Crusade in Europe
Memoir Intermediate Primary Sources
🇺🇸 American
The Supreme Commander's own account of the war in the West, from Torch to the German surrender.
The Verdict
Before he was a president, Dwight Eisenhower was the man who had to hold the Western alliance together, and this is his own account of the job. Written in 1948 with striking speed and clarity, it covers the war in the West from the North African landings to the German surrender, and its interest is precisely the view from the summit: the coalition quarrels, the broad-front strategy and its critics, the loneliness of decisions measured in lives. Even-tempered and notably free of score-settling, it is command seen from the one chair where everything landed.
Who Should Read It
Read it if you want
- The war in the West from the Supreme Commander
- Coalition politics and grand strategy
- The broad-front controversy, from Eisenhower's side
- A measured, first-hand command memoir
Look elsewhere if you want
- The soldier's experience of combat
- The Eastern or Pacific war
- Score-settling or vivid drama
Why We Rated It 4.2
Historical Context
Crusade in Europe (1948) is Eisenhower's memoir of his time as Supreme Allied Commander in the European and Mediterranean theatres, from Operation Torch through to victory. He wrote it before entering politics; it is notable for its calm handling of disputes, including his defence of the broad-front strategy against Montgomery's single-thrust alternative.
Events Covered
Editions & Reading Notes
Doubleday (1948)First edition.
Johns Hopkins reprintThe standard modern edition.
Read It Alongside
The Guns at Last Light Rick Atkinson · 2013 · ★ 4.6
Popular History 
War As I Knew It George S. Patton · 1947 · ★ 4.1
Memoir 
Band of Brothers Stephen Ambrose · 1992 · ★ 4.6
Popular History Collector's Corner
1948 firsts are common and inexpensive. Check current listings. → Check listings on AbeBooks.
Where to Buy
ISBN: 978-1421400075
Read This Against
The same events seen from a different vantage point. The fullest understanding often lives in the space between accounts that don't agree.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Crusade in Europe biased in Eisenhower's favour?
- It is his own account and defends his decisions, but it is unusually restrained and fair-minded for a commander's memoir.
- What was the broad-front controversy?
- Eisenhower advanced on a wide front into Germany; Montgomery argued for a concentrated single thrust. The book gives Eisenhower's reasoning.