In the Second World War, Great Britain, the United States and Germany each produced one land force commander who stood out from the rest: Bernard Montgomery, George Patton and Erwin Rommel. Theirs was a very personal contest: the clash of mighty armies perceived as a bout between three men. The explosive passions of their relationships with each other and with their political masters rivalled the pyrotechnics of their tank battles in determining the conduct and outcome of the war.

In Masters Of Battle, for the first time in the literature of the Second World War, all three are 'put into the same ring' and allowed to 'go at it' against a backdrop of the great armoured battles of North Africa, the Normandy landings and the advance into Germany. Through the mutual respect of the arch-enemies Monty and Rommel, and the mutual animosity of the allies Monty and Patton, Masters Of Battle presents the Second World War as it was experienced by its three most flamboyant, controversial and influential commanders.

'Entertaining and lucidly written ... the best way of comparing these three formidable egos --- Brighton puts the three generals in the ring and lets them slug it out.' Ed King in The Sunday Times