Crisis at the Crossroads The First Day at Gettysburg

9781879664050

1879664054

In his latest work, Professor Hassler seeks to demonstrate that the outcome of the Battle of Gettysburg was largely decided on the first day of combat. He does this by way of a highly detailed (at times almost minute-by-minute) and engrossing descriptive analysis of the action on that day. The narrative is "popular" in the sense that it can be read with pleasure and understanding by almost anyone interested in the subject. Primarily, however, the book is a "revisionist" interpretation of the battle as a whole. As such it has been commended as "a most valuable contribution to military history" by the late Professor Wilburt S. Brown (Maj. Gen., USMC-ret.), himself an astute and demanding student of that subject. "The author appears to have good terrain appreciation and...to be well acquainted with the infantry, artillery, and cavalry tactics and techniques of the period...(He) meticulously names each unit as it arrives on the field, regiment by regiment, battery by battery, squadron by squadron....Further, he,gives the name of the commander on each unit, even adding the names of successive commanders when the leader on arrival has become a casualty in the battle... It is all most painstakingly and smoothly done ... (and is) a remarkable piece of research which I admire."