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Allies and Adversaries: The Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Grand Alliance, and U.S. Strategy in World War II
During World War II the uniformed heads of the U.S. armed services assumed a pivotal and unprecedented role in the formulation of the nation's foreign policies. Organized soon after Pearl Harbor as the Joint Chiefs of Staff, these individuals were officially responsible only for the nation's military forces. During the war their functions came to encompass a host of foreign policy concerns, however, and so powerful did the military voice become on those issues that only the president exercised a more decisive role in their outcome.
Drawing on sources that include the unpublished records of the Joint Chiefs as well as the War, Navy, and State Departments, Mark Stoler analyzes the wartime rise of military influence in U.S. foreign policy. He focuses on the evolution of and debates over U.S. and Allied global strategy. In the process, he examines military fears regarding America's major allies--Great Britain and the Soviet Union--and how those fears affected President Franklin D. Roosevelt's policies, interservice and civil-military relations, military-academic relations, and postwar national security policy as well as wartime strategy.
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"An important book that grapples with some of the central questions of America's involvement in the Second World War. It deserves to be read both inside and outside of academia. . . . This is military-diplomatic history at its best.-- Reviews in American History
"A matchless insight into the nature of policymaking, as fresh as it is thorough. . . . Indispensable for understanding the way the war was conducted at the highest levels. . . . Stoler's work is seminal, forcing us to rethink radically much about the war we thought we knew so well.-- Intelligence & National Security
"A prodigious work of research and analysis on US foreign and military policy, and on strategic planning for World War II. It is a gold mine of information.-- Parameters
"A lucid, logical examination of US military thinking about the world from the late 1930s through to the end of the Second World War.-- Times Literary Supplement
Formed soon after Pearl Harbor, the Joint Chiefs of Staff were officially responsible only for the nation's military forces. Their functions grew to encompass a host of foreign policy concerns during World War II, however, when the military voice assumed an unprecedented importance. Analyzing the wartime rise of military influence in U.S. foreign policy, Mark Stoler focuses on the evolution of and debates over U.S. and Allied global strategy. In the process, he examines military fears regarding America's major allies--Great Britain and the Soviet Union--and how those fears affected President Franklin D. Roosevelt's policies, interservice and civil-military relations, military-academic relations, and postwar national security policy.
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Drawing on sources that include the unpublished records of the Joint Chiefs as well as the War, Navy, and State Departments, Mark Stoler analyzes the wartime rise of military influence in U.S. foreign policy. He focuses on the evolution of and debates over U.S. and Allied global strategy. In the process, he examines military fears regarding America's major allies--Great Britain and the Soviet Union--and how those fears affected President Franklin D. Roosevelt's policies, interservice and civil-military relations, military-academic relations, and postwar national security policy as well as wartime strategy.
<!--copy for pb
"An important book that grapples with some of the central questions of America's involvement in the Second World War. It deserves to be read both inside and outside of academia. . . . This is military-diplomatic history at its best.-- Reviews in American History
"A matchless insight into the nature of policymaking, as fresh as it is thorough. . . . Indispensable for understanding the way the war was conducted at the highest levels. . . . Stoler's work is seminal, forcing us to rethink radically much about the war we thought we knew so well.-- Intelligence & National Security
"A prodigious work of research and analysis on US foreign and military policy, and on strategic planning for World War II. It is a gold mine of information.-- Parameters
"A lucid, logical examination of US military thinking about the world from the late 1930s through to the end of the Second World War.-- Times Literary Supplement
Formed soon after Pearl Harbor, the Joint Chiefs of Staff were officially responsible only for the nation's military forces. Their functions grew to encompass a host of foreign policy concerns during World War II, however, when the military voice assumed an unprecedented importance. Analyzing the wartime rise of military influence in U.S. foreign policy, Mark Stoler focuses on the evolution of and debates over U.S. and Allied global strategy. In the process, he examines military fears regarding America's major allies--Great Britain and the Soviet Union--and how those fears affected President Franklin D. Roosevelt's policies, interservice and civil-military relations, military-academic relations, and postwar national security policy.
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408 pages, Paperback
First published November 27, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 27, 2022
Stoler deeply analyzes the strategic thinking of American military leaders, tracing the relative balance between alliance and unilateralism, Britain and the USSR, Europe and the Pacific. Stoler makes remarkable use of long-forgotten planning documents that capture the evolution of military thinking and put lie to the idea that the JCS were unconscious of the political implications of military decisions, and vice-versa.
August 9, 2015
Mark Stoler has adeptly presented the view of World War II that is critical, yet most people don't see. The upper level command and planning staff of the United States and their interaction with the British staff both immediately before the US entry to, during, and post World War II (Cold War).
Stoler has presented the real drivers behind the strategy; Embick, Marshall, Stimpson, Dill, and more and provides their views which shaped both Americas entry to and conduct of the war. The reader will be provided with a straightforward presentation of the "why" America shaped and reacted to what it did in the way it did. The look into the minds and relationships of the staff will be familiar to the modern military professional, and this book is not only an excellent historical reference, but a good case study in staff operations and relationships during wartime in an international coalition.
The sections on the beginning of the Cold War were revealing and a great primer for an entry into that period study as well.
Stoler has presented the real drivers behind the strategy; Embick, Marshall, Stimpson, Dill, and more and provides their views which shaped both Americas entry to and conduct of the war. The reader will be provided with a straightforward presentation of the "why" America shaped and reacted to what it did in the way it did. The look into the minds and relationships of the staff will be familiar to the modern military professional, and this book is not only an excellent historical reference, but a good case study in staff operations and relationships during wartime in an international coalition.
The sections on the beginning of the Cold War were revealing and a great primer for an entry into that period study as well.
December 9, 2010
I won't lie...this book is full of boring policy, which makes it extremely difficult to get through. With that being said, this is an amazing look at the inner workings of politics during World War II. Stoler examines the influence of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on foreign relations, the dynamics between the Allied powers, and U.S. strategy during World War II in incredible detail. His book is also well-researched, so I know that what I am reading is quality work. In addition, Stoler makes the all-important connection between the decisions made by the Joint Chiefs and Allies and the policies that defined the Cold War which started immediately after World War II.
I recommend this for anyone who is into foreign policy during World War II. Stoler received the 2002 Distinguished Book Award from the Society for Military History for this book, and it is most certainly a seminal work in the history of wartime foreign policy.
I recommend this for anyone who is into foreign policy during World War II. Stoler received the 2002 Distinguished Book Award from the Society for Military History for this book, and it is most certainly a seminal work in the history of wartime foreign policy.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews