Bücher der Reihe Great Generals

The gripping story of the only military commander in American history to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.General George C. Marshall was a skillful and compassionate leader with a unique legacy. He never fired a shot during WWII and led no troops into battle-his brilliance was purely strategic and diplomatic, and incredibly effective. He was responsible for the building, supplying, and, in part, the deployment of over eight million soldiers. In 1947, as Secretary of State, he created the Marshall Plan, a sweeping economic recovery effort that pulled the war-shattered European nations out of ruin, and gave impetus to NATO and the European Common Market. It was for the Marshall Plan that he won the Nobel Peace Prize-the only time in history a military commander has ever been awarded this honor. H. Paul Jeffers and Alan Axelrod shows Marshall's skilled combination of military strategy and politics, his emphasis on planning as well as execution, and expertise in nation-building holds lessons for military and civilian leaders today.

Custer presents a fresh portrait of the Civil War commander whose actions were credited with saving the Union at crucial timesColorful, charismatic, and controversial, George Armstrong Custer became a national hero at the age of twenty-three when he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general-barely two years after graduating at the bottom of his class from West Point. He was idolized both by his men and by the American public, though he endured two courts-martial and temporary dismissal from the Army.Custer pushed himself harder and longer than most, owing to an intense ambition to succeed and a hunger for glory and fame. He was contemptuous of danger, taking chances that no one else would take, which earned him the reputation among some observers of being reckless. Redeeming himself through his actions at the front, he resurrected his former glory with a stunning victory over the Cheyenne Indians using tactics he had perfected during the Civil War. General Custer was one of those larger-than-life figures whose flamboyant personality, daring, and seeming invincibility became legendary.Here, author Duane Schultz shows why he remains one of the most fascinating figures in American military history.

A compelling look at the military career, lessons, and legacy of America's first general and first president. Before he became "the Father of our Country," George Washington was the Father of the American Army. He took troops that had no experience, no tradition, and no training, and fought a protracted war against the best, most disciplined force in the world-the British Army. Deftly handling the political realm, he left his mark with a vision of the Revolution as a war of attrition and his offensives which were as brilliant as they were unpredictable. In Washington, award-winning author Gerald M. Carbone argues that it is this sort of fearless but not reckless, spontaneous but calculated offensive that Washington should be remembered for-as a leader not of infallibility but of greatness.

General William Tecumseh Sherman famously said "War is cruelty, and you cannot refine it." This statement has contributed to his mythic status as a grim-visaged Civil War character who embodied implacable war. Utilizing unique and highly successful maneuvering techniques, Sherman was an original, decisive, and efficient leader. Rising steadily through the ranks during the Civil War, Sherman quickly became Ulysses S. Grant's right hand man. He went on to lead the Union capture of Atlanta, a major victory that contributed to Lincoln's reelection during a tough phase of the war. Legend has him burning a sixty-mile-wide swath of desolation across the South, but while he held the harsh view that the Southern people must feel the pain of the war if it were ever to end, he also showed courtesy and restraint to those Southerners he encountered and strictly limited the destruction to strategic targets. An integral component to the North's success, Sherman was directed and single-minded in his pursuit of Union victory and a re-united country. Acclaimed Civil War historian Steven E. Woodworth delivers a nuanced, insightful portrait of General Sherman, as a man who shied away from the spotlight and only wanted the war to end as quickly as possible.

A close look at the controversial command and strategies of the Air Force Chief of Staff, Curtis LeMay--a terrifying, complex, and brilliant general. In World War II, LeMay ordered the firebombing of Tokyo and was in charge when Atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He was responsible for tens of thousands of civilian deaths--a fact he liked to celebrate by smoking Cuban cigars. But LeMay was also the man who single-handedly transformed the American air force from a ramshackle team of poorly trained and badly equipped pilots into one of the fiercest and most efficient weapons of the war. Over the last decades, most U.S. military missions were carried out entirely through the employment of the Air Force; this is part of LeMay's complicated legacy.Packed with breathtaking battles in the air and inspiring leadership tactics on the ground, LeMay will keep readers on their edge of their seats.

Alan Axelrod applies his signature insight and compelling prose to the life, strategy and legacy of the general Bradley who remains the model for all commanders today as the man who revolutionized the National Guard, shaped the US army's focus on the individual soldier, and emphasized cooperation and coordination among the military services--a cornerstone of modern U.S. military doctrine. Dubbed by the World War II press as "The GI General" because of his close identification with his men, Omar Bradley rose to command the U. S. 12th Army Group in the European Campaign. By the spring of 1945, this group contained 1,300,000 men--the largest exclusively American field command in U.S. history. Mild mannered, General Bradley was a dedicated mentor, the creator of the Officer Candidate School system, and a methodical tactician who served through World War II. Then, as a five-star general, he lifted the Veterans Administration from corruption and inefficiency to a model government agency, served as U.S. Army chief of staff, first chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and head of NATO.

Deemed "irreplaceable" by Robert E. Lee, Stonewall Jackson assumed his nickname during the Battle of Bull Run in the Civil War. It is said that The Army of Northern Virginia never fully recovered from the loss of Stonewall's leadership when he was accidentally shot by one of his own men and died in 1863. Davis highlights Stonewall Jackson's a general who emphasized the importance of reliable information and early preparedness (he so believed in information that he had a personal mapmaker with him at all times) and details Jackson's many lessons in strategy and leadership.

Grant: A Biography tells of the extraordinary life and legacy of one of America's most ingenious military mindsA modest and unassuming man, Grant never lost a battle, leading the Union to victory over the Confederacy during the Civil War, ultimately becoming President of the reunited states. Grant revolutionized military warfare by creating new leadership tactics by integrating new technologies in classical military strategy. In this compelling biography, John Mosier reveals the man behind the military legend, showing how Grant's creativity and genius off the battlefield shaped him into one of our nation's greatest military leaders.

An insightful new account, Robert E. Lee delivers a fresh perspective that leads to a greater understanding of one of the most studied and yet enigmatic military figures in American history.General Robert E. Lee was a complicated man and military figure. From his birth as the son of a celebrated and tragic Revolutionary War hero, to his career after the Civil War when he led by example to heal the terrible wounds of the conflict, there is much to learn from this celebrated general. In just three years of service, he directed the Confederacy's most renowned fighting force, the famed Army of Northern Virginia, through a series of battles, including Second Manassas, Antietam, and Gettysburg, which have since come to define combat in the Civil War.Here, for the first time, Noah Andre Trudeau follows the general's Civil War path with a special emphasis on Lee's changing set of personal values as the conflict wended through four bloody years and explores his famous skills as a crafty and daring tactician.