The Generals

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Publisher : Penguin
ISBN 13 : 0143124099
Total Pages : 578 pages
Book Rating : 4.1/5 (431 download)

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Book Synopsis The Generals by : Thomas E. Ricks

Download or read book The Generals written by Thomas E. Ricks and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2013-10-29 with total page 578 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A New York Times bestseller! An epic history of the decline of American military leadership—from the bestselling author of Fiasco and Churchill and Orwell. While history has been kind to the American generals of World War II—Marshall, Eisenhower, Patton, and Bradley—it has been less kind to the generals of the wars that followed, such as Koster, Franks, Sanchez, and Petraeus. In The Generals, Thomas E. Ricks sets out to explain why that is. In chronicling the widening gulf between performance and accountability among the top brass of the U.S. military, Ricks tells the stories of great leaders and suspect ones, generals who rose to the occasion and generals who failed themselves and their soldiers. In Ricks’s hands, this story resounds with larger meaning: about the transmission of values, about strategic thinking, and about the difference between an organization that learns and one that fails.

The War Lords

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Publisher : Pen and Sword
ISBN 13 : 1473819741
Total Pages : 1158 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (738 download)

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Book Synopsis The War Lords by : Michael Carver

Download or read book The War Lords written by Michael Carver and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2005-09-30 with total page 1158 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Detailed profiles of forty-three military commanders of the twentieth century, from Patton to Rommel, Yamamoto, and Zhukov, written by top historians. In The War Lords, Field Marshal Lord Carver has assembled an engrossing series of short, detailed biographies of forty-three of the dominant military commanders on the twentieth-century world stage, written by such prominent historians as Alistair Horne, Norman Stone, Stephen Ambrose, Lord Kinross, and Martin Middlebrook. Included are: Field-Marshal the Earl Alexander, E.H.H. Allenby, Claude Auchinleck, Field-Marshal Sir, Omar N. Bradley, General of the Army, Andrew Browne Cunningham, Admiral of the Fleet the Viscount, Karl Doenitz, Admiral, Hugh C.T. Dowding, Air Chief Marshal, Dwight D. Eisenhower, General of the Army, Ferdinand Foch, Bernard Freyberg, Lieutenant-General Lord, Heinz Guderian, General, Douglas Haig, William F. Halsey, Fleet Admiral, Ian Hamilton, Arthur Harris, Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir, Paul von Hindenburg, John Rushworth Jellicoe, Joseph Joffre, Alphonse Juin, Marshal, Mustafa Kemal, Ivan Koniev, Marshal, Erich Ludendorff, Douglas C. MacArthur, General of the Army, John Monash, Bernard L. Montgomery, of Alamein, Louis Mountbatten, Earl of Burma, Chester W. Nimitz, Fleet Admiral, George S. Patton, General, John J. Pershing, Philippe Petain, Erwin Rommel, Field-Marshal, William Joseph Slim, Field-Marshal the Viscount, Carl A. Spaatz, General, Raymond A. Spruance, Admiral, Joseph W. Stilwell, General, Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Tedder, Hugh Trenchard, Erich Von Falkenhayn, Erich Von Manstein, Field Marshal, Gerd Von Rundstedt, Field-Marshal, Archibald Wavell, Field-Marshal Earl, Isoroku Yamamoto, Admiral & Georgii Zhukov, Marshal.

Corps Commanders of the Bulge

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Publisher : University Press of Kansas
ISBN 13 : 0700623841
Total Pages : 528 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (6 download)

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Book Synopsis Corps Commanders of the Bulge by : Harold R. Winton

Download or read book Corps Commanders of the Bulge written by Harold R. Winton and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2016-07-10 with total page 528 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: If the Battle of the Bulge was Germany's last gasp, it was also America's proving ground-the largest single action fought by the U.S. Army in World War II. Taking a new approach to an old story, Harold Winton widens our field of vision by showing how victory in this legendary campaign was built upon the remarkable resurrection of our truncated interwar army, an overhaul that produced the effective commanders crucial to GI success in beating back the Ardennes counteroffensive launched by Hitler's forces. Winton's is the first study of the Bulge to examine leadership at the largely neglected level of corps command. Focusing on the decisions and actions of six Army corps commanders—Leonard Gerow, Troy Middleton, Matthew Ridgway, John Millikin, Manton Eddy, and J. Lawton Collins—he recreates their role in this epic struggle through a mosaic of narratives that take the commanders from the pre-war training grounds of America to the crucible of war in the icy-cold killing fields of Belgium and Luxembourg. Winton introduces the story of each phase of the Bulge with a theater-level overview of the major decisions and events that shaped the corps battles and, for the first time, fully integrates the crucial role of airpower into our understanding of how events unfolded on the ground. Unlike most accounts of the Ardennes that chronicle only the periods of German and American initiative, Winton's study describes an intervening middle phase in which the initiative was fiercely contested by both sides and the outcome uncertain. His inclusion of the principal American and German commanders adds yet another valuable layer to this rich tapestry of narrative and analysis. Ultimately, Winton argues that the flexibility of the corps structure and the competence of the men who commanded the six American corps that fought in the Bulge contributed significantly to the ultimate victory. Chronicling the human drama of commanding large numbers of soldiers in battle, he has produced an artful blend of combat narrative, collective biography, and institutional history that contributes significantly to the broader understanding of World War II as a whole. With the recent modularization of the U.S. Army division, which makes this command echelon a re-creation of the corps of World War II, Corps Commanders of the Bulge also has distinct relevance to current issues of Army transformation.

Allied Commanders of World War II

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Author :
Publisher : Osprey Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9780850454208
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (542 download)

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Book Synopsis Allied Commanders of World War II by : Anthony Kemp

Download or read book Allied Commanders of World War II written by Anthony Kemp and published by Osprey Publishing. This book was released on 1990-01-25 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Second World War, unlike the First, fostered the projection of 'characters'. Thanks to the media, many of the Allied commanders became household names, known as much for their successes and defeats on the battlefield as for their personalities. This book provides a brief review of the careers of some of the most notable figures to achieve high command in the Allied forces, a list that includes General of the Army Omar Bradley, Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery, General George Patton and General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower. These characters are brought to life through numerous illustrations, including photographs and colour plates.

Hitler's Commanders

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Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 1442211520
Total Pages : 381 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (422 download)

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Book Synopsis Hitler's Commanders by : Samuel W. Mitcham (Jr.)

Download or read book Hitler's Commanders written by Samuel W. Mitcham (Jr.) and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2012 with total page 381 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now in an expanded edition that includes biographies of the generals of Stalingrad and a new chapter on the panzer commanders, this book offers rare insight into the men who ran Nazi Germany's war machine. Going beyond common stereotypes, Samuel W. Mitcham and Gene Mueller recount the compelling lives of a varied group of army, navy, Luftwaffe, and SS men. Weaving in dramatic stories of tank commanders, fighter pilots in aerial combat, and U-Boat aces, the authors bring the battlefields of World War II to life.

Masters and Commanders

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Publisher : Harper Collins
ISBN 13 : 0061874493
Total Pages : 722 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (618 download)

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Book Synopsis Masters and Commanders by : Andrew Roberts

Download or read book Masters and Commanders written by Andrew Roberts and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2009-04-24 with total page 722 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This joint WWII biography of Roosevelt, Churchill, Marshall, and Brooke “is a triumph of vivid description, telling anecdotes, and informed analysis” (The New York Review of Books). Masters and Commanders explores the degree to which the course of the Second World War turned on the relationships and temperaments of four of the strongest personalities of the twentieth century: political masters Winston Churchill and Franklin D. Roosevelt and the commanders of their armed forces, General Sir Alan Brooke and General George C. Marshall. Each was exceptionally tough-willed and strong-minded, and each was certain that only he knew best how to win the war. Andrew Roberts, “Britain's finest contemporary military historian” (The Economist), traces the mutual suspicion and admiration, the rebuffs and the charm, the often-explosive disagreements and wary reconciliations, and he helps us to appreciate the motives and imperatives of these key leaders as they worked tirelessly in the monumental struggle to destroy Nazism.

Marshall and His Generals

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Publisher : University Press of Kansas
ISBN 13 : 0700619429
Total Pages : 440 pages
Book Rating : 4.7/5 (6 download)

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Book Synopsis Marshall and His Generals by : Stephen R. Taaffe

Download or read book Marshall and His Generals written by Stephen R. Taaffe and published by University Press of Kansas. This book was released on 2011-10-18 with total page 440 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: General George C. Marshall, chief of staff of the U.S. Army during World War II, faced the daunting task not only of overseeing two theaters of a global conflict but also of selecting the best generals to carry out American grand strategy. Marshall and His Generals is the first and only book to focus entirely on that selection process and the performances, both stellar and disappointing, that followed from it. Stephen Taaffe chronicles and critiques the background, character, achievements, and failures of the more than three dozen general officers chosen for top combat group commands—from commanders like Dwight Eisenhower and Douglas MacArthur to some nearly forgotten. Taaffe explores how and why Marshall selected the Army’s commanders. Among his chief criteria were character (including “unselfish and devoted purpose”), education, (whether at West Point, Fort Leavenworth, or the Army War College), and striking a balance between experience and relative youth in a war that required both wisdom and great physical stamina. As the war unfolded, Marshall also factored into his calculations the combat leadership his generals demonstrated and the opinions of his theater commanders. Taaffe brings into sharp focus the likes of Eisenhower, MacArthur, George Patton, Omar Bradley, Walter Krueger, Robert Eichelberger, Courtney Hodges, Lucian Truscott, J. Lawton Collins, Alexander “Sandy” Patch, Troy Middleton, Matthew Ridgeway, Mark Clark, and twenty-five other generals who served in the conflict. He describes their leadership and decision-making processes and provides miniature biographies and personality sketches of these men drawn from their personal papers, official records, and reflections of fellow officers. Delving deeper than other studies, this path-breaking work produces a seamless analysis of Marshall’s selection process of operational-level commanders. Taaffe also critiques the performance of these generals during the war and reveals the extent to which their actions served as stepping stones to advancement. Ambitious in scope and filled with sharp insights, Marshall and His Generals is essential reading for anyone interested in World War II and military leadership more generally.

Generals in the Making

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Publisher : Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN 13 : 081176849X
Total Pages : 465 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (117 download)

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Book Synopsis Generals in the Making by : Benjamin Runkle

Download or read book Generals in the Making written by Benjamin Runkle and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2019-07-26 with total page 465 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Shakespeare famously wrote that some men are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. Part military history and part group biography, Generals in the Making tells the amazing true story of how George Marshall, Dwight Eisenhower, Douglas MacArthur, George Patton, and their peers became the greatest generation of senior commanders in military history. As the U.S. Army’s triumphant homecoming from World War I was quickly forgotten amidst two decades filled with economic depression and growing isolationism, Marshall, Eisenhower, MacArthur, Patton, Omar Bradley, Lucian Truscott, Matthew Ridgway, and their brothers in arms toiled in a profession most Americans viewed with distrust. Before they became legends, these young officers served their country in posts from Washington D.C. to Panama, from West Point to war-torn China. They taught and studied together in the Army’s schools, attempting to innovate in an era of shrinking budgets, obsolete equipment, and skeletal forces. Beyond these professional challenges, they endured shattering personal tragedies: the sudden deaths of children or spouses, divorce, depression, and court martial. Yet when the world faced possibly its darkest hour, as fascism and barbarism were on the march, they stood ready to lead America’s young men in the fight for civilization. By the end of World War II, even German commanders expressed amazement at the dynamic change in American military leadership since the Great War. Generals in the Making is the first comprehensive history of America’s World War II generals between the wars, an invaluable prequel to every history of that war.

Masters and Commanders

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Author :
Publisher :
ISBN 13 : 9780713999693
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.9/5 (996 download)

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Book Synopsis Masters and Commanders by : Andrew Roberts

Download or read book Masters and Commanders written by Andrew Roberts and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How far did personality affect the grand strategy of the Second World War? Award-winning historian Andrew Roberts lays bare the four political masters and military commanders of the Western Allies - Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, General George C. Marshall and Lord Alanbrooke - between Pearl Harbour and VE-Day, coming to a number of startling conclusions. Employing verbatim accounts of Churchill's War Cabinet meetings never before reporduced in book form, as well as using the private papers of sixty-seven contemporaries of the four men, the inside story is told of the great war wartime conferences, explaining why and how the Allies attacked when and where they did. The two masters (Churchill and Roosevelt) and two commanders (Marshall and Alanbrooke) were strong-willed and tough-minded and each was certain that he knew best how to win the war. Yet in order to get their strategies adopted, each needed to persuade at least two of the other three, and certainly not be so outmanouvered that he ever found himself in a minority of one. Roberts reveals the dynamic behind the collective decisions upon which the lives of millions ultimately depended.

Commanding the Pacific

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Publisher : Naval Institute Press
ISBN 13 : 1682477096
Total Pages : 213 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (824 download)

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Book Synopsis Commanding the Pacific by : Stephen Taaffe

Download or read book Commanding the Pacific written by Stephen Taaffe and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2021-09-15 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Marine Corps covered itself in glory in World War II with victories over the Japanese in hard-fought battles such as Guadalcanal, Tarawa, and Iwo Jima. While these battles are well known, those who led the Marines into them have remained obscure until now. In Commanding the Pacific: Marine Corps Generals in World War II, Stephen R. Taaffe analyzes the fifteen high-level Marine generals who led the Corps' six combat divisions and two corps in the conflict. He concludes that these leaders played an indispensable and unheralded role in organizing, training, and leading their men to victory. Taaffe insists there was nothing inevitable about the Marine Corps' success in World War II. The small pre-war size of the Corps meant that its commandant had to draw his combat leaders from a small pool of officers who often lacked the education of their Army and Navy counterparts. Indeed, there were fewer than one hundred Marine officers with the necessary rank, background, character, and skills for its high-level combat assignments. Moreover, the Army and Navy froze the Marines out of high-level strategic decisions and frequently impinged on Marine prerogatives. There were no Marines in the Joint Chiefs of Staff or at the head of the Pacific War's geographic theaters, so the Marines usually had little influence over the island targets selected for them. In addition to bureaucratic obstacles, constricted geography and vicious Japanese opposition limited opportunities for Marine generals to earn the kind of renown that Army and Navy commanders achieved elsewhere. In most of its battles on small Pacific War islands, Marine generals had neither the option nor inclination to engage in sophisticated tactics, but they instead relied in direct frontal assaults that resulted in heavy casualties. Such losses against targets of often questionable strategic value sometimes called into question the Marine Corps' doctrine, mission, and the quality of its combat generals. Despite these difficulties, Marine combat commanders repeatedly overcame challenges and fulfilled their missions. Their ability to do so does credit to the Corps and demonstrates that these generals deserve more attention from historians than they have so far received.

Order of Battle, U.S. Army, World War II

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Author :
Publisher : Presidio Press
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 656 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (91 download)

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Book Synopsis Order of Battle, U.S. Army, World War II by : Shelby L. Stanton

Download or read book Order of Battle, U.S. Army, World War II written by Shelby L. Stanton and published by Presidio Press. This book was released on 1984 with total page 656 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This book is an encyclopedic reference to all the U.S. Army ground force units from battalion through division, 1939-1946"--Introd.

The Admirals

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Publisher : Little, Brown
ISBN 13 : 0316202525
Total Pages : 439 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (162 download)

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Book Synopsis The Admirals by : Walter R. Borneman

Download or read book The Admirals written by Walter R. Borneman and published by Little, Brown. This book was released on 2012-05-01 with total page 439 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How history's only five-star admirals triumphed in World War II and made the United States the world's dominant sea power. Only four men in American history have been promoted to the five-star rank of Admiral of the Fleet: William Leahy, Ernest King, Chester Nimitz, and William Halsey. These four men were the best and the brightest the navy produced, and together they led the U.S. navy to victory in World War II, establishing the United States as the world's greatest fleet. In The Admirals, award-winning historian Walter R. Borneman tells their story in full detail for the first time. Drawing upon journals, ship logs, and other primary sources, he brings an incredible historical moment to life, showing us how the four admirals revolutionized naval warfare forever with submarines and aircraft carriers, and how these men -- who were both friends and rivals -- worked together to ensure that the Axis fleets lay destroyed on the ocean floor at the end of World War II.

German Commanders of World War II

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Publisher : Osprey Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9780850454338
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (543 download)

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Book Synopsis German Commanders of World War II by : Anthony Kemp

Download or read book German Commanders of World War II written by Anthony Kemp and published by Osprey Publishing. This book was released on 1990-01-25 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This fascinating study by Anthony Kemp outlines the careers and characters of a number of senior German commanders of the World War II period (1939-1945). To those who read military history many of the names are familiar. It is a paradox, however, that few biographies have been written. The impression still exists today of German generals as stiff-necked, scar-faced, monocled Prussians. Whilst in a few cases this was certainly true, the fact remains that all of them were men, some more ordinary than others. With a variety of photographs, eight full-page colour plates by Angus McBride, accompanied by ten pages of commentaries, this is a first-class addition to Osprey's Men-at-Arms series.

General Mark Clark

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Publisher : Casemate
ISBN 13 : 1612001432
Total Pages : 371 pages
Book Rating : 4.6/5 (12 download)

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Book Synopsis General Mark Clark by : Jon B. Mikolashek

Download or read book General Mark Clark written by Jon B. Mikolashek and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2013-03-22 with total page 371 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Mikolashek . . . has given we history readers and buffs, as well as military historians, a new introduction to a key American General of World War 2.” —Jim Kane, 1 Man and His Books Although not nearly as well-known as other US Army senior commanders, Gen. Mark Clark is one of the four men—along with Eisenhower, Patton, and Bradley—who historian Martin Blumenson called “the essential quartet of American leaders who achieved victory in Europe.” Eisenhower nicknamed him the American Eagle. A skilled staff officer, Clark rose quickly through the ranks, and by the time America entered the war, he was deputy commander of Allied forces in north Africa. Several weeks before Operation Torch, Clark landed by submarine in a daring mission to negotiate the cooperation of the Vichy French. He was subsequently named commander of United States Fifth Army and tasked with the invasion of Italy. Fifth Army and Mark Clark are virtually synonymous. From the September 1943 landing at Salerno, Clark and his army fought their way north against skilled German resistance, augmented by mountainous terrain. The daring January 1944 end-run at Anzio, although not immediately successful, set the stage for Fifth Army’s liberation of Rome on June 4, 1944, after ten months of hard fighting. Mikolashek, a history professor at the United States Army Command and General Staff College, sheds much needed historical light on one of America’s most important fighting generals in this “warts and all” biography. He also demonstrates the importance of the Italian Campaign, paying tribute to the valorous soldiers of U.S. Fifth Army and their Allied comrades.

Hitler as Military Commander

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Author :
Publisher : Leo Cooper Books
ISBN 13 : 9780850529562
Total Pages : 0 pages
Book Rating : 4.5/5 (295 download)

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Book Synopsis Hitler as Military Commander by : John Strawson

Download or read book Hitler as Military Commander written by John Strawson and published by Leo Cooper Books. This book was released on 2003 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Was Hitler 'the greatest strategic genius of all time' as Nazi propaganda would have us believe, or a facile amateur in military affairs? Why was the startling success of his campaigns in Poland and France followed by the blundering mistakes in Russia, Tunis and Normandy? Might the German General Staff have won the war without Hitler's continual disastrous interference? John Strawson answers these and other questions by showing how Hitler's insatiable preoccupation with war and conquest was translated into reality. While the willpower behind the revitalized German army was Hitler's the author examines the Fuhrer's eccentric use of the most formidable war machine the world had ever seen. This lucid assessment is brought alive by the accounts of those who served Hitler both on his staff and as field commanders. The Western Front

The Generals

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Author :
Publisher : National Geographic Books
ISBN 13 : 1426215509
Total Pages : 531 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (262 download)

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Book Synopsis The Generals by : Winston Groom

Download or read book The Generals written by Winston Groom and published by National Geographic Books. This book was released on 2015-11-10 with total page 531 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Celebrated historian Winston Groom tells the uniquely American tales of George Patton, Douglas MacArthur, and George Marshall, from World War I to World War II. These three remarkable men-of-arms who rose from the gruesome hell of the First World War to become the finest generals of their generation during World War II redefined America's ideas of military leadership and brought forth a new generation of American soldier. Their efforts revealed to the world the grit and determination that would become synonymous with America in the post-war years. Filled with novel-worthy twists and turns, and set against the backdrop of the most dramatic moments of the twentieth century, The Generals is a powerful, action-packed book filled with marvelous surprises and insights into the lives of America's most celebrated warriors.

The Rise of the G.I. Army, 1940–1941

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Author :
Publisher : Atlantic Monthly Press
ISBN 13 : 0802147682
Total Pages : 583 pages
Book Rating : 4.8/5 (21 download)

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Book Synopsis The Rise of the G.I. Army, 1940–1941 by : Paul Dickson

Download or read book The Rise of the G.I. Army, 1940–1941 written by Paul Dickson and published by Atlantic Monthly Press. This book was released on 2020-07-07 with total page 583 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “A must-read book that explores a vital pre-war effort [with] deep research and gripping writing.” —Washington Times In The rise of the G.I. Army, 1940–1941, Paul Dickson tells the dramatic story of how the American Army was mobilized from scattered outposts two years before Pearl Harbor into the disciplined and mobile fighting force that helped win World War II. In September 1939, when Nazi Germany invaded Poland and initiated World War II, America had strong isolationist leanings. The US Army stood at fewer than 200,000 men—unprepared to defend the country, much less carry the fight to Europe and the Far East. And yet, less than a year after Pearl Harbor, the American army led the Allied invasion of North Africa, beginning the campaign that would defeat Germany, and the Navy and Marines were fully engaged with Japan in the Pacific. Dickson chronicles this transformation from Franklin Roosevelt’s selection of George C. Marshall to be Army Chief of Staff to the remarkable peace-time draft of 1940 and the massive and unprecedented mock battles in Tennessee, Louisiana, and the Carolinas by which the skill and spirit of the Army were forged and out of which iconic leaders like Eisenhower, Bradley, and Clark emerged. The narrative unfolds against a backdrop of political and cultural isolationist resistance and racial tension at home, and the increasingly perceived threat of attack from both Germany and Japan.