Martin Blumenson (November 8, 1918 – April 15, 2005) was an American military historian who served as a historical officer with the Third and Seventh Armies in World War II and later became a prolific author. His works included a biography of General George S. Patton.
Biography
Born in New York City and raised in Bernardsville, New Jersey, in a family of Russian-Jewish descent,[1] Blumenson graduated from Bernards High School in 1935 and was inducted into the school's wall of honor in 2015.[2]
He studied at Bucknell University and Harvard University, earning master's degrees from both by 1942. During World War II, he became an officer in the United States Army and served as a historical officer with U.S. forces in the Central European Campaign from 1944–45.[3] Postwar, Blumenson remained in France for years, married a French woman and later divided his time between France and the United States.
During his career, Blumenson authored 17 works on the military history of World War II in North Africa and Europe. His works on Patton, The Patton Papers and Patton: The Man behind the Legend, 1885–1945 were acclaimed. Blumenson's final work was published in 2001. Blumenson died on April 15, 2005, in Washington, D.C.[6]
In 2020 accusations were published that he manipulated an entry in the war-diary of General Patton (Patton-Papers 1974) concerning the Chenogne massacre (replacing paramedical soldiers with soldiers),[8] which was addressed in a later correction, because Blumenson used instead of the original diary of Patton a typed copy with the manipulated content.
Selected works
Anzio: The Gamble that Failed. Cooper Square Press. 2001 [1963]. ISBN978-0815411291.
