Great Commanders - Combined Arms Center - U.S. Army

220 Pages·2012·1.2 MB·English

Great Commanders
Edited by
Christopher R. Gabel, Ph.D.
James H. Willbanks, Ph.D.
Combat Studies Institute Press
US Army Combined Arms Center
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
Dedication
This book is dedicated to all those who have served.
The illustration on the front cover is an engraving by Emile Rouargue, entitled
“Napoleon a la Bataille d’Austerlitz, le 2 Decembre 1805.” The scene is the cen-
tral image of an engraving that is surrounded by 16 other smaller battle and vic-
tory scenes. This particular image shows Napoleon on the Pratzen Heights, which
he just captured, looking out where the battle continues below. The engraving is
ca. 1840 and is part of the J. David Markham Collection, who also is the President
of the International Napoleonic Society.
Great Commanders
Edited by
Christopher R. Gabel, Ph.D.
James H. Willbanks, Ph.D.
Combat Studies Institute Press
US Army Combined Arms Center
Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Great Commanders / Edited by Christopher R. Gabel, Ph.D. and
James H. Willbanks, Ph.D.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references
ISBN 978-0-9855879-7-0 (alk. Paper)
1. Generals – Biography. 2. Leadership – History. 3. Military
Biography.
I. Gabel, Christopher R. (Christopher Richard), 1954- II. Wilbanks,
James H., 1947 –
UB 200.G74 2012
355.0092’2—dc23
2012034997
Combat Studies Institute Press publications
cover a wide variety of military history topics.
The views expressed in this CSI Press
publication are those of the author(s) and not
necessarily those of the Department of the
Army or the Department of Defense. A full list
of CSI Press publications, which are available
for downloading, can be found at http://usacac.
army.mil/CAC2/CSI/index.asp.
The seal of the Combat Studies Institute authenticates this document as
an official publication of the CSI. It is prohibited to use CSI’s official
seal on any republication without the express written permission of the
Director of CSI.
ii
Contents
Page
Foreword ...................................................................................................v
Acknowledgments ...................................................................................vii
Preface ......................................................................................................ix
Introduction ...............................................................................................1
Chapter 1. Alexander the Enigma .............................................................5
Chapter 2. Genghis Khan ........................................................................35
Chapter 3. Napoleon Bonaparte ..............................................................63
Chapter 4. Warrior of the Waves: Nelson’s Legacy to Naval
Commandership ......................................................................................93
Chapter 5. John J. Pershing: “The Very Model of a Modern Major
General ..................................................................................................123
Chapter 6. Rommel: Beyond the Desert Fox ........................................147
Chapter 7. Curtis E. LeMay ..................................................................171
Bibliography .........................................................................................199
Contributors ..........................................................................................203
Figures
Figure 1. Alexander the Great ...................................................................6
Figure 2. Genghis Khan ..........................................................................36
Figure 3. Napoleon Bonaparte ................................................................64
Figure 4. Captain Horatio Nelson ...........................................................94
Figure 5. John J. Pershing .....................................................................124
Figure 6. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel ...............................................148
Figure 7. General Curtis LeMay .......................................................................172
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Maps
Map 1. Manuever of Ulm and Pursuit to Vienna,
September-November 1805 ....................................................80
Map 2. Austerlitz, December 1805 .........................................................86
Map 3. Simplified Sketch of Nelson’s Battle Plan for Trafalgar ........................95
iv
Foreword
With the publication of Great Commanders, the Combat Studies
Institute continues its mission of publishing CGSC Faculty scholarship
and adding to the body of historical literature the thoughts and research
of these distinguished Professors. These analyses are both interesting and
useful in their discussion of what attributes and circumstances yield an
extraordinary commander of martial forces. As the editors point out, this
volume is not a study of the “greatest” commanders; rather, it is an exami-
nation of commanders who should be considered great. The seven leaders
examined, in the various domains of ground, sea, and air, each in their own
way successfully addressed the challenges of military endeavor in their
time and changed the world in which they lived. Not only should students
of history find this volume interesting, but practitioners of warfare, who
may be given the solemn duty and responsibility of command, may garner
insights into the qualities and abilities possessed by those commanders
deemed to be “great.”
CSI – The Past is Prologue!
Roderick M. Cox
Colonel, US Army
Director, Combat Studies Institute
v

Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Mr. Crosby Kemper and the Kansas City Public
Library, Mr. Bob Ulin and the CGSC Foundation, and the National World
War I Museum at Liberty Memorial for sponsoring the lecture series from
which these essays were drawn. We are also grateful to the staff of the
Combined Arms Research Library at Fort Leavenworth. And, of course,
we are indebted to the Combat Studies Institute for agreeing to publish
this collection.
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