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In this autobiography, Omar N. Bradley (1893-1981) recounts his youth in Missouri, his years at the US Military Academy at West Point (he graduated in 1915 alongside Dwight D. Eisenhower), his assignments on the US-Mexico border and in Montana guarding copper mines during World War I, his tours teaching mathematics at West Point and in 1941, commanding of the US Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, his active duty during World War II in North Africa, Sicily, Normandy and eventually commanding 43 divisions and 1.3 million Americans in Europe, linking up with Soviet forces on the Elbe in April 1945, sealing the defeat of Nazi forces. Bradley provides vivid descriptions of key figures in the liberation of Europe, including Marshall, Eisenhower, Patton, Churchill and Montgomery. Back in Washington, Bradley describes his years heading the Veterans Administration, his tenure as Army Chief of Staff and as first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff starting in 1949. After being promoted to the rank of General of the Army (five stars) in 1950, Bradley was the senior military commander when the Korean War started; he supported President Truman’s wartime policy of containment and was instrumental in persuading Truman to dismiss General MacArthur in 1951 after MacArthur resisted administration attempts to scale back the war’s strategic objectives. “The narrative deals skillfully with the planning and execution of campaigns that changed history... an unmatched panorama of 40 years of American military history... A great many writers have taken a crack at describing the 1944 Allied landings in Normandy [but] no overall description of that long, bitter battle on the American beaches, Utah and Omaha, is better than the one in this book.” — Drew Middleton,The New York Times “The most unassuming of the WW II military chiefs has (in recompense?) the last, stinging word... a vigorous, accomplished, exceptionally unconstrained narrative... Explosive yet likable.” — Kirkus Reviews “[A] surprisingly candid account from a man long reputed to be mild-mannered, discreet, and uncritical of the figures of his time... General Bradley has given us a very informative autobiography. Especially interesting are the sections on American military participation in the North African and Sicilian campaigns, and Eisenhower’s role there; the Normandy landings and subsequent breakout; the Battle of the Bulge; and President Truman’s removal of General MacArthur from command in Korea... He is very frank in his comments on Eisenhower’s weaknesses as Allied commander in North Africa and Sicily, and of Patton’s ill-advised behavior and remarks during that period and later. He is also harshly critical of Montgomery’s “prima donna”-like behavior and his continual efforts to push Eisenhower into giving him the supreme command of all Allied ground troops... With the loss of General Bradley, there are unlikely to be any more top-rank firsthand accounts of this period in US military history. Bradley’s book, therefore, may have the last word, but he hasn’t abused that privilege. He was too fair a man for that.” — Howard C. Thomas, The Christian Science Monitor “[A] superb book... a remarkably smooth-flowing account of the life of one of this country’s most distinguished military leaders... Bradley’s candid appraisals of his superiors, subordinates and peers, notably Patton, Montgomery, Eisenhower, Simpson and Hodges, make fascinating reading... this is a first-rate addition to the growing number of biographies of prominent World War II military personalities. Besides being eminently enjoyable reading for casual consumption, it is of significant value to the student of military history.” — Lieutenant Colonel William A. de Palo, Jr., Infantry Magazine
The First In-Depth Biography of America’s Last Five-Star General He was known as “the G.I. General”— humble, self-effacing, hard-working, reflecting the small-town virtues of the America whose uniform he wore. But those very virtues have led historians to neglect General Omar Bradley—until now. Bestselling author Jim DeFelice, in this, the first-ever in-depth biography of America’s last five-star general, tells Bradley’s full story, and argues that the neglected G.I. General did more than any other to defeat Hitler in World War II. While General George S. Patton has garnered much of the glory, General Dwight David Eisenhower has claimed much of the world’s respect, and British General Bernard Montgomery has kept the Union Jack flying, as DeFelice proves, it was the unassuming Bradley who actually developed the strategy and the tactics that won the war in Europe. Meticulously researched, using previously untapped documents and unpublished diaries and notes, Omar Bradley: General at War reveals: Why Bradley, not Patton, deserves most of the credit for America’s victories in North Africa How Bradley—first Patton’s subordinate, then his superior—was one of Patton’s great defenders, while also recognizing his weaknesses, and tried to cover up the infamous slapping incident How Eisenhower panicked—when Bradley didn’t—during the early stages of the Battle of the Bulge, delaying an American counterattack that could have saved thousands of lives Why Bradley was a radical innovator in the use of combined air, armor, and infantry power How Bradley, contrary to those who like to portray him as a staid counterpart to Patton, was one of the most ardent practitioners of fast-moving offensives Why Bradley expected the Germans might use radiological weapons at Normandy Provocative, thorough, original, Jim DeFelice’s Omar Bradley: General at War deserves a place on the shelf of every reader of World War II history.
THE FIREBOMBING OF TOKYO. Strategic Air Command. John F. Kennedy. Dr. Strangelove. George Wallace. All of these have one man in common—General Curtis LeMay, who remains as unknowable and controversial as he was in life. Until now. Warren Kozak traces the trajectory of America’s most infamous general, from his troubled background and heroic service in Europe to his firebombing of Tokyo, guardianship of the U.S. nuclear arsenal in the Cold War, frustrated career in government, and short-lived political run. Curtis LeMay’s life spanned an epoch in American military history, from the small U.S. Army Air Corps of the interwar years to the nuclear age. LeMay: The Life and Wars of General Curtis LeMay tells the whole story of the innovative pilot and navigator; the courageous general who led his bomber formations from the front, flying the lead bomber; the brilliant strategist; the unflagging patriot; and the founder of modern strategic bombing, who was famous and notorious in turns. LeMay: The Life and Wars of General Curtis LeMay gives an unprecedented glimpse into the might and mind of one of the founding fathers of air power, whose influence, and controversy, continues to this day.
General Arthur MacArthur’s extraordinary life spans the history of the United States from the Civil War through the Indian Wars to the Spanish-American War and the heyday of American imperialism in the Philippines. And in a sense, as the father of Douglas MacArthur, his influence extends well into our own century. The General’s General is the first biography of Arthur MacArthur, and it clearly establishes his importance in American history. Arthur MacArthur’s military career began as a scrawny seventeen-year-old lieutenant, his commission owed not to any evidence of his ability but to family connections. His squeaky voice, barely audible on the parade field, combined with an adolescent conception of proper military bearing to make the young officer an object of ridicule. But MacArthur overcame this bad start and went on to become a bona fide Civil War hero. The youngest regimental commander of the war, he led his troops with distinction in battle and became one of the very first officers to be awarded the congressional Medal of Honor. In the 1870s MacArthur served in forts in the West during the Indian Wars, married “Pinky†Hardy, and started a family. He next commanded a division in the Philippines during the Spanish-American War. MacArthur went on to become the governor-general of the Philippines—the most imperial post in that blatantly imperialistic period of American history. His blunt opposition to aspects of Washington’s colonial policy in the Philippines led to a series of conflicts with Taft, McKinley, and other civilian authorities. After his return to the United States in 1907, these same leaders blocked MacArthur’s appointment as chief of staff of the army. Instead, an embittered MacArthur was forced to retire. The MacArthur family, including Douglas, never forgave the powerful men who had thwarted Arthur in his greatest ambition and denied him his place in history. After one of the most distinguished careers in the history of the U.S. Army, Arthur MacArthur died in relative obscurity while delivering a speech at the fiftieth reunion of his original Civil War regiment. A man whose whole life had been soldiering left instructions forbidding a military funeral and asking to be buried in civilian clothes rather than in the uniform he had worn so proudly from the age of seventeen. MacArthur died too soon to witness the military exploits of his famous son. But there can be no doubt that Arthur made a profound impression on Douglas, who regarded the general with awe and spent much of his own life following in his father’s footsteps. Arthur MacArthur had spent his life striving to be a soldier’s soldier; in the end it can be truly said that he was the general’s general.
Given in memory of Lt. Charles Britton Hudson, CSA & Sgt. William Henry Harrison Edge, CSA by Eugene Edge III.
Here is a narrative account of decisive engagements that succeeded by brilliant strategy more than by direct force. The reader accompanies those who fought, from Roman legionaries and Mongol horsemen to Napoleonic soldiery, and Douglas MacArthur's Inchon invaders. Maps. Illustrations.
“The most comprehensive and authoritative study of Washington’s military career ever written.” –Joseph J. Ellis, author of His Excellency: George Washington Based largely on George Washington’s personal papers, this engrossing book paints a vivid, factual portrait of Washington the soldier. An expert in military history, Edward Lengel demonstrates that the “secret” to Washington’s excellence lay in his completeness, in how he united the military, political, and personal skills necessary to lead a nation in war and peace. Despite being an “imperfect commander”–and at times even a tactically suspect one–Washington nevertheless possessed the requisite combination of vision, integrity, talents, and good fortune to lead America to victory in its war for independence. At once informative and engaging, and filled with some eye-opening revelations about Washington, the American Revolution, and the very nature of military command, General George Washington is a book that reintroduces readers to a figure many think they already know. “The book’s balanced assessment of Washington is satisfying and thought-provoking. Lengel gives us a believable Washington . . . the most admired man of his generation by far.” –The Washington Post Book World “A compelling picture of a man who was ‘the archetypal American soldier’ . . . The sum of his parts was the greatness of Washington.” –The Boston Globe “[An] excellent book . . . fresh insights . . . If you have room on your bookshelf for only one book on the Revolution, this may be it.” –The Washington Times
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.
The life and achievements of General Omar Nelson Bradley are legendary. During World War II, the five-star general was a key figure in the D-Day invasion and the Battle of the Bulge. But his private life has always lain just outside the reach of the media. Bradley has long been portrayed as a soft-spoken gentleman. This media-driven stereotype has pushed him aside in America's collective memory, which more readily recalls flamboyant leaders such as Patton, Eisenhower or George C. Marshall. This book reexamines the prevailing view of Bradley through a reading of unpublished sources and letters, paying special attention to his relationship with his second wife Kitty Buhler and his later years (1951-1981), a period largely ignored by previous research. Bradley's life was far from boring. Behind closed doors were trysts with Hollywood starlets, a penchant for gambling at the horse track and hobnobbing with high-profile stars, writers and political leaders.