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Loading... General Lesley J. McNair: Unsung Architect of the U. S. Army (Modern War Studies)by Mark Calhoun
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George C. Marshall once called him "the brains of the army." And yet General Lesley J. McNair (1883-1944), a man so instrumental to America's military preparedness and Army modernization, remains little known today, his papers purportedly lost, destroyed by his wife in her grief at his death in Normandy. This book, the product of an abiding interest and painstaking research, restores the general Army Magazine calls one of "Marshall's forgotten men" to his rightful place in American military history. Because McNair contributed so substantially to America's war preparedness, this first complete account of his extensive and varied career also leads to a reevaluation of U.S. Army effectiveness during WWII. Born halfway between the Civil War and the dawn of the 20th century, Lesley McNair--"Whitey" by his classmates for his blond hair--graduated 11th of 124 in West Point's class of 1904 and rose slowly through the ranks like all officers in the early twentieth century. He was 31 when World War I erupted, 34 and a junior officer when American troops prepared to join the fight. It was during this time, and in the interwar period that followed the end of the First World War, that McNair's considerable influence on Army doctrine and training, equipment development, unit organization, and combined arms fighting methods developed. By looking at the whole of McNair's career--not just his service in WWII as chief of staff, General Headquarters, 1940-1942, and then as commander, Army Ground Forces, 1942-1944--Calhoun reassesses the evolution and extent of that influence during the war, as well as McNair's, and the Army's, wartime performance. This in-depth study tracks the significantly positive impact of McNair's efforts in several critical areas: advanced officer education; modernization, military innovation, and technological development; the field-testing of doctrine; streamlining and pooling of assets for necessary efficiency; arduous and realistic combat training; combined arms tactics; and an increasingly mechanized and mobile force. Because McNair served primarily in staff roles throughout his career and did not command combat formations during WWII, his contribution has never received the attention given to more public--and publicized--military exploits. In its detail and scope, this first full military biography reveals the unique and valuable perspective McNair's generalship offers for the serious student of military history and leadership. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)355.0092Social sciences Public Administration, Military Science Military Science Biography And History BiographyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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I have read other sources discussing how McNair died while observing Omar Bradley's carpet bombing in North France in 1944. This book included one of the better background discussions on this.
While the book included much detail about McNair, I felt it was written based totally on his officer evaluations and technical summaries of his assignments. There was not much of a personal nature or about his family or his impressions of military assignments.
There was generous reading of background of McNair's assignments and contributing history and impacts of his decisions. But, overall the book lacked a personal feel. His wife was barely mentioned. The only significant mention of her was in the Epilogue after McNair had passed away. Interestingly his son was killed in the Pacific, but until this was mentioned at the very end of the book, I did not even know he had a son.
I really appreciated getting to know McNair's contributions to the WWI and WWII war efforts and in the years in between. The book was alright, but somewhat dry reading. I finished reading wishing I could know more about the person (not just his assignments and writings). ( )