The Lost Patrol
The Lost Patrol, John McKay’s fourth book in his gritty The Manner of Men series, throws Lieutenant Sean Harris and his team into the Battle of the Bulge. From the first rumble of the panzer engines, the reader knows they are embarking on a classic, full-blooded adventure.
December 1944. After their last harrowing mission to destroy a V 2 fuel plant, Harris and his men are given a rest, babysitting Brigadier Tim Owen as he tours Allied troops. However, Hitler and the Wehrmacht have other plans. The Germans unleash Operation Wacht am Rhein, Operation Watch on the Rhine. It is Hitler’s attempt to split the British and American armies by launching an armoured thrust through the Ardennes, in a desperate bid to force a stalemate in the West and sue for peace.
Harris’s small band of brothers is split up in the chaos of the unfolding battle and finds itself caught behind enemy lines. Harris struggles to reunite his command and protect the Brigadier as they fight their way through a pivotal moment of World War II, in a bid to reach friendly lines.
McKay skilfully depicts the battle from multiple perspectives, including the German side, to show the folly of Hitler’s final, reckless gamble. The Lost Patrol is a fast, atmospheric novel packed with tension, delivering a vivid tale of courage under fire in all its horror and humanity. McKay blends action with strong characters, depicting the best and worst of men thrust into war. The result is a World War II thriller that captures both the chaos of battle and the bonds that drive soldiers to risk everything for one another.
