Lords of war : from Lincoln to Churchill : supreme command 1861-1945 / Correlli Barnett.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Barnett, Correlli, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Military biography.

Military history, Modern--19th century.

Military history, Modern.

Military history, Modern--20th century.

Physical Description:

lvii, 321 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Barnsley, South Yorkshire : Praetorian Press, 2012.

Summary:

The author examines statesmen, generals, and admirals for strengths and weaknesses in this compelling study of leadership in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He examines how the difficulties they faced and the political and strategic backgrounds of their days and analyses how they performed and what they achieved. Were they successful, or were they beaten down by the burden of their roles? His book considers men from very different backgrounds and from three continents in a range of modern conflicts from the Napoleonic Wars to the Second World War. These leaders present fascinating contrasts of personal character, styles of leadership and sheer aptitude for command as well as contrasts in the daunting professional problems that challenged each of them. As a master in the field of strategic history, the author yet again demolishes hallowed reputations and rehabilitates the unjustly scapegoated.

Contents:

Part I : The nineteenth century. The romantic ideal of leadership : Napoleon Bonaparte

Crusader with a blunt sword : Abraham Lincoln and the failing generals

A study in contrast : Ulysses S. Grand and Robert E. Lee

The calculator of victory : Helmuth, Graf von Mltke and the Wars of Bismarck

The price of incompetence : Napoleon III and his marshals

part II : The Great War 1914-1918. Nerve and loss of nerve : General Joffre versus Moltke the younger

Stalemate and scapegoat : General Sir Douglas Haig

Brilliance and betrayal : David Lloyd George as war premier

The saviour of an army : Maréchal Pétain and the French mutinies

Leader to catastrophe : first Quartermaster General General Erich Ludendorff

The victor of 1918 : Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig

pt. III : the Second World War 1939-1945. Leader from the Front : Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel

The reluctant gambler : Admiral Isoruku Yamamoto

Fire-raiser in chief : Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Harris

From defeat into victory : General Sir William Slim

Neptune's admiral : Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay

Coalition Supreme Commander : General Dwight D. Eisenhower

Stalin's marchal : Marshal Georgi Zhukov

Spellbinder and fantasist : Adolf Hitler

Victory at all cost : Winston Churchill.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 301-304) and index.

ISBN:

1781590931

9781781590935

OCLC:

819816571