The U.S. Army and World War II


Book Description

The U.S. Army and World War II is an anthology of selected papers from three international conferences held in 1990, 1992, and 1994 on the Army's role in the war. Taking the best from those meetings, Judith L. Bellafaire has organized the various presentations into four thematic categories--prewar planning, the home front, the European theater, and the Asian-Pacific theaters--reflecting the diversity of both the war and the interest of those seeking to understand its many facets. In these carefully edited papers, one will find the more conventional treatments of doctrine, strategy, and operations side by side with those focusing on military mobilization and procurement, race and gender, psychological warfare, and large-scale advice and assistance programs. Despite significant changes in military technology and the geopolitical landscape of the world since those desperate times, the human problems highlighted by the authors are not much different from many of those facing Army leaders today. Although the past can never provide the specific recipes needed for the future, experience has shown that both the basic ingredients and the manner in which they are prepared and processed have remained remarkably constant. Those grappling with the challenges of stability operations and other contingency missions in support of the Global War on Terrorism will find this collection of readings invaluable.




The Other End of the Spear


Book Description

This book looks at several troop categories based on primary function and analyzes the ratio between these categories to develop a general historical ratio. This ratio is called the Tooth-to-Tail Ratio. McGrath's study finds that this ratio, among types of deployed US forces, has steadily declined since World War II, just as the nature of warfare itself has changed. At the same time, the percentage of deployed forces devoted to logistics functions and to base and life support functions have increased, especially with the advent of the large-scale of use of civilian contractors. This work provides a unique analysis of the size and composition of military forces as found in historical patterns. Extensively illustrated with charts, diagrams, and tables. (Originally published by the Combat Studies Institute Press)




The General Who Wore Six Stars


Book Description

Lt. Gen. John C. H. Lee wore six stars on his helmet, three in front and three in back—an unusual affectation. He was a stickler for discipline and a legendary military figure whom servicemen and historians loved to hate. Yet Lee was an intensely religious person and an advocate of opportunity for African Americans in the era of Jim Crow, setting him apart from the conservative officer corps at this time. Lee was also responsible for supplying the Allied armies in Europe during World War II from D-Day through Germany’s surrender. In this long-overdue biography of the brilliant and eccentric commander, Hank H. Cox paints a vivid picture of this enormous logistical task and the man who made it all happen. The General Who Wore Six Stars delves into the perplexing details of how Lee let his idiosyncrasies get the better of him. This “pompous little son-of-a-bitch,” as some historians have called him, who was “only interested in self-advertisement,” famously moved his headquarters to Paris, where during the height of the American Army supply crisis, twenty-nine thousand of his Service of Supply troops shacked up in the finest hotels and, due to sheer numbers, created an enormous black market. Yet, Cox argues, Lee’s strategical genius throughout the war has been underappreciated not only by his contemporaries but also by World War II historians. The General Who Wore Six Stars provides a timely reassessment of this intriguing individual.




The Battle for Western Europe, Fall 1944


Book Description

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.




Logistical Support of the Armies


Book Description

The buildup of American armies under General Eisenhower in the United Kingdom in preparation for the Normandy invasion and an account of how they were supplied during the first three months of operations on the Continent. Both volumes emphasize the influence of logistical support on the planning and conduct of combat operations by field armies.




Normandy to Victory


Book Description

This annotated edition of General Hodges’s WWII diary offers a unique firsthand account of the First US Army from D-Day to V-E Day: “a fascinating book” (Bowling Green Daily News). During World War II, General Courtney Hicks Hodges commanded the First US Army, taking part in the Allied invasion of France, the liberation of Paris, and the ultimate Allied victory in 1945. Maintained by two of Hodges's aides, Major William C. Sylvan and Captain Francis G. Smith Jr., this military journal offers a unique firsthand account of the actions, decisions, and daily activities of General Hodges and the First Army throughout the war. The diary opens on June 2, 1944, as Hodges and the First Army prepare for the Allied invasion of France. In the weeks and months that follow, the diary highlights the crucial role that Hodges's command played in the Allied operations in northwest Europe. The diary recounts the First Army's involvement in the fight for France, the Siegfried Line campaign, the Battle of the Bulge, the drive to the Roer River, and the crossing of the Rhine, following Hodges and his men through savage European combat until the German surrender in May 1945. This historically significant text has previously been available only to military historians and researchers. Retired US Army historian John T. Greenwood has now edited the text in its entirety and added a biography of General Hodges as well as extensive contextual notes. A Choice Outstanding Academic Title Winner of the 2009 Distinguished Writing Award from the Army Historical Foundation










Pacific Express


Book Description

Award-winning author William L. McGee has gathered under one cover an edited collection of the best works by noted military historians on the importance of military logistics in World War II. "Pacific Express" is on the Marine Corps Commandant's Professional List and is required reading for active duty and reserve Marines on the subject of Logistics.




The Logistics of War..


Book Description