Customer Reviews

Crusade in Europe (The Politics and strategy of World War II)

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"Crusade In Europe" is General Eisenhower's memoir of the period from the early days of World War II, during which America waited for its involvement to begin, through the early post-war dealings with our erstwhile allies. As the premier figure among the Western Allies, his story and observations are crucial to an understanding of the Great Crusade.

Ike takes the reader along with him through each stage of the Crusade. We view events from a perspective which lets us see aspects which we otherwise might have missed. Having attracted attention for his performance in Army maneuvers in Louisiana in 1940, Ike was called to Washington immediately after Pearl Harbor because of his recent experience in the Philippines. He was immediately assigned to work on plans for the Pacific. At this point the reader is reminded that, in contrast to the later Germany First Policy, the American public, for a time, screamed for revenge on Japan before dealing with Germany.

Assigned to command Operation Torch, the invasion of French North Africa in 1942, Ike was charged with obtaining Allied Cooperation and was plunged into the morass of French politics. The disappointing involvement with Gen. Giraud presented an intra-allied problem, as did cooperation of Adm. Darlan, who while too helpful to rebuff, brought with him the stigma of association with a collaborator. The age-old Arab-Jewish hostility further complicated the administration of the liberated territory.

With North Africa cleared out, Ike was charged with the conquest of Sicily. Management of the Patton-Montgomery rivalry was a major challenge of the campaign. Success having been achieved, the Patton slapping incident forced Ike to reprimand a close friend while threatening to deprive him of one of his most effective Army commanders.

Speculation that Ike would return to the Washington as Chief Of Staff while Gen. Marshall commanded Overlord, the invasion of Europe, distracted Ike's attention from problems at hand. Ike's eventual appointment to command Overlord forced him to leave the Mediterranean while the Italian campaign was still in doubt. Upon arrival in England he immediately switched gears to plan the size, timing, supply and location of the invasion of France.

With the invasion ashore, Ike skillfully managed his coalition of impetuous commanders in their march across Europe. Ike brings the reader into the thought processes and conferences leading to decisions on the liberation of Paris, Operation Market-Garden ("A Bridge Too Far") and the Battle of The Bulge.

Americans are familiar with Patton's claim that, with supplies, he could capture Berlin and win the war. Ike relates that Monty bothered him with similarly impractical suggestions. He then explains why the proposals were doomed to failure. Spirited arguments with the British over Project Anvil (Invasion of Southern France) come within the reader's vision through Ike's eyes.

The greatest criticism of Ike's wartime leadership is reserved for questions about whether the Western Allies should have advanced further to limit the Red Army's area of occupation. Ike assesses the claims and presents support for his decisions.

After V-E Day, Ike's role shifted more into that of a statesman as he attempted to obtain cooperation with the Russians over the administration of occupied Germany.

Some things come clearly through the pages of this book. The reader is constantly impressed with the importance of supplies, bringing to mind the adage that "Amateurs speak of tactics, professionals speak of logistics." Despite later controversies, Ike's admiration for Gen. George Marshall is made clear on the pages of this book. Written in 1948, I find the statement that Ike disagreed with many of FDR's domestic policies to be surprising and a hint of his later political initiatives. "Crusade In Europe" is written in a very clear, easy to read and follow, style. It never becomes bogged down in boring details. Among memoirs, this is a gem.

Eisenhower quickly brings us up to speed with the US armed forced when Germany overruns Poland and later when the Japanese attack Pearl Harbor. He gives the state of our preparedness, discusses the able officers who were headed to develop our forces, and describes episodes that changed our training and effectiveness. He meets daily with the major players and heads of state and gives glimpses of their personalities as well as their views. He discusses where politics and the military overlap and where damages might occur. He discusses strategy and tactics and carefully distinguishes for the reader the differences. He clearly demonstrates pitfalls and purposes in the practice and preparation and execution of a successful war. From top to bottom along the line, he explains stresses on commander as well as enlisted troops, such as confidence and morale among other aspects. Throughout the book we gain confidence in Eisenhower's easy, open style, his sincerity and his trustworthiness. A remarkable man makes clear and plain a very complex time in our country's history, including his own views on the aftermath of WWII and the growing tensions between ourselves and Russia.

A wonderful book for veterans and non-veterans alike.

General Eisenhower, contrary to press reports and revisionist historians, was a man of great intelligence, strength, and discipline. He wrote this book in 1948 without ghost-writers, and his wit and wisdom are stunning. Everyone needs to read this to understand the issues that face us in Iraq and elsewhere today. The general explains how the real work of the military is developing strategy, drawing up plans, building relationships with governments and civilians, and quickly implementing and changing the plans as required. Only criticism is his tencency to dismiss the inappropriate behavior of Patton, but keep in mind that Patton was already dead when this book was written and Eisenhower would not criticize those who were not positioned to defend themselves. He is critical of others, especially Montgomery for his foolish proposal of launching a blitz on Berlin to bring the war to an early end. Another lesson for our time is the treachery of the French troops both in Vichy and Algeria, who fight the Allied invasion and put personal objectives above military and political goals. Unbelievable candor throughout such as when Eisenhower reports that an obviously overwhelmed Truman offers to help Eisenhower in any way that he can, including supporting him for the Presidency in 1948. Important career lesson: Eisenhower did not receive any significant promotions in the 20 years after WWI and was doing staff work under McArthur for 5 years, building up the Filipino military, yet became the highest rank allied commander, through hard work, dedication, and leadership.

There is no one more in American history whom I admire more than Dwight D. Eisenhower. Unfortunately, when he wrote this book, many important things were still classified and he could not go into them. Good starting point if you're just getting interested in World War Two, but for much more detail (perhaps too much detail), there's "Eisenhower at War" by David Eisenhower. "Eisenhower" by Stephen Ambrose (Volume One and NOT the abridged version combining Volumes One and Two) is also good. Probably the most interesting book on Eisenhower during World War Two and his entire life prior to the Presidency is Merle Miller's "Ike the Soldier." Each of these books delves into the same subject matter and is able to do so without having key areas (like ULTRA) still kept confidential.

Since nobody has yet reviewed this, I thought I'd take a shot, even though it's been about 27 years or so since I read the book.

This is Eisenhower's own story from the early days when he was called by Marshall to Washington to analyze propects for the war in the Pacific, to his being Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe.

As most everyone knows, once the US was involved in a serious war, Eisenhower jumped in promotion over many others. After reading this book it's easy to see why.

This book is not as frank as we would expect today, and some of incidents are presented as if written by Norman Rockwell. Yet this book is excellent in presenting Eisenhower's view of the war. It is a view from on high, and it is best contrasted with Bradley's book, _A Soldier's Story_, which is much more emotional, direct and forthright.

But it's easy to see Eisenhower's much broader perspective. He's much more concerned with the issues of organizing and prosecuting the war from the questions of where are we going to get the materials, the ships, the troops, the ammunition, the landing craft, etc., than is Bradley, who is almost completely--again remembering from 27 years ago--involved only with the battles and which division is where.

Also, it's often not hard to read between the lines on those occassions when Eisenhower retreats into puff prose, to know what he was really thinking.

5 stars, because I don't see how one can understand the military aspect of WWII in western Europe without having read this book.

Eisenhower's "Crusade in Europe" is a must read for anyone with an interest in WWII. In this book, you can see the European war from the perspective of the man who led the war. What many considered Eisenhower's greatest asset, the diplomatic manner that helped the Americans and British function as one Allied team, is also very apparent in this book.

Eisenhower's story, written just a few years after the war ended, gives the reader a great high-level perspective on the war. He mentions his staff work with the War Department at the beginning of the war before being posted to Europe, and then the balance of the book covers the Mediterranean and European campaigns against the Germans. This isn't a comprehensive history of the war in Europe (for example, he covers Operation Market-Garden in three paragraphs), but instead more of a general overview from Eisenhower's perspective.

Many consider Eisenhower's diplomatic skills - his ability to lead a multi-national organization - as his greatest asset and the reason he was chosen to lead the Allied Armies in Europe. Eisenhower carried this over into his book: he is never critical of any of his subordinates, defends all of their actions and beliefs (even when Eisenhower disagreed or overruled them), and never even mentions specific names in the couple of instances where he says that commanders were relieved. While this is certainly a laudable trait in a leader, it doesn't make this a particularly insightful book.

Although "Crusade in Europe" lacks that hard-hitting punch, Eisenhower does tell some entertaining and fun personal stories. Because of these stories and Eisenhower's unique perspective on the war, I recommend this book to anyone with an interest in World War II.

General Eisenhower presents a very unique perspective on the ETO throughout Crusade in Europe since he was the one and only Supreme Allied Commander in the theatre. In his role as Commander, he was privy to a vast array of the decision making discussions that took place to create the Allied strategy against Nazi Germany. In this book, he brings to light a lot of the strategic thinking and planning that went into the Allied victory in WWII. Therefore, I would consider this book required reading for anyone interested in WWII history.

Having said that, I think that the book does fall short of its objective for two main reasons. First, Ike is hesitant to criticize other leaders for bad decisions, and tactical mistakes. For instance, Ike blames the lack of success in Operation Market Garden more on the weather than the ill conceived plan that Monty used to execute this daring mission. Secondly, Ike does not display much emotion when telling the tale. For example, when Ike talks about the Battle of the Bulge, he infurs that the Allies expected the attack, and felt almost no panic when it came. If you look at books from others involved in the fighting, you get a much different perspective.

Overall, I enjoyed this book and wished I could give it 5 stars. It should be a 5-star book, because of the unique position that Ike fulfilled in the ETO. Instead, I give it 4 stars, but highly recommend it to anyone interested in WWII history.

This should be required reading in high schools and universities. The description of battles is not the primary focus. The book is about the political and military personalities, the political and economic considerations, the benefits and problems of press coverage, risk management, planning and preparation, limitations of material and transportation, the justification of risking lives, military vs. social issues, the impossibility of knowing everything and always being right, individual efforts (from generals to troops), the consequences of weather, seasonal considerations, the importance of unified command, team building, and morale. Morale is critical, requiring many factors and constant effort.

It is the fleshed out, rounded picture of war and people that makes it interesting. Of course, he is an politically astute, or he would not have been able to do the job; so, he doesn't really give the dirt on people even while indicating problems.

He fully understands the critical issues of logistics and the productive capacity of a nation at war. (For an even deeper understanding of this, and how it fails under dictatorships from ancient Sparta and Rome to modern Germany and Japan, see the chapter, "The Energy Circuit in Wartime," in Paterson's "The God of the Machine.")

Given the various failures and miscalculations of large operations, the reader can easily imagine that given the attitudes of modern press coverage of Iraq by shallow minded news anchors and politicians, neither Eisenhower, nor Bradly, nor Montgomery, nor Patton would have been able to keep their jobs.

One lesson: It takes months, even years to properly plan and prepare for major military operations, depending on the strength of the enemy. In this case, from the need to design and build new types of landing craft to the need for feeding the civilians of Europe.

Very good book for someone seeking the view of the War in Europe from Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces, essentially the CEO of the war in the west. Not a ghostwritten account, and at times it's difficult to keep straight the one-star and two-star generals, as Ike mentions the name, what he did, and whether he was British, Canadian, or American. A professionial writer (although this is still a very readable book) would add a physical desription, and when the name comes up again, that writer would refer to him as "the British general."

I read Churchill's "Second World War" before this, and it's interesting to see Churchill's various rebuttals to criticisms by Ike of the Prime Minister. (There weren't that many of them).

One almost comical account was Churchill's insistance that he visit the Normandy beaches--on D-Day! Luckily, King George stepped in and resolved the situation and kept the 69 year-old Prime Minister in London on June 6.

Ike does a pretty good job of keeping the Zeus-like egos of Montgomery, Patton and DeGaulle in check, too.

In my opinion, Eisenhower doesn't get as much credit as he deserves, as just getting a force of the size of the Allied Expeditionary Force supplied with ammnuniton, fuel, food and the like was a monumental task.

I inherited this book from my father-in-law. I did not expect to read it, but once I began, the book is so absorbing I had to finish it. In addition to a rigorous history book (it has detailed footnotes, glossary and appendices), I felt I began to know Dwight Eisenhower as a person. I ordered another book to learn more about him. A very personal account of his experiences as Supreme Allied Commander. If you are completely unfamiliar with military maneuvers and strategy, the book may seem a little dry at times. The glossary and appendices will help to understand the war strategy. Nonetheless, if you are a student of history and WWII in particular, this book is a 'must-read' in my opinion.