The Crux Of The Fight General Joseph Lawton Collins Command Style

This monograph examines General J. Lawton Collins' career and argues that his command style was characterized by technical and tactical competence, the practical ability to lead from the front and sound judgment. This monograph examines these key factors in three subsections. General Collins gained his technical and tactical competence by theoretical preparation as a student and instructor. He first demonstrated the ability to position himself at the critical point on the battlefield as the commander of the 25th Infantry Division during the Guadalcanal Campaign in January 1943. As the commander of the VII Corps during the Allies' Campaign in northwest Europe from 1944 to 1945, he refined this ability. Finally, he developed sound judgment while performing key postings both during the interwar period and during the Second World War. This monograph shows how General J. Lawton Collins' command style translated into action and made him such an effective combat leader.

"The crux of the fighting was the place I headed for." -General J. Lawton Collins Known as "the GI's general" and "Lightning Joe," General J. Lawton Collins played no less than a global part in the Allied victory of World War II. Here, for the first time, is the story of an American hero and patriot- a man who earned the admiration of the grunts with whom he shared foxholes and the respect of the highest-ranking generals. Collins was a true leader of men with his iron-clad devotion to duty, his genuine concern for those under his command, and his seemingly unending drive to defend his nation against all enemies-no matter where the fight took him...

A new assessment of the Battle of the Bulge, the largest and bloodiest battle fought by U.S. forces in World War II, offers a balanced perspective that considers both the German and American viewpoints and discusses the failings of intelligence; Hitler's strategic grasp; effects of weather and influence of terrain; and differences in weaponry, understanding of aerial warfare, and doctrine.

A native of New Orleans who graduated from West Point in 1917, General J. Lawton Collins was a division commander and later a corps commander in World War II, US Army chief of staff during the Korean War, and US special representative in Vietnam following the Geneva accords. “General Collins was one of driving forces in our military leadership during World War II and the postwar period. His autobiography, Lightning Joe, is a fascinating and dramatic account of those critical years, as well as a warm, personal story.” — W. Averell Harriman “The route to leadership in combat is long, tedious, competitive and difficult. General Collins’ splendid record indicates that he understood and mastered the challenge. Attaining the highest commands and acquitting himself in magnificent style, Joe Collins added brilliant pages to the already bright history of the United States Army.” — General Mark W. Clark “Lightning Joe is a remarkably interesting book. It is packed with statistics, dates, and places, and certainly will be an essential reference book for anyone interested in World War II in Europe and the years immediately following that war.” — General James M. Gavin “Anyone who has wondered how the small Army officer corps of the 1920s and 1930s was able to produce so many effective and often brilliant commanders in World War II will find an answer in this autobiography of General J. Lawton Collins. General Collins recounts his varied experiences in war and peace with exacting accuracy of fact and in an interesting and lucid manner, which makes his book most valuable reading both for the historian and the lay reader wishing to learn more about what it takes to make a successful modern general.” — General Maxwell D. Taylor “In this autobiography, General J. Lawton Collins exhibits the qualities of mind which won him the reputation as one of the brainiest of American combat commanders: clarity, judiciousness, incisiveness, and realism... a book which should prove valuable to both historian and the general reader... [an] admirable book.” — Ronald Spector, Military Affairs “[H]ere is a soldier-memoirist grappling earnestly to convey the possible benefits of his own tactical experience to future tacticians, as well as to contribute to the historian’s more forthright quest for as true as possible a reconstruction of the past. Collins is a candidly self-critical memoirist... As a memoirist, Collins has met a standard comparable to that of his exercise of command — which is saying a great deal.” — Russell F. Weigley, The Review of Politics “The picture that emerges from [the book]... is that of a man of extraordinary good judgment who as a combat commander was neither rash nor overly cautious, an officer who was at once modest and serenely confident of his skills, one who had no time for military posturing... in sum, here is a sharply written and fast-moving account of the life of a man who was intimately involved in some of the most important happenings and with some of the most important people of the present century. It is a book that will appeal to scholars and to general readers alike.” — John Edward Wiltz, The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society “J. Lawton Collins was one of the most important and influential American military leaders of the twentieth century... His descriptions of the fighting in France, the Battle of the Bulge, and the ultimate conquest of Germany offer important insights for anyone interested in the Second World War... Lightning Joe is the candid, thoughtful appraisal of world-shaking events by a man considered to be one of the most innovative, aggressive, and effective generals the United States has ever produced.” — Midwest Book Review