Military Commanders

A comprehensive examination of the legal limits to the military commander's assessment of military necessity during armed conflict.

From ancient Greece to Desert Storm, Military Commanders presents a chronological history of great battles and the men who won them. Beginning with Leonidas of Sparta, who died at Thermopylae and ending with Colin Powell, this book includes such world famous leaders as Alexander the Great, Napoleon, Grant and Lee, Patton and Rommel. In addition, it includes the military theorist Sun Tzu, who wrote "The Art of War," as well as lesser known but important figures, such as Red Cloud, Shaka Zulu, and General Giap. Military Commanders, containing pertinent quotations, anecdotes, and detailed facts is a highly-readable combination of history and biography.

Commanders focuses on the greatest leaders in naval, field, and aerial warfare. From Alexander the Great's conquest of the known world to the generals leading today's campaigns in Afghanistan, the book casts new light on the leaders who have forged history on the battlefield. Famous historical commanders, such as Julius Caesar, Napoleon, and Horatio Nelson, are considered in depth, along with their subordinates and enemies. Commanders from outside the Western tradition are also examined, including the great Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Native American, and African leaders. Chapter introductions contextualize the entries by explaining who fought whom and why, and individual stories bring the history to life. Catalog information gives an at-a-glance overview of each commander's life, and each section provides a timeline, key data, and a psychological profile outlining the commander's strengths and weaknesses. Images will include paintings of battles, battlefield maps, as well as the commanders' weapons, vehicles, and personal effects.

As Führer of the Third Reich, Hitler was responsible for deciding the German war aims in 1939. As head of the Armed Forces from 4 February 1938 he was also responsible for the overall Wehrmacht strategy intended to achieve these aims. Hitler: Military Commander examines Hitler's key military decisions during the Second World War, and assesses how far these decisions were militarily justified in light of the intelligence available at the time. Perhaps most importantly it tackles the larger questions of how a non-German former corporal, albeit the holder of the Iron Cross 1st Class, managed to take personal control of an army with the Prussian traditions of the German Army, appoint, sack and sentence to death its generals at will, to lead it into a World War it was not prepared for, and, ultimately, to destroy it.

Leadership is crucial in every conflict and the willingness to accept responsibility is a vital dimension of leadership. Leadership and Responsibility in the Second World War examines of how well political, diplomatic, and military leaders, particularly in Great Britain, handled the daunting challenge of a worldwide conflagration. It seeks to determine if a connection can be delineated between leadership, responsibility, success, and failure -specifically if any connection can be found between reluctance to shoulder responsibility and failure to produce results. In so doing, the authors challenge widely accepted views on major wartime controversies, such as the role of Neville Chamberlain and his Conservative Party at the outbreak of the war, the reasons why the British failed to reach an alliance with the Soviet Union in 1939, and the motives that drove Claus von Stauffenberg to attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler. Leadership and Responsibility in the Second World War provokes reflection about questions of character, context, and circumstances in wartime leadership.

In this work, Fred Drogula studies the development of Roman provincial command using the terms and concepts of the Romans themselves as reference points. Beginning in the earliest years of the republic, Drogula argues, provincial command was not a uniform concept fixed in positive law but rather a dynamic set of ideas shaped by traditional practice. Therefore, as the Roman state grew, concepts of authority, control over territory, and military power underwent continual transformation. This adaptability was a tremendous resource for the Romans since it enabled them to respond to new military challenges in effective ways. But it was also a source of conflict over the roles and definitions of power. The rise of popular politics in the late republic enabled men like Pompey and Caesar to use their considerable influence to manipulate the flexible traditions of military command for their own advantage. Later, Augustus used nominal provincial commands to appease the senate even as he concentrated military and governing power under his own control by claiming supreme rule. In doing so, he laid the groundwork for the early empire's rules of command.

En samling korte biografier af det 20.årh. mest kendte hærførere primært centreret om 1. og 2. Verdenskrig.

What essential leadership lessons do we learn by distilling the actions and ideas of great military commanders such as George Washington, Dwight D. Eisenhower, and Colin Powell? That is the fundamental question underlying The Art of Command: Military Leadership from George Washington to Colin Powell. The book illustrates that great leaders become great through conscious effort—a commitment not only to develop vital skills but also to surmount personal shortcomings. Harry S. Laver, Jeffrey J. Matthews, and the other contributing authors identify nine core characteristics of highly effective leadership, such as integrity, determination, vision, and charisma, and nine significant figures in American military history whose careers embody those qualities. The Art of Command examines each figure’s strengths and weaknesses and how those attributes affected their leadership abilities, offering a unique perspective of military leadership in American history. Laver and Matthews have assembled a list of contributors from military, academic, and professional circles, which allows the book to encompass diverse approaches to the study of leadership.