“An army at dawn” appears on page 64 as the expeditionary force leaves Hampton Roads. “Young men,... ....would remember this hour, when an army at dawn made for open sea....” What stands out as in every military history I’ve ever read is the utter incompetence and chaos that surrounded this action. Attention to detail in loading the ships is totally lacking helped little by the need for secrecy. Makes it appear that the winning side did so because their planners made fewer errors than the enemy. The other salient point involves leaders more interested in promoting their own careers than in advancing the cause, who would do nothing to correct a situation if it could be used to make their competition look bad. Or, as a friend puts it, “Wars are lost not won.” The French in North Africa regarded the British with equal antipathy as the Germans, the British looked down their noses at their American Cousins.
Wars may be lost rather than won but as a props person in theatre I would say they are lost on supply lines and logistics. Without food, water, proper clothing, fuel, ammunition, and weapons soldiers cannot fight. Why should reality interfere with policy. High Command demanded that Rommel hold onto the African Front but failure to supply replacement troops and materiel told another story. The ineptitude and lack of communication on the Allied Side threw away thousands of soldier’s lives to no good purpose. Hindsight may be 20-20 but these military planners ignored good tactical advice when they were given it. Obviously they’d never played chess. At 830 densely packed pages this is a major undertaking. The last 230 pages contain footnotes and captioned photos. For War Buffs a good read.
Wars may be lost rather than won but as a props person in theatre I would say they are lost on supply lines and logistics. Without food, water, proper clothing, fuel, ammunition, and weapons soldiers cannot fight. Why should reality interfere with policy. High Command demanded that Rommel hold onto the African Front but failure to supply replacement troops and materiel told another story. The ineptitude and lack of communication on the Allied Side threw away thousands of soldier’s lives to no good purpose. Hindsight may be 20-20 but these military planners ignored good tactical advice when they were given it. Obviously they’d never played chess. At 830 densely packed pages this is a major undertaking. The last 230 pages contain footnotes and captioned photos. For War Buffs a good read.
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