Supreme Command: Soldiers, Statesmen and Leadership in WartimeSimon and Schuster, 2012 M04 17 - 304 pages “An excellent, vividly written” (The Washington Post) account of leadership in wartime that explores how four great democratic statesmen—Abraham Lincoln, Georges Clemenceau, Winston Churchill, and David Ben-Gurion—worked with the military leaders who served them during warfare. The relationship between military leaders and political leaders has always been a complicated one, especially in times of war. When the chips are down, who should run the show—the politicians or the generals? In Supreme Command, Eliot A. Cohen expertly argues that great statesmen do not turn their wars over to their generals, and then stay out of their way. Great statesmen make better generals of their generals. They question and drive their military men, and at key times they overrule their advice. The generals may think they know how to win, but the statesmen are the ones who see the big picture. Abraham Lincoln, Georges Clemenceau, Winston Churchill, and David Ben-Gurion led four very different kinds of democracy, under the most difficult circumstances imaginable. They came from four very different backgrounds—backwoods lawyer, dueling French doctor, rogue aristocrat, and impoverished Jewish socialist. Yet they faced similar challenges. Each exhibited mastery of detail and fascination with technology. All four were great learners, who studied war as if it were their own profession, and in many ways mastered it as well as did their generals. All found themselves locked in conflict with military men. All four triumphed. The powerful lessons of this “brilliant” (National Review) book will touch and inspire anyone who faces intense adversity and is the perfect gift for history buffs of all backgrounds. |
From inside the book
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Page 3
... chief of staff to General Norman Schwarzkopf, commander of US forces in Southwest Asia: "Schwarzkopf was never second-guessed by civilians, and that's the way it ought to work."2 Or more directly, then-President George Bush's ...
... chief of staff to General Norman Schwarzkopf, commander of US forces in Southwest Asia: "Schwarzkopf was never second-guessed by civilians, and that's the way it ought to work."2 Or more directly, then-President George Bush's ...
Page 9
... commander may lack the talents of his more stolid brethren for conducting a defense or those of his more tactful ... chief responsibility in war, nor is it even (as the military textbooks would suggest) the articulation of goals or ...
... commander may lack the talents of his more stolid brethren for conducting a defense or those of his more tactful ... chief responsibility in war, nor is it even (as the military textbooks would suggest) the articulation of goals or ...
Page 16
... commander in chief, T. Harry Williams's Lincoln and His Generals and Kenneth P. Williams's massive (but unfinished) Lincoln Finds a General have taken the view that Lincoln's challenge and achievement as commander in chief consisted of ...
... commander in chief, T. Harry Williams's Lincoln and His Generals and Kenneth P. Williams's massive (but unfinished) Lincoln Finds a General have taken the view that Lincoln's challenge and achievement as commander in chief consisted of ...
Page 17
... commander in chief of the Army, the ancient but shrewd Winfield Scott, to provide "short, comprehensive, daily reports to me of what occurs in his department, including movements by himself, and under his orders, and the receipt of ...
... commander in chief of the Army, the ancient but shrewd Winfield Scott, to provide "short, comprehensive, daily reports to me of what occurs in his department, including movements by himself, and under his orders, and the receipt of ...
Page 18
... chief of the Armies of the United States was preceded by years of careful watching and judgment. More importantly ... COMMANDER IN CHIEF Lincoln's qualifications to serve as commander in chief were, on paper, infinitely inferior to those ...
... chief of the Armies of the United States was preceded by years of careful watching and judgment. More importantly ... COMMANDER IN CHIEF Lincoln's qualifications to serve as commander in chief were, on paper, infinitely inferior to those ...
Contents
1 | |
15 | |
CLEMENCEAU PAYS A VISIT | 52 |
CHURCHILL ASKS A QUESTION | 95 |
BENGURION HOLDS A SEMINAR | 133 |
LEADERSHIP WITHOUT GENIUS | 173 |
THE UNEQUAL DIALOGUE | 208 |
APPENDIX THE THEORY OF CIVILIAN CONTROL | 225 |
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS | 249 |
NOTES | 253 |
INDEX | 279 |
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Common terms and phrases
Allied American Arab arms army attack battle Ben-Gurion Britain British campaign Carl von Clausewitz Chiefs of Staff Churchill Churchill's Civil civil-military relations civilian control civilian leaders Clausewitz Clemenceau coalition commander in chief conduct Confederate conflict Dana David Ben-Gurion decision defense enemy example fact Ferdinand Foch fight Foch Foch's France France's French front German Grant Gulf Gulf war Haganah Halleck high command historians Huntington Ibid important Iraqi Ismay Israel Israel Defense Forces Israeli Jerusalem Jewish Jews Joint Chiefs Joseph Hooker less Lincoln matters ment mili military advisers military leaders Mordacq offensive officers operations organization Palestine Palmach Petain politicians president prime minister problem professional remarked role secretary senior served soldiers Stanton statesmen strategy subordinates tary telegraph theory of civil-military tion Union United University Press USMA victory Vietnam wartime Winston Winston Churchill World World War II Yadin Yigal Alon yishuv York Zionist