ever killed in battle, and the only individual casualty to spark a War Crimes Investigation. This book tells the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0878333088
• ISBN13: 9780878333080
• Release Date: June 2003
• Publisher: Taylor Trade Publishing
• Length: 436 Pages
• Weight: 0.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Investigative History at its Finest

It is, by definition, impossible to determine the "Greatest Forgotten Commander" of any war, but if the authors have not managed the feat indisputably, the life of General Rose has set the barrier so high that one is hard put to think of a "remembered" commander who is so great. To this day, the division he commanded holds the record for the longest opposed advance in a single day. The life of Maurice Rose is truly inspirational, but what few personal effects remained of his life were almost completely destroyed in a flood. Messrs. Ossad and Marsh have performed a spectacular feat of bringing this important personage alive. There is much of the inner man we can never know, of course, and much of the book is pure military history as it should be, but you get enough of a glimpse of the man to get a sense of what he was like. The authors do not hesitate to criticize his flaws, but that honesty just makes the man that much more impressive. The authors "bookend" the story with a detailed description of the General's last day (although at least two U.S. generals more senior to Rose and two other division commanders were killed during World War II, to my knowledge, Rose is unique at that rank to have been killed by small arms fire rather than bombs or artillery, a tribute to the General's habit of "leading from the front"). I would have liked a little more information about the fate of the division after the General was killed, but that is available elsewhere. The general's conversion from Judaism to Christianity is speculated upon in some detail, but the willingness to redefine oneself is uniquely American and it is one of the things which make General Rose a uniquely American hero.

Outstanding Book About a Forgotten Leader

If you're a World War II history enthusiast this book is an outstanding selection. The authors, Steven L. Ossad, and Don R. Marsh, did a tremendous job researching Major General Rose's life. They have conducted thorough research that explains everything about him from his faith to his tragic death in March of 1945. I particularly like the footnotes. They provide an easy way for the reader to get background on an event or person the authors have written about. I'd highly recommend the book.

Great book about a little-remembered General

Maurice Rose, a tall, handsome soldier was a stand-offish person with those around him. No one in the 3rd Armored Division really got to know much about his personal life. Married twice, he kept his life so secret that his two sons, by different wives, did not know the other existed until many years after some digging by one of the authors. Rose was a brave man, single-minded, whose only mission was to defeat the Nazis as quickly and as throughly as possible. Whether that was due to his Jewish background (which he seemed to shun) or not is problematical. He demanded absolute loyalty from his men. He would not accept any excuse from any of his subordinate commanders -- accomplish your mission or move on! This book sheds a lot of light on the man whom General J. Lawton Collins regarded "as the top notch division commander in the business at the time of his death." I heartily recommend it especially to those who are interested in the fighting in North-west Europe during WWII.