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General Maxime Weygand, 1867-1965: Fortune and Misfortune (Encounters: Explorations in Folklore and Ethnomusicology)
by Anthony ClaytonThis lively biography of the French military commander chronicles his legendary and controversial career through WWI, WWII, and beyond. The extraordinary life of General Maxime de Nimal Weygand offers a fascinating glimpse into the perils and politics of 20th century French military leadership. From obscure origins, Weygand rose to a distinguished career as chief of staff for Marshal Foch during World War I and continued to serve his country after the war in Poland and Syria. Alarmed by Nazi Germany&’s prodigious rearmament, Weygand locked horns with politicians who were blind to the growing military threat. In fact, he faced accusations that his desire for a strong army was anti-democratic. With German invaders again threatening Paris, Weygand argued for armistice rather than face certain military defeat. During Nazi occupation, he was no friend of the newly-installed Vichy government, and was sent to North Africa. There, he plotted the army&’s return to the Allied cause and was imprisoned. Released at wars end, he was rearrested on the orders of Charles de Gaulle and afterwards fought to restore his name. In this concise biography, Anthony Clayton traces the vertiginous changes in fortune of a soldier whose loyalty to France and to the French army was unwavering.
General Of The Army Omar Nelson Bradley In The Korean War And The Meaning Of The Chairmanship
by Major Michael D. ForbisThe Korean War took place over a three year period from 25 June 1950 to 27 July 1953. The first year experienced the major operations of the entire war, and the remaining two years of the war basically resulted in a stalemate along the 38th Parallel until the armistice. The period of the Korean War was a delicate time in United States history, and the war was part of a larger global problem facing the country with regards to the expansion of communism. General of the Army Omar Nelson Bradley served as the first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 16 August 1949 to 15 August 1953. During this time in his career, his duty as Chairman overlapped with the Korean War from the initial invasion on 25 June 1950 to the signing of the armistice on July 1953. Bradley's position as Chairman was part of the modern day Department of Defense unifying the service chiefs of the armed forces. The Chairman position was the senior military advisor to the President of the United States and the Secretary of Defense. During Bradley's four year term in this position, he served under both Presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Bradley also served with the Secretaries of Defense Louis Johnson, George Marshall, and Robert Lovett. During the Korean War, General of the Army Douglas MacArthur and General Matthew Ridgway served as the Far East Commanders.
General Patton: A Soldier's Life
by Stanley P. Hirshson"War is my work and I know I sound sometimes as though I liked it; perhaps I do -- how can I tell? -- but this war hurts everybody. " -- Patton to Henry J. Taylor, 1945. General George S. Patton, Jr. , an inspirational leader and outstanding tactician, has intrigued and confounded his biographers. Now, utilizing untapped archival materials in both the United States and England, government documents, family papers, and oral histories, Stanley P. Hirshson creates the most balanced portrait of Patton ever written. It reveals Patton as a complex soldier capable of brilliant military maneuvers but also of inspiring his troops with fiery speeches that resulted in horrendous acts, such as the massacres of Italian civilians, It explains Patton's belief in a soldiers Valhalla, connects the family's wealth to one of Americas bitterest labor strikes, and disputes the usual interpretation of Patton's relief from command of the Third Army. In investigating this complex man, Hirshson has uncovered surprising material about a series of civilian massacres in Sicily, about the two slapping incidents, about attempts to exploit Patton's diary after his death, and about Patton's relations with top Allied generals. Patton emerges as a soldier of great imagination and courage, and his military campaigns make for edge-of-the-seat reading. All the drama of Patton's life comes alive in this meticulously documented volume.
General Philip Kearny: Battle Soldier of Five Wars
by Thomas KearnyPhilip Kearny, lover of brave soldiers, colorful uniforms, and beautiful horses, has at last found a tolerable biography. Thomas Kearny's recent book is quite obviously the result of serious research into important sources hitherto unused. The dashing personality of Philip Kearny, the romantic hero who figured in five wars, is vividly portrayed. Kearny saw service with the French in Africa, the United States in Mexico, fought the Indians of the Northwest more than once, and served the Union in the War between the States. In each of these wars he performed creditable and often brilliant service.Too often a writer of biography makes the principal character the hero or the villain. In this case Philip Kearny is ever the hero. Whether fighting, writing his severe criticism of his fellow officers—Generals Casey, Hintzelman, and McClellan, or expressing his belief that the annexation of Texas and the Mexican War were brought about by the machinations of an aggressive slaveocracy whose continued existence and wellbeing they were designed to advance, Kearny is ardently supported by his biographer.However, in spite of the tendency to idolize his subject, Thomas Kearny has produced a worthwhile and much needed biography. In conclusion it should be remarked that this biography is more than a history of the life of Philip Kearny for it includes also some account of the more prominent and historically important members of the Kearny family. The author in particular portrays the brilliant campaign of Stephen Kearny across New Mexico to California, bringing that enormous country under the control of the United States.-George D. Harmon
General Robert E. Lee - Brightest Star In The South
by Lt Col. Kent B. DaltonHistory is often overlooked for its value in terms of lessons learned. By examining General Robert E. Lee's distinctive application of operational art and leadership as the commander of the Army of Northern Virginia, we can discern many lessons which are still pertinent to our commanders at the operational level today. From his selection of Lieutenant General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson as one of his corps commanders during his reorganization of the Army of Northern Virginia, his methods to build morale to his strategy and his balancing of Space, Time and Force there are many lessons to be learned.
General Roy S. Geiger, USMC Marine Aviator, Joint Force Commander
by Major James B. Wellons USMCThis work comprises an effort to answer the question of how an airman can be qualified to be a Joint Force Commander, using the biographical example of General Roy S. Geiger, USMC. Geiger was the fifth designated Marine Aviator, earning his wings in June of 1917. He then served as a squadron commander in the First Marine Aviation Force in World War I (WW I), where he flew combat sorties and earned his first Navy Cross. In the interwar years, he served in multiple command billets, acted as head of Marine Aviation, and performed with distinction as a student at the Army Command and General Staff School and the Army and Navy War Colleges. During World War II, Geiger commanded the First Marine Aircraft Wing and the CACTUS Air Force in the dark days of the Guadalcanal Campaign in 1942, where at age fifty-seven he again flew in combat, earning his second Navy Cross. He went on to serve as an Amphibious Corps Commander in the Pacific Theater, where he led campaigns at Bougainville, Guam, and Peleliu. Finally, he distinguished himself in the battle of Okinawa as the only Marine ever to command a field Army, the Tenth Army. After World War II, Lieutenant General Geiger continued to shape the Marine Corps in command of Fleet Marine Forces, Pacific until his premature death in 1947. The study is a chronological account of the life of Roy Geiger, with a focus on his leadership traits, extensive professional military education, remarkable joint relationships, and innovation, all of which contributed to his success as a Joint Force Commander. The author argues that Geiger was the most influential Marine aviator and among the most successful operational commanders in the history of the United States Marine Corps. Roy Geiger was the prototype for a Joint Force Commander.
General Sherman’s Son
by Fr. Joseph T. DurkinFirst published in 1959, this is Father Joseph T. Durkin’s scholarly biography of Father Thomas Ewing Sherman (1856-1933), an American lawyer, educator, and Catholic priest who became a popular public speaker during the latter half of the 19th centuryFr. Tom Sherman was born in San Francisco, California, the son of Union Army General William Tecumseh Sherman and his wife Ellen Ewing Sherman. During the American Civil War (1861-1865), Tom’s father rose to become the second highest ranking general in the United States Army. When his superior, Ulysses S. Grant, became President of the United States, William Tecumseh Sherman was appointed commanding general of the army.Fr. Sherman attended the preparatory department of Georgetown College and graduated with a B.A. degree in 1874. He then entered Yale University’s Sheffield Scientific School as a graduate student in English literature. He received a law degree from Washington University in St. Louis in 1878 and was admitted to the bar, but soon gave up the profession of the law in order to study for priesthood in the Roman Catholic Church. That same year he joined the Jesuit Order and studied for three years in Jesuit novitiates in London, England, and Frederick, Maryland. He was ordained as priest in 1889 and belonged to the Western Province of the Jesuit Order (headquarters in St. Louis). He taught for some years in Jesuit colleges, principally in St. Louis and Detroit.He presided over General Sherman’s funeral Mass in 1891 and served as an army chaplain during the Spanish-American War of 1898. He was in demand as a public lecturer and frequently spoke against anti-Catholic prejudice in the United States.
General Sir Arthur Currie: A Military Biography (Canadian War Museum Historical Publication #no. 22)
by A.M.J. HyattThe most important Canadian in the First World War, Arthur Currie was an extraordinary successful field commander in a war that produced few successful generals. In this biography A.M.J. Hyatt recalls the military career of a remarkable man.<P><P> Currie's achievements were realized in spite of some formidable obstacles. He was not a professional soldier, having been a civilian before the war. He entered the war under the shadow of a scandal, which, had it been disclosed at the time, would certainly have brought public disgrace. He was not a charismatic man; he had none of the personal flair of so many successful military leaders. In many ways these apparently negative factors make his story all the more remarkable, the secret of his success the more intriguing. That secret, as Hyatt explains, was a fine sense of tactics: Currie, the 'amateur' soldier, had all the instincts of a dedicated professional, and he used them to minimize the destruction of the young Canadian troops under his command.<P> When the war was over Currie returned to civilian life, and was knighted for his service. This biography offers the first balanced account of a central figure in Canadian military history.
General Sir James Scarlett: The Life and Letters of the Commander of the Heavy Brigade at Balaklava
by Martin SheppardThe morning of the Battle of Balaklava, on 25 October 1854, saw a desperate charge against a greatly superior Russian force. Epitomised by the reckless courage of the British cavalry in the face of heavy odds, the charge was a complete success, putting the Russians to flight. This charge was not that of the Light Brigade, which took place later the same day, but that of the Heavy Brigade, under the command of General James Scarlett. Caught by surprise, Scarlett dressed the three hundred men nearest to him, placed himself well ahead of them and charged uphill to an extraordinary and unlikely victory. The Charge of the Heavy Brigade, a resounding success, has unjustly been overshadowed by the blunders that led to the heroic defeat of the Charge of the Light Brigade. James Scarlett himself has also been unfairly ignored due the focus on the enmity between the Earls of Cardigan and Lucan. The strategic significance of the Heavy Brigade’s victory, preventing the Russians capturing the key British base, the port of Balaklava, has been overlooked, as has General Scarlett’s decisive part in thwarting Russia’s best chance of winning the Crimean War. Although his heroic leadership at Balaklava was undoubtedly the most important event in James Scarlett’s life, he had a long and distinguished military career before and after the Crimean War. Based on his own previously unpublished letters, including a long description of his day at Balaklava, General Sir James Scarlett is the first book focused on a remarkable soldier.
General Sir Ralph Abercromby and the French Revolutionary Wars, 1792–1801
by Carole DivallThis biography of the Victorian era general and politician sheds light on Britain&’s military maneuverings against the First French Republic. The French Revolutionary Wars of 1793-1801 were a critical turning point in the political and diplomatic history of Europe, and Sir Ralph Abercromby played a leading role in the British military campaigns that were part of them. In this absorbing and perceptive study, Carole Divall throws new light onto Britain&’s position during the late eighteenth century, focusing on its military affairs and the expeditionary forces led by Abercromby during the conflict. After the convulsions of the French revolution, the tension between Britain and France only grew. British waged an economic war by attacking French colonial possessions, and money and men were sent to campaign on the continent. Abercromby was the most notable British general to exercise command of these expeditions, and his actions and experiences are central to the narrative. He led British forces during the disastrous campaign in Flanders, achieved some success in St Lucia and Trinidad, failed at Den Helder and finally triumphed in Egypt where he lost his life in 1801.
General Staffs and Diplomacy before the Second World War (Routledge Library Editions: WW2 #10)
by Adrian PrestonThis book, first published in 1978, examines the influence of the General Staffs upon the diplomacy of appeasement and rearmament between 1931 and 1941. The great question of European security and order, and their breakdown and the outbreak of the second world war, are examined here through the eyes of Cabinets and Foreign Offices as well as through the eyes of Chiefs of Staff.
General Stand Watie’s Confederate Indians
by Frank CunninghamThis is the story of Stand Watie, the only Indian to attain the rank of general in the Confederate Army. An aristocratic, prosperous slaveholding planter and leader of the Cherokee mixed bloods, Watie was recruited in Indian Territory by Albert Pike to fight the Union forces on the western front. He organized the First Cherokee Rifles on July 29, 1861, and was commissioned a colonel. In 1864, after battling at Wilson's Creek and Pea Ridge, he became brigadier general. Watie was the last Confederate general to lay down his arms in surrender, two months after Appomattox."Frank Cunningham tells with all its gusto, hard riding, triumph, and heartbreak, the story of Stand Watie's Cherokee Brigade that fought mightily in Missouri, Arkansas, and the present Oklahoma, under Generals Sterling Price, Thomas C. Hindman, Kirby Smith, and other commanders of the Trans-Mississippi Department, and when no superior officer was available, then pell mell and uncompromisingly on its own."--North Carolina Historical Review"A graphic and authentic account of General Stand Watie and his Indian troops....[It] fills a long-neglected gap in the Civil War annals."--Civil War History
General Vasey's War
by David HornerTo his troops he was 'Bloody George', a hard-bitten professional soldier, technically competent and tactically proficient. His brigade bore the brunt of the fighting in Greece. He commanded the entire Australian force in Crete in the battle against German airborne invaders. He directed the Australian advance from Kokoda and presided over the defeat of the Japanese in the savage battles of the beachheads. But there was more to Major-General George Vasey than his impressive record. Through the existence of a remarkable collection of letters to his wife, Jessie, we have a rare opportunity to get inside the mind of this successful commander. The picture that emerges is one that his closest comrades knew—one of compassion and humanity, a commander who genuinely cared for the well-being of his men. General Vasey's War analyses Vasey's military performance but it also allows us to share Vasey's private thoughts— his frustrations and triumphs, his hopes and cares. Through a unique insight into one man's war we are rewarded with a better understanding of the practice of warfare during those momentous years.
General Vo Nguyen Giap: The Vietnamese Napoleon
by LTC John C. LevanterGeneral Giap is undoubtedly one of the foremost practitioners of insurgency and revolutionary war. He has been called by some, the Vietnamese Napoleon. The issue is: What are the factors which have gained him such a reputation? What experiences have influenced his life and caused him to develop the strategy and tactics used the past 25 years in Vietnam? An extensive literature search was made to trace his life's history and to determine what factors have caused him to be as he is. The study examined his early life, civilian education, and use within the Vietnamese Communist Party, military training and experience. No effort was made to give a detailed analysis of any campaign or battle. A final evaluation was made that although his contribution on to the two wars in Indochina was great, evidence does not support placing him with such men as Mao, Guderian, or Napoleon. He has contributed little which is new to strategic or tactical principle & but rather has demonstrated the ability to apply well those principles developed by others.
General Walton H. Walker: A Talent For Training
by Major Adam W. HilburghA study of General Walton H. Walker's career offers a lens through which to view the evolution of Army training doctrine, revealing its strengths and weaknesses over a period of nearly four decades. However, an understanding of the skills necessary to train units for combat cannot consist solely of a review of training doctrine. General Walker's career provides valuable insights into the real-world challenges a leader experienced training an Army unit, both in war and in peacetime. The resource constraints, political realities, and physical hardships that make Army training so difficult to accomplish with skill and foresight cannot be gleaned from classroom lectures or the pages of a journal or doctrinal publication. Further, an analysis of the breakout and pursuit Walker's XX Corps executed in Normandy, and later the performance of the Eighth Army during the first weeks of combat in Korea, reveal how General Walker applied contemporary training principles to develop combat formations that performed exceptionally well in combat. Finally, a review of current training principles demonstrates that Walker emphasized the same principles throughout his career that retain primacy in today's Army. This reveals Walker's lasting legacy: in addition to performing among the best of the Army's commanders in combat, Walker set himself apart as one of the leading trainers in U.S. Army history.
General William E. DePuy: Preparing the Army for Modern War (American Warriors Series)
by Henry G. GoleThis &“excellent biography&” of one of the US Army&’s unsung heroes &“provides a much-needed re-examination of the early post-Vietnam Army" (Bowling Green Daily News). By the 1970s, the United States Army was demoralized by the outcome of the Vietnam War and shifting attitudes at home. The institution as a whole needed to be reorganized and reinvigorated—and General William E. DePuy was the man for the job. In 1973, DePuy was appointed commander of the newly established Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC). By integrating training, doctrine, combat developments, and management in the US Army, he cultivated a military force prepared to fight and win in modern war. General William E. DuPuy is the first full-length biography of this key figure in American military history. With extensive interviews with those who knew DePuy, as well as access to his personal papers, Henry G. Gole chronicles and analyzes his unique contributions to the Army and nation. Gole guides the reader from DePuy's boyhood and college days in South Dakota through the major events and achievements of his life. During World War II, DePuy served in the 357th Infantry Regiment in Europe from the Normandy invasion until 1945, when he was stationed in Czechoslovakia. DePuy was asked by George Patton to serve as his aide; he supervised clandestine operations in China; he was instrumental in establishing Special Forces in Vietnam; and he briefed President Lyndon B. Johnson in the White House. But his finest contribution was fixing a broken Army.
General William Tecumseh Sherman's Georgia Campaigns: Lessons Learned For The Operational Commander
by Commander James P. DavisBetween May and December 1864, General William Tecumseh Sherman conducted two highly successful campaigns through Georgia, seizing Atlanta and Savannah and inflicting significant damage on Confederate military resources. Sherman’s operations were founded in thorough logistics planning, skillful movement and maneuver of a light, mobile force, and bold movement behind enemy lines without a fixed line of communications. This paper will examine and analyze General Sherman’s use of operational art, focusing on the operational factors of space, time and force and the operational functions of command and control, logistics, movement and maneuver and protection. The analysis will provide lessons learned for today’s operational commander, including applicability to the concept of Operational Maneuver from the Sea (OMFTS).Sherman’s campaigns skillfully blended the advantages of terrain and mobility with maneuver, maintaining the initiative and freedom of action. Current defense initiatives point toward a leaner force, with the ability to respond to crises quickly with minimal logistic support. In future conflicts, U.S. forces may not have the luxury of secure bases of operations or a lengthy period to build up supplies prior to the commencement of hostilities. Sherman emphasized maneuver, mobility and logistical self-sustainment to the maximum extent possible. Success in future conflicts may depend on the ability of joint forces to operate very much like Sherman did in 1864.
General of the Army: George C. Marshall, Soldier and Statesman
by Ed CrayAs the U.S. Army's Chief of Staff through World War II, George Catlett Marshall (1880-1959) organized the military mobilization of unprecedented numbers of Americans and decisively shaped the Allied strategy that defeated first Nazi Germany, then Imperial Japan. As President Truman's Secretary of State, and later as his Secretary of Defense during the Korean War, Marshall the statesman created the European Recovery Act (known as the Marshall Plan), made possible the Berlin Airlift, and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. This masterful biography brings the reader face to face with a genuine American hero.
General of the Dead Army
by Derek Coltman Ismail KadareThe story is about an Italian and a German general, both of whom have been sent to Albania twenty years after the war to dig up the remains of their dead soldiers and return them for burial in their native land. This is a most unlikely happening, for the Communist government is deeply suspicious of all foreigners, potentially spies, let alone two generals. The book, however, alternates between fiction and authenticity.
Generally Speaking: A Memoir by the First Woman Promoted to Three-star General in the United States Army
by Claudia J. KennedyWhen Claudia Kennedy retired from the United States Army in June 2000, she had made history by becoming the Army's first woman three-star general. The highest-ranking female officer of her time, she was Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, overseeing 45,000 soldiers worldwide. Now a military analyst for NBC News, General Kennedy describes her thirty-two-year career, which spanned a time of monumental transformation for the military. She tells how -- just after the Army began to allow women officers to command men -- she was placed in charge of a rebellious, out-of-control company where she restored order and respect. She shows us the daunting challenges she faced over the years, from the DMZ in South Korea to the offices of the Pentagon. And she reveals how one of our most revered and misunderstood institutions really operates...as we meet a superlative leader who both witnessed groundbreaking changes in the Army and helped make them.
Generally Speaking: The Memoirs of Major-General Richard Rohmer
by Richard RohmerLieutenant-General Richard Rohmer is arguably Canada’s most decorated citizen. A commander of the Order of Military Merit and an Officer of the Order of Canada, his career began in World War II where he earned the reputation as one of Canada’s top Mustang reconnaissance pilots. For his service, which includes flying over the beaches of Normandy on D-Day, he received the Distinguished Flying Cross. A lawyer, litigator, journalist and best-selling author of 28 fiction and non-fiction books, Rohmer has met with such public figure as Queen Elizabeth, General George Patton, "Intrepid" Sir William Stephenson, Presidents Eisenhower, Regan, and Clinton, and has flown with John F. Kennedy. He is currently a member of the board of directors of Hollinger Inc. Recently, he chaired the 60th anniversary of the D-Day Advisory Committee to the Minister of Veterans Affairs. His autobiography, Generally Speaking: The Memoirs of Richard Rohmer, is written with Rohmer’s characteristic frankness and insight.
Generals And Generalship
by Field-Marshal Earl Wavell Field Marshal Sir John DillField Marshal Wavell was one of the most successful British Army commanders of the Second World War, often given the toughest assignments, usually greatly outnumbered and with few resources. In this short volume he shares the distilled wisdom on the qualities, mental, moral and political that are necessary for successful leadership.A long forgotten classic of military thought and leadership."These lectures by General Wavell [...] show very clearly how he and the army under his direction have gained their great victories in Africa and why they will gain others. For these lectures, though delivered over two years ago, could only have been delivered by a man capable of winning and keeping the confidence of all men in all walks of life. They deal with the relationships between man and man, on which must be founded both the success of an army and the success of a whole nation at war. I am glad indeed to think that they will have a wide audience, and particularly among soldiers, for whom they have deep lessons."--From Foreword by Field Marshal John Dill
Generals Die in Bed: 100th Anniversary Of World War I Special Edition
by Charles Yale HarrisonGenerals Die in Bed by Charles Yale Harrison is a harrowing and unflinchingly realistic portrayal of the brutal realities of trench warfare during World War I. Drawing on his own experiences as a soldier, Harrison delivers a powerful anti-war narrative that strips away the romanticism often associated with war, revealing the raw and devastating impact of combat on the ordinary soldiers who fight and die on the front lines.Set in the muddy, blood-soaked trenches of the Western Front, Generals Die in Bed follows a young, unnamed Canadian soldier as he endures the relentless horrors of war. Through his eyes, readers are confronted with the grim realities of life in the trenches—constant danger, crushing fatigue, the omnipresent threat of death, and the profound sense of disillusionment that permeates the ranks. Harrison’s writing is stark and unsentimental, capturing the futility and senselessness of a conflict that destroys lives without meaning or purpose.The title, Generals Die in Bed, serves as a bitter commentary on the disconnect between the front-line soldiers and the generals who command them from a distance, often safe from the carnage that their decisions create. Harrison’s narrative challenges the glorification of military leadership, exposing the tragic irony that while soldiers face unimaginable hardships and often die anonymously in the mud, the generals who direct the battles are spared the physical and emotional toll of combat.This book is a timeless and essential read for anyone interested in the human cost of war. Harrison’s Generals Die in Bed stands alongside other classic works of World War I literature, such as All Quiet on the Western Front, as a searing indictment of the horrors of war and a tribute to the soldiers who, despite everything, endure.With its vivid descriptions and haunting insights, Generals Die in Bed remains a poignant and powerful reminder of the true nature of warfare, making it a significant contribution to the literature of the Great War.
Generals Die in Bed: A Story from the Trenches
by Charles Yale HarrisonGenerals die in bed, while soldiers die in the trenches, horrifically, unimaginably, infested with lice and surrounded by rats fattened on corpses. There are no rules, no expectations in war. And there is certainly no glamour. Instead, the men inhabit a senseless world, trusting only the instinct to stay alive. Based on his own experiences in the First World War, Charles Yale Harrison writes a stark and poignant story from the point of view of a young man sent to fight on the Western Front. Beginning in Montreal, the scene soon shifts from the cheering crowds, streamers, and music of the farewell parade to the stench of the trenches, where the soldiers meticulously divide up the stale, gray "war" bread and rationed sugar for their weak tea. In stark, graphic detail, Harrison writes of the soldiers' fear as the crumbling dirt walls of the palisade tumble down upon them during a shell attack. He recounts the horror of face-to-face combat, where the enemy is revealed to be a smooth-skinned lad, no different from the boy down the street. He shows compassion for both the killer and the killed, each innocent, in a situation without choice. In raw, powerful prose, the insanity of war is shown clearly as Harrison questions the meaning of heroism, of truth, and of good and evil. The First World War may seem distant and irrelevant to many young people today, but it is a timeless and important lesson. Seen through the eyes of the adolescent narrator, the experience of trench warfare takes on renewed vibrancy as readers identify with the plight of the youthful soldiers. Harrison's vivid account is a valuable resource for all teachers and students of history and of the human condition. An introduction places Generals Die In Bed in its proper literary context, beside All Quiet on the Western Front and A Farewell to Arms. Harrison's concise, blunt writing style is an effective means of conveying the reality of war and an example to students of literature. Originally published in 1930, this book was lauded as "the best of the war books" by the New York Evening Standard.
Generals of the Ardennes: American Leadership in the Battle of the Bulge
by Jerry D. MorelockIn the many decades since the German army smashed into the American lines in the Battle of the Bulge, opinion of the U.S. senior command's leadership capabilities has fluctuated between hero worship and scorn, with the latter view becoming more predominant as the initial glow of victory faded. Rather than a conventional study of the Ardennes offensive, "Generals of the Ardennes: American Leadership in the Battle of the Bulge" studies five examples of American command leadership at different levels to answer two questions: what characteristics of leadership did these generals display, and how did they affect the overall battle? Based on extensive documentation and personal interviews with participants, "Generals of the Ardennes" provides a description and analysis of: Dwight Eisenhower's role as coalition commander; Omar Bradley's direction of the 12th Army Group during the crisis; Lieutenant General William Simpson's contribution to the Ninth Army's part in defeating the German onslaught; Major General Troy Middleton's stand with the VIII Corps in the center of the fighting; Major General Alan Jones and Brigadier General Bruce Clarke and how they dealt with the challenges and confusions at "the point of the spear." Amid the countless books in many languages that tell and retell the history of the Battle of the Bulge, this one is unique in its focus on American generalship during those epic and decisive weeks that turned the tide of World War II in Europe. For that reason, it stands as both a significant history and an important document for the study of command and control.