Eisenhower; as Military Commander

By E.K.G. Sixsmith

Book Overview

"In the making of Allied Force Headquarters into a truly single Allied inter-service headquarters, Eisenhower started on a task that was to continue throughout the war--and beyond. Its fulfillment was perhaps more than any other his special contribution to the practice of war."Because he did not actually command troops in battle, Eisenhower has occasionally been underestimated by military writers. The Eisenhower volume in the classic "Military Commanders" series clearly demonstrates that his organization of the Allied effort in Europe owed nothing to the practices followed in World War I and represented a decisive breakthrough in the conduct of war, particularly in coalition warfare. Ike was a military manager without equal, who also had the ability to inspire confidence and loyalty among his subordinates of all nationalities. Eisenhower is most closely associated with the military principle of "Unity of Command," and his doctrines are more relevant today than ever, in the world of coalition armies and high-tech battlefields. General Sixsmith's comprehensive description of Eisenhower's World War II actions makes for particularly interesting comparisons with the lessons forgotten in Vietnam and re-applied in the Persian Gulf.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0016P7GRI
• ISBN13: 9780938289135
• Release Date: April 1998
• Publisher: Da Capo Press
• Length: 258 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Solid concise look at Ike the military commander

"Eisenhower: A Military Commander" by E.K.G. Sixsmith is a compact (221 pp) and informative story of the military career of Dwight D. Eisenhower through the end of the Second World War. While short in length Sixsmith's book does not lack for vital and important information and considerable insight. Sixsmith presents a fair and relatively unbiased picture of Ike as a military leader, leaving generally behind any potential nationalistic bias' he may have brought to the project given his British birth and citizenship. It is unfortunate that so many books written about Eisenhower's command have been provincial in their approach (biased either from an American or British view point). Fortunately for the reader Sixsmith presents an evenly balanced, yet critical look at Ike's command capabilities and performance. There are a number of quite good books out there dedicated to Eisenhower and his military career, many of them much longer in text, but few utilize those extra words with significantly more impact than Sixsmith's work. Take for example, Carlos D'Este's "Eisenhower: A Soldier's Life" - while it clocks in at nearly 900 pages, it provides little beyond Sixsmith's book in terms of presentation and analysis of Ike's military strengths and weaknesses, his achievements and failures. What a book like D'Este's does do is provide more insight into Eisenhower the man: how was his family history connected to his command style? How did his personal relationships influence his approach to military decisions? How did his training in the pre-war period affect his command style? These types of questions are not really addressed in Sixsmith's book, rather he limits his discussions to questions of Ike's training and actions as a commander of Allied forces. This reviewer found little of command substance per se left out of Sixsmith's 200 odd pages relative to what is present in D'Este's 900 pages. "Eisenhower: A Military Commander" is highly recommended as a primmer for anyone interested in Ike's military career as relates to the Second World War. Many other books provide considerable extra material as relates to Ike the man and his personality, but Sixsmith's is one of note in terms of pure military interest. 4 stars.

The administrative qualities of the Supreme Allied Commander

Overall there are several good books about Dwight Eisenhower. The author who is British paints the administrative qualities of Eisenhower and how his contributions contributed to the Victory in Europe. Eisenhower was impartial with all the forces under his command-whether they are American, British, Canadian, or French.Sixsmith details the plans to invade North Africa, Sicily, Italy, and France. With the people under his command, it is a wonder how he managed to get consensus on the goals and push the team toward victory. Sixsmith does a wonderful job of detailing all of these conflicts with the various generals and Churchill, Roosevelt, and DeGalle. Eisenhower really was a superior administrative genius and his abilities were as good or better than George Marshall. It was great we had Eisenhower on our side during WWII.This was a short read which detailed the military aspects of Dwight Eisenhower. For more detail on his early life or later political life, one has to read elsewhere--perhaps Ambrose.