Marshall and His Generals, Stephen R. Taaffe
Marshall and His Generals, Stephen R. Taaffe
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Marshall and His Generals
U.S. Army Commanders in World War II

Author: Stephen R. Taaffe

Narrator: James Anderson Foster

Unabridged: 17 hr 1 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 10/24/2017

Synopsis

General George C. Marshall, chief of staff of the U.S. Army during World War II, faced the daunting task not only of overseeing two theaters of a global conflict but also of selecting the best generals to carry out American grand strategy. Marshall and His Generals is the first and only book to focus entirely on that selection process and the performances, both stellar and disappointing, that followed from it.

Stephen Taaffe explores how and why Marshall selected the Army's commanders. Among Marshall's chief criteria were character (including "unselfish and devoted purpose"), education, (whether at West Point, Fort Leavenworth, or the Army War College), and striking a balance between experience and relative youth in a war that required both wisdom and great physical stamina. As the war unfolded, Marshall also factored into his calculations the combat leadership his generals demonstrated and the opinions of his theater commanders.

Delving deeper than other studies, this path-breaking work produces a seamless analysis of Marshall's selection process of operational-level commanders. Taaffe also critiques the performance of these generals during the war and reveals the extent to which their actions served as stepping stones to advancement.

About Stephen R. Taaffe

Stephen R. Taaffe is a professor of history at Stephen F. Austin State University, where he specializes in US military history. He received his bachelor's degree from Grove City College and his graduate degrees from Ohio University.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Jean

George Marshall was appointed Chief of Staff of the Army on the day Britain declared war on Germany. The army was small and had suffered decades of austerity. The promotions had been stagnant and there was lots of deadwood. Marshall had to quickly get rid of the deadwood, increase the size of the ar......more

Goodreads review by Ken

Interesting book covering the relationships between US top general Marshall and then the top 38 American generals that planned the battles against Germany and Japan. .......more

Goodreads review by Nathan

Stephen Taaffe wrote an interesting and informative history of the primary generals in World War II. I was, however, expecting more of a biography when I began the book. I sought the book after visiting the National WWII Museum in New Orleans, which prompted a search for more information on George M......more

Goodreads review by Mike

This book examines the 38 General Officers in World War II that commanded at the Corps, Army and Army Group level in all theatres in World War II. While the book is focused on Marshall's role in their selection for command billets, it spends a great deal of time on the various theatre commanders, pa......more

Goodreads review by Ashlee

Pretty good book! As someone who is pretty well versed in the happenings of WWII, I really feel that this book did a good job introducing the main players. I don't necessarily know that it does the best job of connecting each of those characters to Marshall, but it did that with a few of them. This......more

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