Audiobook7 hours
Battalion Commanders at War: U.S. Army Tactical Leadership in the Mediterranean Theater, 1942-1943
Written by Steven Thomas Barry
Narrated by Johnny Heller
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
()
About this audiobook
Most histories of the US Army in World War II view the Mediterranean Theater of Operations primarily as a deadly training ground for very green forces, where lessons learned on the beaches of Oran, in the hills of the Kasserine Pass area, and at the collapse of the Tunis bridgehead all contributed to later success in Western Europe. Steven Barry, however, contends that victory in the MTO would not have materialized without the leadership of battalion-level commanders. They operated at a high level, despite the lack of combat experience for themselves and their troops, ineffective leadership at higher levels, and deficiencies in equipment, organization, and mobilization.
Barry portrays these officers as highly trained, adaptable, and courageous in their first combat experiences in North Africa and Sicily. Their leadership, he argues, brought discipline, maturity, experience, and the ability to translate common operational guidance into tactical reality, and thus contributed significantly to battlefield success in North Africa and Sicily in 1942-1943. To explain how this happened, he examines their prewar experiences, including professional military education and unit training exercises; personal factors such as calmness and physical resilience under fire; and the ability to draw upon doctrine, creatively apply the resources at their disposal, and clearly define and communicate mission goals and means. He also reveals how battalion leaders incorporated technological innovations into combined arms maneuvers by employing tank capabilities and close air support doctrine.
As Barry's assessment shows, these battalion commanders were not the sole reason for the Allied triumph in North Africa and Sicily, but victory would not have been possible without the special brand of military leadership they exhibited throughout those campaigns. Under their leadership, even inexperienced units were able to deliver credible combat performance, and without the regular army battalion leaders, US units could not have functioned tactically early in the war.
One of the few studies to focus on tactical adaptation at the battalion level in conventional warfare, Barry's book attests to the pivotal value of professional military education-and makes an important contribution to today's "organizational learning" debate-while providing an in-depth view of adaptation of US infantry and armored forces in 1942-1943.
Barry portrays these officers as highly trained, adaptable, and courageous in their first combat experiences in North Africa and Sicily. Their leadership, he argues, brought discipline, maturity, experience, and the ability to translate common operational guidance into tactical reality, and thus contributed significantly to battlefield success in North Africa and Sicily in 1942-1943. To explain how this happened, he examines their prewar experiences, including professional military education and unit training exercises; personal factors such as calmness and physical resilience under fire; and the ability to draw upon doctrine, creatively apply the resources at their disposal, and clearly define and communicate mission goals and means. He also reveals how battalion leaders incorporated technological innovations into combined arms maneuvers by employing tank capabilities and close air support doctrine.
As Barry's assessment shows, these battalion commanders were not the sole reason for the Allied triumph in North Africa and Sicily, but victory would not have been possible without the special brand of military leadership they exhibited throughout those campaigns. Under their leadership, even inexperienced units were able to deliver credible combat performance, and without the regular army battalion leaders, US units could not have functioned tactically early in the war.
One of the few studies to focus on tactical adaptation at the battalion level in conventional warfare, Barry's book attests to the pivotal value of professional military education-and makes an important contribution to today's "organizational learning" debate-while providing an in-depth view of adaptation of US infantry and armored forces in 1942-1943.
Related to Battalion Commanders at War
Related audiobooks
Defeat Into Victory: Battling Japan in Burma and India, 1942-1945 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Desert Armour: Tank Warfare in North Africa: Beda Fomm to Operation Crusader, 1940-41 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Fires of Babylon: Eagle Troop and the Battle of 73 Easting Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On Operations: Operational Art and Military Disciplines Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCommanding the Pacific: Marine Corps Generals in World War II Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5From the Realm of a Dying Sun: Volume 1: IV. SS-Panzerkorps and the Battles for Warsaw, July–November 1944 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Rangers, Scouts, and Raiders: Origin, Organization, and Operations of Selected Special Operations Forces Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsImperial Germany and War, 1871-1918 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sheer Misery: Soldiers in Battle in WWII Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Headhunter: 5-73 CAV and Their Fight for Iraq's Diyala River Valley Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Frozen Chosen: The 1st Marine Division and the Battle of the Chosin Reservoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5East of Chosin: Entrapment and Breakout in Korea, 1950 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMarathon War: Leadership in Combat in Afghanistan Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Normandiefront: D-Day to Saint-Lô Through German Eyes Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Decision at Sea: Five Naval Battles that Shaped American History Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Rise of the G.I. Army, 1940-1941: The Forgotten Story of How America Forged a Powerful Army Before Pearl Harbor Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTank Warfare on the Eastern Front, 1941-1942: Schwerpunkt Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMiG Alley: The US Air Force in Korea, 1950-53 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Scarlet Fields: The Combat Memoir of a World War I Medal of Honor Hero Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cowboys Over Iraq: Leadership from the Saddle Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Special Forces Berlin: Clandestine Cold War Operations of the US Army's Elite, 1956–1990 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5MacArthur's Air Force: American Airpower Over the Pacific and the Far East, 1941-51 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Marshall and His Generals: U.S. Army Commanders in World War II Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Day of the Rangers: The Battle of Mogadishu 25 Years On Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Fallschirm-Panzer Division 'Hermann Göring': A History of the Luftwaffe's Only Armoured Division 1933-1945 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSherman: Soldier, Realist, American Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Oceans Ventured: Winning the Cold War at Sea Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Paratrooper Generals: Matthew Ridgway, Maxwell Taylor, and the American Airborne from D-Day through Normandy Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
History For You
The Book of Five Rings Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Demon Copperhead: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Mysterious Case of Rudolf Diesel: Genius, Power, and Deception on the Eve of World War I Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Razorblade Tears: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mary Magdalene: Women, the Church, and the Great Deception Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5History Decoded: The Ten Greatest Conspiracies of All Time Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Secret History of the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Factfulness: Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World--and Why Things Are Better Than You Think Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5All the Sinners Bleed: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Endurance Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5On Palestine Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Little Book of Hygge: Danish Secrets to Happy Living Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Story of Art Without Men Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Small Mercies: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An American Marriage: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Overstory Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Dead Are Arising: The Life of Malcolm X Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Leave the World Behind: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Restaurant: A History of Eating Out Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Knowing What We Know: The Transmission of Knowledge: From Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Memorial Drive: A Daughter's Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Lincoln-Douglas Debates: The First Complete, Unexpurgated Text Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Battalion Commanders at War
Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars
4/5
2 ratings1 review
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5As a close analysis of how the U.S. Army prepared its field grade commanders for war in the 1930s this book really shines, so much so that the analysis of the battalion commander's war in North Africa and Sicily almost seems like an afterthought. As always when reading about the events leading up to Kasserine Pass the question remains what did George Marshall see in Lloyd Fredendall to merit operational command; did the man simply get the benefit of the doubt by being another member of the "Big Red One" Mafia of the Great War?