Osprey Elite 85 : US Commanders of World War II (1) : Army and USAAF

To be a successful commander requires experience, character, tenacity and boldness: the ability to establish a good rapport with both your staff and your men is also vital. The real test comes in combat though, where a large proportion of luck is involved - the luck to be in the right place at the right time - and lasting reputations can be formed in a very brief and frenetic period. The key US commanders of World War II were subject to (and often gratuitously fostered) the projection of their 'characters', exploiting the growing power of the media. Many were fully aware of the tendency of the partisan press corps to boost the image of 'their' commander, and played to this. This book, the first of two, examines the careers, personalities and fortunes of the key US commanders of World War II. Among those covered are (USAAF) Claire Chennault, Doolittle, Arnold, George Kenney, Curtis LeMay, Pete Quesada, Carl Spaatz; and (Army) Omar Bradley, Mark Clark, Devers, Dwight Eisenhower, Courtney Hodges, Walter Krueger, Douglas MacArthur, McNair, George Marshal, Alexander Patch, George Patton, William A. Simpson, Joseph Stilwell, Richard Sutherland, Lucius K. Truscott, Norman 'Dutch' Cota, Lawton Collins, John S. Wood, Bedell Smith, Matthew Ridgeway, James Gavin, and Maxwell Taylor. The second book in this sequence examines the careers of the key US Naval and Marine commanders. Text by James Arnold with illustrations by Darko Pavlovic.

Contents

• Introduction
• The Commanders
• Bibliography - Further Reading
• Colour Plate Commentary
• Index