Eisenhowers Six Great Decisions Europe 1944 1945

Download Eisenhowers Six Great Decisions Europe 1944 1945 full books in PDF, epub, and Kindle. Read online Eisenhowers Six Great Decisions Europe 1944 1945 ebook anywhere anytime directly on your device. Fast Download speed and no annoying ads. We cannot guarantee that every ebooks is available!

Eisenhower’s Six Great Decisions: Europe, 1944–1945

Author : General Walter Bedell Smith
Publisher : Pickle Partners Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1782892184
Total Pages : 210 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (828 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Eisenhower’s Six Great Decisions: Europe, 1944–1945 by : General Walter Bedell Smith

Download or read book Eisenhower’s Six Great Decisions: Europe, 1944–1945 written by General Walter Bedell Smith and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2014-06-13 with total page 210 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Eisenhower’s Chief of Staff reviews the six turning points of the European war that took the Allies from Normandy to the heart of Germany in only 11 months. War, as in life, turns on decisions taken and opportunities taken; the decisions of General Eisenhower as supreme commander of the Allied effort in Europe shaped the lives of millions of soldiers and tens of millions of civilians. The strain of these decisions was shared with many of the top allied commanders, but few will have understood Eisenhower’s thought processes than his trusted friend, confidante and chief of staff General Walter Bedell “Beetle” Smith. A shrewd and intelligent man in his own right, the “Beetle” would be constantly by Eisenhower’s side as he directed the huge Allied armies against the Wehrmacht across France, Belgium, Holland and finally into Germany itself. He set out to describe the events through the eyes of his friend and superior as they appeared at the time; the six ‘Great Decisions’ that he decided on as the turning points of the conduct of the war were: 1 – The Decision Of The Timing Of Operation Overlord [The Normandy Landings] 2 – How To Break Out Of Normandy Bocage 3 – How To Deal With The Ardennes Counteroffensive [Battle Of The Bulge] 4 – How To Destroy Or Capture All German Forces Against The West Of The Rhine 5 – How To Encircle The Industrial Heartland Of Germany – The Ruhr. 6 – How To End The War. A must read for anyone interested in the Second World War.

Eisenhower's Six Great Decisions

Author : Walter Bedell Smith
Publisher : New York (N.Y.) : Longmans, Green
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 256 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Eisenhower's Six Great Decisions by : Walter Bedell Smith

Download or read book Eisenhower's Six Great Decisions written by Walter Bedell Smith and published by New York (N.Y.) : Longmans, Green. This book was released on 1956 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Eisenhower's Six Great Decisions

Author : Walter Bedell Smith
Publisher : Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN 13 : 9781537025834
Total Pages : 250 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (258 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Eisenhower's Six Great Decisions by : Walter Bedell Smith

Download or read book Eisenhower's Six Great Decisions written by Walter Bedell Smith and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2016-08-11 with total page 250 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Eisenhower's Six Great Decisions, first published in 1956, reviews the six crucial turning points in the European war that resulted in the Allies successfully landing in Normandy in June 1944, to the German surrender less than one year later. Author General Walter Bedell Smith, Eisenhower's Chief of Staff, friend, and confidant, describes the 'great decisions' as: (1) The timing of Operation Overlord (The Normandy Landings); (2) how to break out of the Normandy hedgerows; (3) the Ardennes Counteroffensive (Battle of the Bulge); (4) how to destroy or capture all German forces west of the Rhine; (5) how to encircle the industrial heartland of Germany (the Ruhr); and (6) how to end the war in Europe.

Eisenhower in War and Peace

Author : Jean Edward Smith
Publisher : Random House Trade Paperbacks
ISBN 13 : 0812982886
Total Pages : 977 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (129 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Eisenhower in War and Peace by : Jean Edward Smith

Download or read book Eisenhower in War and Peace written by Jean Edward Smith and published by Random House Trade Paperbacks. This book was released on 2013-05-07 with total page 977 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The Christian Science Monitor • St. Louis Post-Dispatch “Magisterial.”—The New York Times In this extraordinary volume, Jean Edward Smith presents a portrait of Dwight D. Eisenhower that is as full, rich, and revealing as anything ever written about America’s thirty-fourth president. Here is Eisenhower the young dreamer, charting a course from Abilene, Kansas, to West Point and beyond. Drawing on a wealth of untapped primary sources, Smith provides new insight into Ike’s maddening apprenticeship under Douglas MacArthur. Then the whole panorama of World War II unfolds, with Eisenhower’s superlative generalship forging the Allied path to victory. Smith also gives us an intriguing examination of Ike’s finances, details his wartime affair with Kay Summersby, and reveals the inside story of the 1952 Republican convention that catapulted him to the White House. Smith’s chronicle of Eisenhower’s presidential years is as compelling as it is comprehensive. Derided by his detractors as a somnambulant caretaker, Eisenhower emerges in Smith’s perceptive retelling as both a canny politician and a skillful, decisive leader. He managed not only to keep the peace, but also to enhance America’s prestige in the Middle East and throughout the world. Unmatched in insight, Eisenhower in War and Peace at last gives us an Eisenhower for our time—and for the ages. NATIONAL BESTSELLER Praise for Eisenhower in War and Peace “[A] fine new biography . . . [Eisenhower’s] White House years need a more thorough exploration than many previous biographers have given them. Smith, whose long, distinguished career includes superb one-volume biographies of Grant and Franklin Roosevelt, provides just that.”—The Washington Post “Highly readable . . . [Smith] shows us that [Eisenhower’s] ascent to the highest levels of the military establishment had much more to do with his easy mastery of politics than with any great strategic or tactical achievements.”—The Wall Street Journal “Always engrossing . . . Smith portrays a genuinely admirable Eisenhower: smart, congenial, unpretentious, and no ideologue. Despite competing biographies from Ambrose, Perret, and D’Este, this is the best.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) “No one has written so heroic a biography [on Eisenhower] as this year’s Eisenhower in War and Peace [by] Jean Edward Smith.”—The National Interest “Dwight Eisenhower, who was more cunning than he allowed his adversaries to know, understood the advantage of being underestimated. Jean Edward Smith demonstrates precisely how successful this stratagem was. Smith, America’s greatest living biographer, shows why, now more than ever, Americans should like Ike.”—George F. Will

Eisenhower’s Lieutenants: The Campaigns of France and Germany, 1944-1945

Author : Russell F. Weigley
Publisher : Plunkett Lake Press
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 509 pages
Book Rating : 4./5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Eisenhower’s Lieutenants: The Campaigns of France and Germany, 1944-1945 by : Russell F. Weigley

Download or read book Eisenhower’s Lieutenants: The Campaigns of France and Germany, 1944-1945 written by Russell F. Weigley and published by Plunkett Lake Press. This book was released on 2019-07-31 with total page 509 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Jointly published by Plunkett Lake Press and Indiana University Press This study of the American-led campaign in Europe in World War II analyzes command decisions at both the strategic and tactical levels. All the complex ingredients of armies at war — the burdens of history, the impact of technology, the roles of personalities, the confusions of the battlefield — are presented based on extensive scholarship. Field Marshal Montgomery and Ike's lieutenants, Generals Omar N. Bradley, Jacob L. Devers, Courtney H. Hodges, George S. Patton, Jr., Alexander M. Patch, William H. Simpson, Leonard T. Gerow, J. Lawton Collins, and Matthew B. Ridgway, and others appear in the book. All major strategic and tactical decisions in the battles of the American offensive against Nazi Germany are covered, with descriptions of key terrain features and many personal insights drawn from various diaries. The book provides an assessment of the leadership and fighting capabilities of the Allied forces in the key European battles of World War II. “The publication of Eisenhower’s Lieutenants is an event of significance in American military writing... admirable... clearly the product of exhaustive, painstaking research.” — Drew Middleton, The New York Times “Eisenhower’s Lieutenants is an outstanding and highly recommended work. It offers the wealth of information, superb research and presentation, comprehensive treatment, and challenging reinterpretation one has come to expect from Weigley. It also points out once again that his reputation as one of our outstanding military historians is well deserved.” — Mark A. Stoler, Journal of American History “... outstanding book... highly professional study of command and operations in northwest Europe, 1944-45... the best account we have of the World War II campaigns from Normandy to the Elbe.” — Forrest C. Pogue, American Historical Review “The fullest account yet of the climactic campaign in northwestern Europe, from the planning of D-Day through the German surrender, with an interesting focus on the personalities involved in shaping the Allied forces, plans, and operations... precisely informative and broadly rewarding.” — Kirkus Reviews “... an excellent book.” — Calvin B. Peters, Journal of Political and Military Sociology “... by the dean of American military historians...” — Washington Post “I had thought I knew everything about World War II that I would ever want to know. I was wrong. Reading Eisenhower’s Lieutenants was a wonderfully enriching experience. I learned more than I ever would have thought possible. This will unquestionably become one of the great classics of American military history.” —Stephen E. Ambrose

The Battle for Western Europe, Fall 1944

Author : John A. Adams
Publisher : Indiana University Press
ISBN 13 : 0253004195
Total Pages : 388 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (53 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Battle for Western Europe, Fall 1944 by : John A. Adams

Download or read book The Battle for Western Europe, Fall 1944 written by John A. Adams and published by Indiana University Press. This book was released on 2010-04-09 with total page 388 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This engrossing and meticulously researched volume reexamines the decisions made by Dwight D. Eisenhower and his staff in the crucial months leading up to the Battle of the Bulge. In late August 1944 defeat of the Wehrmacht seemed assured. On December 16, however, the Germans counterattacked. Received wisdom says that Eisenhower's Broad Front strategy caused his armies to stall in early September, and his subsequent failure to concentrate his forces brought about deadlock and opened the way for the German attack. Arguing to the contrary, John A. Adams demonstrates that Eisenhower and his staff at SHAEF had a good campaign strategy, refined to reflect developments on the ground, which had an excellent chance of destroying the Germans west of the Rhine.

Victory in Europe, 1945

Author : Arnold A. Offner
Publisher : Modern War Studies
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 328 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Victory in Europe, 1945 by : Arnold A. Offner

Download or read book Victory in Europe, 1945 written by Arnold A. Offner and published by Modern War Studies. This book was released on 2000 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this collection, senior scholars explore the transit ion from war to uneasy peace: how and why the war ended as it did, whether a different resolution was possible, and if the ensuing Cold War was inevitable.

Eisenhower

Author : Geoffrey Perret
Publisher : Random House
ISBN 13 : 0375504702
Total Pages : 439 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (755 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Eisenhower by : Geoffrey Perret

Download or read book Eisenhower written by Geoffrey Perret and published by Random House. This book was released on 2000-03-02 with total page 439 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This new, in-depth life of Eisenhower offers fresh perspectives, not only on World War II and the Korean War but also on the Cold War, the civil rights movement, McCarthyism, the U-2 crisis and Vietnam. Geoffrey Perret's Eisenhower gives us, for the first time, the whole man. It brings together a huge amount of material, much of it made available to researchers only in recent years. The result is nothing less than an original, authoritative and provocative portrait of Eisenhower, as both soldier and president. Far from being the easygoing and pliant figure often depicted by his critics, Eisenhower is revealed here as a complex, tough-minded and highly capable man, one who rose to the top of the world's most competitive profession, the modern military. His career as a soldier would prove to be an excellent preparation for most, though not all, of the major challenges he faced as America's thirty-fourth president. Eisenhower's letters and diaries—many of them never seen by previous biographers—have contributed profoundly to this groundbreaking work. So, too, have dozens of interviews with people who knew him well. These fresh sources have made it possible to resolve many intriguing questions that have, until now, been matters only of speculation and rumor: Did he have an affair with Kay Summersby, his wartime driver? Why did he have so much trouble with Field-Marshal Montgomery? Did the Columbia University trustees appoint him by accident, as campus whispers claimed, in a bungled attempt to offer the university presidency to his brother Milton? Just how did he bring the Korean War to an end within months of becoming president? What did he really think of Richard Nixon? Geoffrey Perret, the author of Old Soldiers Never Die: The Life of Douglas MacArthur, as well as There's a War to Be Won, an acclaimed history of the United States Army in World War II, is uniquely qualified to write this new life of Dwight D. Eisenhower, a work that is worthy of its remarkable and controversial subject.

General Ike

Author : John Eisenhower
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 9780743256001
Total Pages : 308 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (56 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis General Ike by : John Eisenhower

Download or read book General Ike written by John Eisenhower and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2004-06-03 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A unique perspective on one of history's greatest leaders--by an acclaimed military historian and the man who knew Ike best--his son John.

Agent 110

Author : Scott Miller
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
ISBN 13 : 1451693389
Total Pages : 368 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (516 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Agent 110 by : Scott Miller

Download or read book Agent 110 written by Scott Miller and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2017-03-07 with total page 368 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Presents an account of how OSS spymaster Allen Dulles led a network of disenchanted Germans in a plot to assassinate Hitler and end World War II before the invasion of opportunistic Russian forces,"--NoveList.

George Marshall

Author : David L. Roll
Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 1101990988
Total Pages : 706 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (19 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis George Marshall by : David L. Roll

Download or read book George Marshall written by David L. Roll and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2020-07-07 with total page 706 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The extraordinary career of General George C. Marshall—America’s most distinguished soldier–statesman since George Washington—whose selfless leadership and moral character influenced the course of two world wars and helped define the American century “I’ve read several biographies of Marshall, but I think [David] Roll’s may be the best of the bunch.”—Thomas E. Ricks, New York Times Book Review • “Powerful.”—The Wall Street Journal • “Enthralling.”—Andrew Roberts • “Important.”—William I. Hitchcock • “Majestic.”—Susan Page • “Engrossing.”—Andrew J. Bacevich • “Judicious.”—Walter Isaacson • “Definitive.”—Kirkus Winston Churchill called him World War II's "organizer of victory." Harry Truman said he was "the greatest military man that this country ever produced." Today, in our era of failed leadership, few lives are more worthy of renewed examination than Marshall and his fifty years of loyal service to the defense of his nation and its values. Even as a young officer Marshall was heralded as a genius, a reputation that grew when in WWI he planned and executed a nighttime movement of more than a half million troops from one battlefield to another that led to the armistice. Between the wars he helped modernize combat training and re-staffed the U.S. Army's officer corps with the men who would lead in the next decades. But as WWII loomed, it was the role of army chief of staff in which Marshall's intellect and backbone were put to the test, when his blind commitment to duty would run up against the realities of Washington politics. Long seen as a stoic, almost statuesque figure, he emerges in these pages as a man both remarkable and human thanks to newly discovered sources. Set against the backdrop of five major conflicts—two world wars, Palestine, Korea, and the Cold War—Marshall's education in military, diplomatic, and political power, replete with their nuances and ambiguities, runs parallel with America's emergence as a global superpower. The result is a defining account of one of our most consequential leaders.

Air University Quarterly Review

Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 1100 pages
Book Rating : 4.F/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Air University Quarterly Review by :

Download or read book Air University Quarterly Review written by and published by . This book was released on 1957 with total page 1100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

The Secret History of RDX

Author : Colin F. Baxter
Publisher : University Press of Kentucky
ISBN 13 : 0813175313
Total Pages : 176 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (131 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis The Secret History of RDX by : Colin F. Baxter

Download or read book The Secret History of RDX written by Colin F. Baxter and published by University Press of Kentucky. This book was released on 2018-05-18 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The noted historian offers “a compelling sociohistorical account of an often overlooked yet critical” WWII explosive twice as powerful as TNT (Choice). During the early years of World War II, American ships crossing the Atlantic were virtually defenseless against German U-boats. Bombs and torpedoes fitted with TNT barely dented the hulls of Axis naval vessels. Then, seemingly overnight, a top-secret manufacturing plant appeared near Kingsport, Tennessee, producing a sugar-white substance called Research Department Explosive, code name RDX. Twice as deadly as TNT and overshadowed only by the atomic bomb, RDX proved to be pivotal in the Battle of the Atlantic and directly contributed to the Allied victory in WWII. In The Secret History of RDX, Colin F. Baxter documents the journey of the super-explosive from conceptualization at Woolwich Arsenal in England to mass production at Holston Ordnance Works in east Tennessee. Baxter examines the debates between RDX advocates and their opponents and explores the use of the explosive in the bomber war over Germany, in the naval war in the Atlantic, and as a key element in the trigger device of the atomic bomb. Drawing on archival records and interviews with individuals who worked at the Kingsport “powder plant,” Baxter illuminates both the explosive’s military significance and its impact on the lives of ordinary Americans involved in the war industry. Much more than a technical account, this study assesses the social and economic impact of the military-industrial complex on small communities on the home front.

D-Day

Author : Spencer C. Tucker
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 491 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (16 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis D-Day by : Spencer C. Tucker

Download or read book D-Day written by Spencer C. Tucker and published by Bloomsbury Publishing USA. This book was released on 2017-11-03 with total page 491 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This outstanding overview of D-Day makes clear its great importance in military and world history, identifies mistakes committed on both sides, and explains all aspects of the 1944 Allied invasion of France and the Normandy Campaign that followed. The beach landings at Normandy, France, in June of 1944 were of critical importance in the outcome of World War II, and as a consequence, served to determine the economic and political state of the modern world as we know it. This latest reference book edited by esteemed historian Spencer C. Tucker supplies easy-to-understand overview entries on the Normandy Invasion ("Operation OVERLORD") and the European Theater in World War II as well as entries treating specific topics such as key individuals, technical innovations, weapons systems, command structures, terrain and logistical difficulties, and the role played by weather. Readers will come to understand why the eventual success of the Allied forces in the D-Day operations was so hard-fought and came at a tremendous cost of life. The book addresses the immense difficulty of supplying tens of thousands of soldiers—many of them inexperienced in combat—and countless tons of equipment and vehicles to the invasion force from over the beaches, after most of the teams landed in the wrong locations, and when many command structures were wiped out almost immediately upon landing; and it explains how these factors impacted the combat on the ground and resulted in the Allied forces' careful planning going awry. The book also describes the elaborate deception carried out by the Allies regarding the invasion landing site and how these efforts impacted battle developments, and it presents nine primary documents that treat various aspects of the battle, including the lengthy Allied plan for the invasion and primary sources of directives regarding the battle and technical innovations.

Fearing the Worst

Author : Samuel F. Wells Jr.
Publisher : Columbia University Press
ISBN 13 : 0231549946
Total Pages : 518 pages
Book Rating : 4.2/5 (315 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Fearing the Worst by : Samuel F. Wells Jr.

Download or read book Fearing the Worst written by Samuel F. Wells Jr. and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2019-11-26 with total page 518 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: After World War II, the escalating tensions of the Cold War shaped the international system. Fearing the Worst explains how the Korean War fundamentally changed postwar competition between the United States and the Soviet Union into a militarized confrontation that would last decades. Samuel F. Wells Jr. examines how military and political events interacted to escalate the conflict. Decisions made by the Truman administration in the first six months of the Korean War drove both superpowers to intensify their defense buildup. American leaders feared the worst-case scenario—that Stalin was prepared to start World War III—and raced to build up strategic arms, resulting in a struggle they did not seek out or intend. Their decisions stemmed from incomplete interpretations of Soviet and Chinese goals, especially the belief that China was a Kremlin puppet. Yet Stalin, Mao, and Kim Il-sung all had their own agendas, about which the United States lacked reliable intelligence. Drawing on newly available documents and memoirs—including previously restricted archives in Russia, China, and North Korea—Wells analyzes the key decision points that changed the course of the war. He also provides vivid profiles of the central actors as well as important but lesser known figures. Bringing together studies of military policy and diplomacy with the roles of technology, intelligence, and domestic politics in each of the principal nations, Fearing the Worst offers a new account of the Korean War and its lasting legacy.

Decisionmaking in Operation Iraqi Freedom

Author : Steven Metz
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 92 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 ( download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Decisionmaking in Operation Iraqi Freedom by : Steven Metz

Download or read book Decisionmaking in Operation Iraqi Freedom written by Steven Metz and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: One of the defining characteristics of strategy making in the Bush administration was the treatment of any decision involving transnational terrorism as a crisis with a limited slate of participants and a minimal role for professional expertise except on operational and technical considerations. When the administration broke from its predecessors and chose to approach the Iraq issue as part of the war on terrorism rather than as simply an element of regional stability, it shifted to a crisis decision mode. This was unusual since the Iraq conflict did not meet the usual requirements for a crisis: a very high threat and limited decision time. This initial volume provides a review of decisions made by senior military and civilian leaders during the several years thus far of the war in Iraq, and focuses on the how and why certain decisions were made.

Omar Nelson Bradley

Author : Steven L. Ossad
Publisher : University of Missouri Press
ISBN 13 : 0826273920
Total Pages : 491 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (262 download)

DOWNLOAD NOW!

Book Synopsis Omar Nelson Bradley by : Steven L. Ossad

Download or read book Omar Nelson Bradley written by Steven L. Ossad and published by University of Missouri Press. This book was released on 2017-12-19 with total page 491 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Omar Nelson Bradley began his military career more than a century ago, the army rode horses into combat and had less than 200,000 men. No one had heard of mustard gas. At the height of his career, Bradley (known as “Brad” and “The GI’s General”) led 1.23 million men as commander of 12 Army Group in the Western Front to bring an end to World War II. Omar Nelson Bradley was the youngest and last of nine men to earn five-star rank and the only army officer so honored after World War II. This new biography by Steven L. Ossad gives an account of Bradley’s formative years, his decorated career, and his postwar life. Bradley’s decisions shaped the five Northwest European Campaigns from the D-Day landings to VE Day. As the man who successfully led more Americans in battle than any other in our history, his long-term importance would seem assured. Yet his name is not discussed often in the classrooms of either civilian or military academies, either as a fount of tactical or operational lessons learned, or a source of inspiration for leadership exercised at Corps, Army, Group, Army Chief, or Joint Chiefs of Staff levels. The Bradley image was tailor-made for the quintessential homespun American heroic ideal and was considered by many to be a simple, humble country boy who rose to the pinnacle of power through honesty, hard work, loyalty and virtuous behavior. Even though his classmates in both high school and at West Point made remarks about his looks, and Bradley was always self-conscious about smiling because of an accident involving his teeth, he went on to command 12 Army Group, the largest body of American fighting men under a single general. Bradley’s postwar career as administrator of the original GI Bill and first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Korean War ensures his legacy. These latter contributions, as much as Bradley’s demonstrable World War II leadership, shaped U.S. history and culture in decisive, dramatic, and previously unexamined ways. Drawing on primary sources such as those at West Point, Army War College and Imperial War Museum, this book focuses on key decisions, often through the eyes of eyewitness and diarist, British liaison officer Major Thomas Bigland. The challenges our nation faces sound familiar to his problems: fighting ideologically-driven enemies across the globe, coordinating global strategy with allies, and providing care and benefits for our veterans.