The Aquitaine Progression (1984)

The Aquitaine Progression is a novel by Robert Ludlum originally published in 1984.

Plot summary

Joel Converse is a lawyer, having previously been a fighter pilot in the Vietnam War. Because of his wartime experiences with Command Saigon, in the form of a psychopathic general named "Mad" Marcus Delavane, he is chosen to thwart a cabal of former generals bent on world domination.

The Generals

Erich Leifhelm, a former Field Marshal from Nazi Germany, who ingratiated himself with the West after the defeat of Hitler.

Chaim Abrams, a tough-as-nails sabra, a hero to Israeli independence.

Jacques-Louis Bertholdier, a hero of the French Resistance who revels in his past as an assistant to De Gaulle.

Jan van Headmer, a South African general known as the "slayer of Soweto."

George Marcus Delavane, a bloodthirsty U.S. general from the Vietnam war.