battle of the bulge

[Jim_s_Son]

@Malthus

Churchill could cause dozens of military disasters and still win the war, because his major use as an asset was in smoothing the alliance with America. It is sometimes taken for granted that the Western Allies would closely cooperate on every level - but in the history of warfare, few alliances have worked as well as that between the Brits and the Yanks (once the Yanks were in the game).

Major successes by Churchill include: (1) managing to restrain the Americans from attacking in Europe prematurely; and (2) managing his own general’s egos, collaborating in putting an American of limited experience - Eisenhower - in charge of that attack. Both were significant in crafting victory.

Perhaps the best previous example of allies cooperating was the Marlborough/Prince Eugene of Savoy partnership in the war of the Spanish Succession …

I recently read Eisenhower’s “Crusade in Europe” and one thing I found of interest was his comment of coalitions. Eisenhower said while studying the Napoleonic Wars at West Point he never could quite understand why it was so difficult to beat Napoleon. Then in WWII he found out…coalitions are so damn difficult to pull off because different countries have different aims and they feel their strategy is the best. Eisenhower had problems with British generals such as Montgomery and Brooke and as a college football player Eisenhower valued teamwork highly. His relations with Royal Air Force and Royal Navy brass was much better.