Allied Master Strategists: The Combined Chiefs of Staff in World War II

261 Pages·2012·2.76 MB·English

by  David Rigby

ALLIED
MASTER
STRATEGISTS
ALLIED
MASTER
STRATEGISTS
THE COMBINED CHIEFS OF STAFF
IN WORLD WAR II
DAVID RIGBY
Naval Institute Press • Annapolis, Maryland
Naval Institute Press
291 Wood Road
Annapolis, MD 21402
© 2012 by David Rigby
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval
system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rigby, David.
Allied master strategists : the Combined Chiefs of Staff in World War II / David Rigby.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-61251-304-1 1. Combined Chiefs of Staff (U.S. and Great Britain) 2. World War, 1939-1945
—United States. 3. World War, 1939-1945—Great Britain. 4. Military planning—United States—History—
20th century. 5. Military planning—Great Britain—History—20th century. 6. United States—Military
relations—Great Britain. 7. Great Britain—Military relations—United States. 8. Strategy—History—20th
century. I. Title.
D769.25.R54 2012
940.54’12—dc23
2012025617
This paper meets the requirements of ANSI/NISO z39.48-1992 (Permanence of Paper).
20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
First printing
For Anne
CONTENTS
List of Illustrations
Preface
Acknowledgments
List of Abbreviations
Introduction
1The Combined Chiefs of Staff: Principals
2Organization, Anatomy of a Summit Conference, and Home Base
3The Combined Chiefs of Staff and the War in the Pacific
4Related Advantages: Working with Allies and Mobilizing Fully
5The Combined Chiefs of Staff and Overlord
6Keeping the Armchair Strategists at Bay
7Delegation versus Control from the Center
8Production and Diplomatic Tasks for the Combined Chiefs
Conclusion
Notes
Bibliography
Index
ILLUSTRATIONS
Photos
Hap Arnold
Field Marshal Brooke
Sir Andrew Cunningham, foreground, with American vice admiral H.
Kent Hewitt
Sir John Dill
Ernest J. King
William D. Leahy
General Marshall
Sir Charles Portal
Admiral Pound with his CCS colleagues
Generals Marshall and Dill with the president and the prime minister
The Combined Chiefs of Staff, and some aides, at the Casablanca
Conference
The Combined Chiefs of Staff (minus Admiral Leahy and Field
Marshal Dill) at Casablanca
Douglas builds B-17s at Long Beach
B-24Ds on the line in the Consolidated-Vultee plant in Fort Worth,
Texas
Maps
1. The Pacific Theater
2. The European Theater
Tables
1-1. Rank, Age, and Appointment Date of CCS Priciples
2-1. The British Joint Staff Mission in Washington
2-2. The Combined Planning Staff 54
Figure
2-1. The Combined Chiefs of Staff Organization in July 1942
PREFACE
I
was motivated to write about the Combined Chiefs of Staff because this
organization, particularly its principal members, contributed tremendously to the
success of the British-American alliance in World War II. The Combined Chiefs
are mentioned and discussed in many histories of that war. However, I felt that
the Combined Chiefs of Staff deserved a book of their own. As regards the
principal members of the Combined Chiefs of Staff, these were great men. They
are my heroes. I only wish that God had given them a better writer to tell their
story. For now, however, they are stuck with me.
—David Rigby, December 2011