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Command Missions: A Personal Story
From North Africa, through the length of Italy, into Southern France and eventually into occupied Germany, he led his troops onward to repel the Axis powers.
Command Missions is a fascinating account of Truscott’s journey through the Second World War, in which he recounts his fellow soldiers’ exploits, the co-operation and at times tense relationships between various Allied commanders, as well as intricate details of the battles that the American forces were engaged in.
Although he had little battle experience prior to the beginning of the war he quickly impressed his superiors. By 1945 he had commanded many different troops as he rose through the ranks during the course of the war including the 3rd Infantry Division in Sicily, the VI Corps at Anzio and in Southern France, and finally the Fifth Army from the Apennines to the Alps.
Truscott’s memoir provides brilliant insight into how commanders planned operations and reacted swiftly to the ever-changing situations of their troops on the ground. It was only through this combination of strategic preparation and quick thinking that the Allied armies were able to overcome their German and Italian enemies.
Drawing upon his own personal experiences, letters and orders from other generals like Patton and Eisenhower, as well as the notes and recollections of aides and other soldiers allow Truscott to create a vivid history of the Allied invasion of Italy.
Command A Personal Story is essential reading for anyone interested in the military campaigns of World War Two as well as the leaders that commanded their troops to victory.
Lucian K. Truscott was a highly decorated officer of World War Two. He was one of the few U.S. officers to command a division, a corps, and a field army on active service during the war. He published this work in 1954 and passed away in 1965.
Command Missions is a fascinating account of Truscott’s journey through the Second World War, in which he recounts his fellow soldiers’ exploits, the co-operation and at times tense relationships between various Allied commanders, as well as intricate details of the battles that the American forces were engaged in.
Although he had little battle experience prior to the beginning of the war he quickly impressed his superiors. By 1945 he had commanded many different troops as he rose through the ranks during the course of the war including the 3rd Infantry Division in Sicily, the VI Corps at Anzio and in Southern France, and finally the Fifth Army from the Apennines to the Alps.
Truscott’s memoir provides brilliant insight into how commanders planned operations and reacted swiftly to the ever-changing situations of their troops on the ground. It was only through this combination of strategic preparation and quick thinking that the Allied armies were able to overcome their German and Italian enemies.
Drawing upon his own personal experiences, letters and orders from other generals like Patton and Eisenhower, as well as the notes and recollections of aides and other soldiers allow Truscott to create a vivid history of the Allied invasion of Italy.
Command A Personal Story is essential reading for anyone interested in the military campaigns of World War Two as well as the leaders that commanded their troops to victory.
Lucian K. Truscott was a highly decorated officer of World War Two. He was one of the few U.S. officers to command a division, a corps, and a field army on active service during the war. He published this work in 1954 and passed away in 1965.
601 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1954
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94 people want to read
About the author
Lucian K. Truscott Jr.
7 books3 followersLucian King Truscott, Jr. was a U.S. Army General, who successively commanded the 3rd Infantry Division, VI Corps, Fifteenth United States Army and Fifth United States Army during World War II.
Truscott was born in Chatfield, Texas, to an English father and Irish mother, and joined the Army in 1917. After officer training, he was commissioned a second lieutenant of cavalry and served in various cavalry and staff assignments between World War I and World War II. He married Sarah "Chick" Nicholas Randolph, a descendent of Thomas Jefferson, on 27 March 1919.
Truscott was born in Chatfield, Texas, to an English father and Irish mother, and joined the Army in 1917. After officer training, he was commissioned a second lieutenant of cavalry and served in various cavalry and staff assignments between World War I and World War II. He married Sarah "Chick" Nicholas Randolph, a descendent of Thomas Jefferson, on 27 March 1919.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
November 13, 2017
This book is a very rare sort of first-person book. Gen Truscott was involved, either as a witness or a participant in many of the major events in the war in the Mediterranean. This gives his book an added flavor, especially since while he is critical of a number of things, he is generally fairly calm in his statements in regards to his displeasure. He treats the book as a way to show the Missions he was assigned during the war and at the end of what others would call a chapter, he states End of Mission.
His first mission was to work with and help develop planning operations alongside the Special Operations Command of Lord Mountbatten. There he helped institute the Ranger program and was a witness of the Dieppe Raid. He states at that point that the Raid, while unsuccessful was needed to show that such a thing could be done, in regards to the later landings for D-Day.
The Second Mission is taking command of one of the Task Forces under Patton during the Torch landings. He is unsparing on the faults that came up due to the lack of planning and training and doesn't quite come out and say that it was a good thing that they were only fighting the French who didn't really want to be fighting anyway.
The Third Mission is taking Command of and setting up Ike's advance command post in Tunisia. Something that gets him a front row seat to watch the affects of Rommel's offensive that throws the Americans and the Allies into disarray. His summation of this event is interesting, he points to the failure of understanding of tactics and operations between the British and the Americans, as well as an abject failure of intelligence and Command and Control. While not very in depth on the events it is perhaps one of the best summations on the events in Tunisia at that time I have ever read.
Next Mission is to take command of the 3rd Infantry Division and get it ready for the landings in Sicily. Here we find out what he did to create what would later be known as the Truscott trot. He is also commanded to move the division to Tunisia and take part in the last battles there but doesn't really arrive in time for that. That move though did teach him how conservative British supply and movement estimates were.
The Next Mission on his list is Sicily. Again it isn't a very in-depth view, but it is one that has more immediacy than might otherwise be the case. He has a few things to say about Patton but doesn't bring up anything like the slapping incidents, he does, however, have the scene from the movie where Patton is upbraiding him for not wanting to commit to a landing operation, but the scene is very different from the one in the movie. The version in the book reads much closer to true than the scene in the movie.
After Sicily, he starts training and rebuilding the Division for its role in Dragoon, but is called in to land in Salerno and help to bring stability. Once again he arrives a little late to achieve the goal that he has been set, but this time does get into the fighting, driving the Division North to the Winter Line that Kesselring has decided to make his stand.
His division is pulled out of the line for preparations for the Anzio landings. This is perhaps one of the most interesting sections of the book. Since he is not very critical of anyone in an openly aggressive manner, but he does talk about things that brought about a sense of defeatism in the Corps Staff as well as the disconnect between the Corps staff and the Ground Commanders. It is also the one section where he comes the most closely to actually giving open criticism of any other Officer. This happens when Mark Clark orders him to change the direction of his main assault after the break out of the Anzio Beachs, to take Rome. While his statement is mild enough, it is damning. To paraphrase he states that with that order all chance of cutting off major portions of the German Army was lost.
After the Capture of Rome, he moves back to training and refitting for the Landings of Dragoon. Here he is again fairly mild about criticisms of any other officers until Jean Joseph Marie Gabriel de Lattre de Tassigny shows up. These two got off on the wrong foot and never really recovered. It is in the campaign across Southern France that he shows a knack for improvisation. Good thing since otherwise he would have had to rely on French Armor, and that was something that he had no control over.
Once he leads the Corps into the Vosges Mountains he is moved back to Italy to take command of the 5th Army from Clark. Here he talks about using the Colored Division, the 442nd Independent Infantry Regiment as well as the Brazilians in the last few battles in Northern Italy.
After the surrender, he is moved to command of 3rd Army to take the place of Patton. Here he talks about the problems with Displaced Persons which came in two major types. Overstatement of issues for political reasons and the abject refusal of some of the individuals from Eastern European Nations to go back while their homes were under the control of the Russians. He also goes over the trails of German War Criminals and the problems with them.
His career comes to a somewhat abrupt ending with what sounds to have been a stroke. The Conclusion Chapter is worth the price of the book in and of itself. He doesn't hold back quite as much there as he does in the rest of the book and the problems that he points to are ones that would be well worth the time to correct.
Would have rated this a five, but since I was reading the electronic version the number of editorial errors kept it from that ranking.
His first mission was to work with and help develop planning operations alongside the Special Operations Command of Lord Mountbatten. There he helped institute the Ranger program and was a witness of the Dieppe Raid. He states at that point that the Raid, while unsuccessful was needed to show that such a thing could be done, in regards to the later landings for D-Day.
The Second Mission is taking command of one of the Task Forces under Patton during the Torch landings. He is unsparing on the faults that came up due to the lack of planning and training and doesn't quite come out and say that it was a good thing that they were only fighting the French who didn't really want to be fighting anyway.
The Third Mission is taking Command of and setting up Ike's advance command post in Tunisia. Something that gets him a front row seat to watch the affects of Rommel's offensive that throws the Americans and the Allies into disarray. His summation of this event is interesting, he points to the failure of understanding of tactics and operations between the British and the Americans, as well as an abject failure of intelligence and Command and Control. While not very in depth on the events it is perhaps one of the best summations on the events in Tunisia at that time I have ever read.
Next Mission is to take command of the 3rd Infantry Division and get it ready for the landings in Sicily. Here we find out what he did to create what would later be known as the Truscott trot. He is also commanded to move the division to Tunisia and take part in the last battles there but doesn't really arrive in time for that. That move though did teach him how conservative British supply and movement estimates were.
The Next Mission on his list is Sicily. Again it isn't a very in-depth view, but it is one that has more immediacy than might otherwise be the case. He has a few things to say about Patton but doesn't bring up anything like the slapping incidents, he does, however, have the scene from the movie where Patton is upbraiding him for not wanting to commit to a landing operation, but the scene is very different from the one in the movie. The version in the book reads much closer to true than the scene in the movie.
After Sicily, he starts training and rebuilding the Division for its role in Dragoon, but is called in to land in Salerno and help to bring stability. Once again he arrives a little late to achieve the goal that he has been set, but this time does get into the fighting, driving the Division North to the Winter Line that Kesselring has decided to make his stand.
His division is pulled out of the line for preparations for the Anzio landings. This is perhaps one of the most interesting sections of the book. Since he is not very critical of anyone in an openly aggressive manner, but he does talk about things that brought about a sense of defeatism in the Corps Staff as well as the disconnect between the Corps staff and the Ground Commanders. It is also the one section where he comes the most closely to actually giving open criticism of any other Officer. This happens when Mark Clark orders him to change the direction of his main assault after the break out of the Anzio Beachs, to take Rome. While his statement is mild enough, it is damning. To paraphrase he states that with that order all chance of cutting off major portions of the German Army was lost.
After the Capture of Rome, he moves back to training and refitting for the Landings of Dragoon. Here he is again fairly mild about criticisms of any other officers until Jean Joseph Marie Gabriel de Lattre de Tassigny shows up. These two got off on the wrong foot and never really recovered. It is in the campaign across Southern France that he shows a knack for improvisation. Good thing since otherwise he would have had to rely on French Armor, and that was something that he had no control over.
Once he leads the Corps into the Vosges Mountains he is moved back to Italy to take command of the 5th Army from Clark. Here he talks about using the Colored Division, the 442nd Independent Infantry Regiment as well as the Brazilians in the last few battles in Northern Italy.
After the surrender, he is moved to command of 3rd Army to take the place of Patton. Here he talks about the problems with Displaced Persons which came in two major types. Overstatement of issues for political reasons and the abject refusal of some of the individuals from Eastern European Nations to go back while their homes were under the control of the Russians. He also goes over the trails of German War Criminals and the problems with them.
His career comes to a somewhat abrupt ending with what sounds to have been a stroke. The Conclusion Chapter is worth the price of the book in and of itself. He doesn't hold back quite as much there as he does in the rest of the book and the problems that he points to are ones that would be well worth the time to correct.
Would have rated this a five, but since I was reading the electronic version the number of editorial errors kept it from that ranking.
May 31, 2017
See other memoirs -- cannot write an objective review about my grandfather, but will say as a wanna be hippie chick/peacenik, I was surprised by how much I liked the book. It's about people, personalities, power, resources or lack thereof -- drama, death, success, failures --
When I was a little girl, my grandfather, retired from his highly decorated military career -- put me on his knee in his study and taught me to read. (He was a schoolteacher before his Army career). What a gift he gave me, showing me how letters worked to form words & worlds.
When I was a little girl, my grandfather, retired from his highly decorated military career -- put me on his knee in his study and taught me to read. (He was a schoolteacher before his Army career). What a gift he gave me, showing me how letters worked to form words & worlds.
November 19, 2017
A good memoir by a poor author. Truscott was one of America’s finest Lt. Generals in WWII. But his writing is ponderous—filled with unnecessary Latinate where an Anglo-Saxon term would be more dynamic. He describes in mind-mumbing detail lines of battle incomprehensible even when referring to a map--and his few, hand drawn maps hardly illuminate. Except for Fredenthall and Clark--and the latter case, barely--he doesn't criticize fellow officers. He does criticize black troops in battle and Jews in post-war Germany (the former for not being willing, with some exceptions, to fight; the latter for exploiting Holocaust sympathy to dominate Germany's black markets).
Interestingly, he mentions in passing learning Commando techniques from someone with whom he worked in England on a combined ops planning board. I never thought I would see British Major Robert D. Henriques's name again. He became a writer, including a novel--"The Commander"--published about 1969 (just before Henriques's death) that was a thinly disguised black comedy of his own first Commando mission. It's long out of print, and though I gave it four stars, I'm convinced its readers have vanished.
Back to Truscott. Compare this with Grant's Autobiography. Grant not only could make you SEE a 150 year-old battlefield, he could make you see how he could see, immediately, the logistics necessary to win. Truscott and Grant are equally defensive about their accomplishments, but the former's writing is so bland and detailed, it makes one grateful We Liked Ike.
Interestingly, he mentions in passing learning Commando techniques from someone with whom he worked in England on a combined ops planning board. I never thought I would see British Major Robert D. Henriques's name again. He became a writer, including a novel--"The Commander"--published about 1969 (just before Henriques's death) that was a thinly disguised black comedy of his own first Commando mission. It's long out of print, and though I gave it four stars, I'm convinced its readers have vanished.
Back to Truscott. Compare this with Grant's Autobiography. Grant not only could make you SEE a 150 year-old battlefield, he could make you see how he could see, immediately, the logistics necessary to win. Truscott and Grant are equally defensive about their accomplishments, but the former's writing is so bland and detailed, it makes one grateful We Liked Ike.
May 16, 2025
Lucian K. Truscott Jr. is a general who commanded American forces in Tunisia, Italy, and France during the Second World War and held important responsibilities. After the war, he remained in Europe for the restoration of peace and the trial of war criminals.
Here are some notes from his memoirs that interested me:
French forces had a disagreement with the Americans. There was tension to the point of fighting. But the French came around when the Americans cut off all logistical support.
After the Jews were liberated, they were placed in the camps of their choice. However, they constantly complained about their conditions. Since it was a period of poverty, the black market was booming, and the black market fell into the hands of the Jews.
The Russians wanted to forcibly return the people who had migrated to the places they occupied. They did not want to go back to their countries in any way, especially the Ukrainians, because they never wanted to be under Russian rule. The roots of today's conflicts go back to that time.
Here are some notes from his memoirs that interested me:
French forces had a disagreement with the Americans. There was tension to the point of fighting. But the French came around when the Americans cut off all logistical support.
After the Jews were liberated, they were placed in the camps of their choice. However, they constantly complained about their conditions. Since it was a period of poverty, the black market was booming, and the black market fell into the hands of the Jews.
The Russians wanted to forcibly return the people who had migrated to the places they occupied. They did not want to go back to their countries in any way, especially the Ukrainians, because they never wanted to be under Russian rule. The roots of today's conflicts go back to that time.
August 4, 2018
Review
Interesting command of all the logistical needs for combat. Well written book lots of details that talk about the inter-actions of battle planning.
Interesting command of all the logistical needs for combat. Well written book lots of details that talk about the inter-actions of battle planning.
August 26, 2017
This is the finest Combat Memoir I have read! General Truscott commanded at the Division, Corps and Army levels during WWII. Beginning with commanding the 3rd Infantry Division in the invasion of North Africa then leading in through Sicily and on to mainland Italy and Anzio, he makes many observations about lessons learned. He assumed command of the VI Corps at Anzio and fought the Corps in Italy until it was withdrawn for the Dragoon invasion of Southern France. He led the Corps in France until he was selected to replace General Mark Clark as commander of the Fifth Army in Italy. General Truscott fought Fifth Army through the end of hostilities. At the end of hostilities he led Occupation Forces in Bavaria. This combat record is replete with valuable advice for leaders on every subject military leaders should understand such as leadership, training, planning, combat stress, logistics, and morale just to name a few. General Truscott writes forthrightly. Clear and easy to read an follow this is a gem for the military historian and buff. The work is full of lessons learned and observations of senior leaders and the press and politicians. General Truscott is critical of some leaders but not malevolent. He places faults and failures in context. His observations of the differences among the British, French and American leaders and soldiers are enlightening. General Truscott is one of the often overlooked underlings to the major leaders of WWII. I should have read this combat record when I served and not after I retired. There are many lessons I could have applied when I was on duty. This is a great read for military leaders, historians or buffs.
I do not specifically recommend this edition! It is full of typos and the maps are blurry. It at times seems like it was translated from a foreign language. This edition simply states it was printed in 2017 with no publisher listed. The original edition was released by E. P. Dutton and Company, Inc., in 1954. Even with these faults this is an outstanding read.
I do not specifically recommend this edition! It is full of typos and the maps are blurry. It at times seems like it was translated from a foreign language. This edition simply states it was printed in 2017 with no publisher listed. The original edition was released by E. P. Dutton and Company, Inc., in 1954. Even with these faults this is an outstanding read.
November 9, 2017
I had a hard time rating the book. I eventually downgraded to 3 stars due to readability. Its a good book but did not read well. It comes down on the side of completeness and accuracy, sacrificing readability.
GEN Truscott's book covers his early career briefly. Its main thrust is WWII of course. From initial training, problems, and obstacles to the invasion of Africa, the subsequent campaign, Sicily, Italy-especially Anzio, the invasion of Southern France, finishing the Italian Campaign, occupation duties in both Italy and Germany, war trials and a sudden retirement at the end of 1946 due to heart problems the General was in the midst of it all, front line commander, senior staff, army commander. The wide range of his postings offers a greater view of the whole effort. This is the only book on WWII I've met that discusses the Brazilian units in the Italian campaign in more than a passing encyclopedic manner for example.
The general continuously credits subordinates and superiors for their work but is not afraid to place some blame or note that an officer was adequate to the job but neither great nor bad. Even his friends come out on both sides. Some of the difficulties in setting up the occupation and war trials were illuminating.
One pleasure I had was reading Bill Maudlin's UP FRONT and his book of WWII cartoons at the same time which gave a freshness to this book and a further realism to Maudlin's work.
As with all Kindle books, especially the re release of older books, there is a large number of typos. Most are easy to get past some are baffling.
GEN Truscott's book covers his early career briefly. Its main thrust is WWII of course. From initial training, problems, and obstacles to the invasion of Africa, the subsequent campaign, Sicily, Italy-especially Anzio, the invasion of Southern France, finishing the Italian Campaign, occupation duties in both Italy and Germany, war trials and a sudden retirement at the end of 1946 due to heart problems the General was in the midst of it all, front line commander, senior staff, army commander. The wide range of his postings offers a greater view of the whole effort. This is the only book on WWII I've met that discusses the Brazilian units in the Italian campaign in more than a passing encyclopedic manner for example.
The general continuously credits subordinates and superiors for their work but is not afraid to place some blame or note that an officer was adequate to the job but neither great nor bad. Even his friends come out on both sides. Some of the difficulties in setting up the occupation and war trials were illuminating.
One pleasure I had was reading Bill Maudlin's UP FRONT and his book of WWII cartoons at the same time which gave a freshness to this book and a further realism to Maudlin's work.
As with all Kindle books, especially the re release of older books, there is a large number of typos. Most are easy to get past some are baffling.
May 19, 2020
Great book of WWII
I really enjoyed this book and understanding how WWII battlefields planned and fought. Prior to this didn't realize the depth of analysis used. Only problem was poor proofreading of words. Almost every page had spelling or rather incomplete or corrupted word in a sentence which is some cases I could figure what was implied but others there was no way. It did take away from the story.
I really enjoyed this book and understanding how WWII battlefields planned and fought. Prior to this didn't realize the depth of analysis used. Only problem was poor proofreading of words. Almost every page had spelling or rather incomplete or corrupted word in a sentence which is some cases I could figure what was implied but others there was no way. It did take away from the story.
January 10, 2018
Good read except for annoying errors.
A well-written, candid insight into the strategies responsible for the Allied victories in the Southern theater. More attention should have been given by the editors to proofreading and correcting the voice recognition format. Very annoying to continually decipher word meanings.
A well-written, candid insight into the strategies responsible for the Allied victories in the Southern theater. More attention should have been given by the editors to proofreading and correcting the voice recognition format. Very annoying to continually decipher word meanings.
July 8, 2018
Serious analysis of leadership.
Truscott belongs in any resource collection of WWII history ranking with Eisenhower, Patton, Clark, and other senior military leaders. The general absence of "political correctness" make this book stand out with insightful judgments. An enjoyable consuming read.
Truscott belongs in any resource collection of WWII history ranking with Eisenhower, Patton, Clark, and other senior military leaders. The general absence of "political correctness" make this book stand out with insightful judgments. An enjoyable consuming read.
January 6, 2018
Command Missions: A Personal Story by Lucian K. Truscott Jr. is a book that I would like to rate higher than I have, but technical issues in the Kindle edition that I read prevent it. Truscott is an admirable figure and there is much to learn from him in this book. I found his account of his career and postings during World War II to be a terrific account of the war from a staff and command perspective. His account is even-handed, even in regards to others with whom he obviously had issues with. He wrote about successes, mistakes, and failures, taking responsibility when it was his fault and often crediting others with successes. Reading this book, you learn not only about his experiences but about what went into planning and commanding an amphibious assault or a campaign and you learn lessons in leadership and command. The big problem is that the Kindle edition is so beset with technical errors in the conversion from print to digital that it is distracting, you constantly have to reread passages to determine what Truscott meant, not what the digital conversion put on the page.
I highly recommend this book, but don't bother with the Kindle edition, find it in print. If I had read the print edition it would easily be a five star review, but the conversion issues reduce the Kindle edition review to a three - they're that bad.
I highly recommend this book, but don't bother with the Kindle edition, find it in print. If I had read the print edition it would easily be a five star review, but the conversion issues reduce the Kindle edition review to a three - they're that bad.
February 8, 2024
A nicely written account of one of the unsung generals of WWII.
Easy to read, I did fumble over all of he acronyms once in a while but overall a very good book.
Easy to read, I did fumble over all of he acronyms once in a while but overall a very good book.
March 21, 2017
Great biography of a rather forgotten WWII General. It does provide a little insight into how race relations were during the 2nd World War.
Read
June 20, 2017Pretty good book, but it's hard to read in places. A scan/machine interpretation of the original book did a lousy job of translating what General Truscott wrote into the ebook version. If you're not familiar with military history, you're likely to be confused.
That said, it's worth reading.
That said, it's worth reading.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews