Triumph in the West 1943-1946 Based on the Diaries and Autobiographical Notes of Field Marshal The Viscount Alan Brooke

by Arthur Bryant

Triumph in the West 1943-1946 Based on the Diaries and Autobiographical Notes of Field Marshal The Viscount Alan Brooke was written by Arthur Bryant, published by St. James's Place and was printed in 1959 in a Hardcover binding.

Genres: History, World War II, Nonfiction, Biography

576 pages, Hardcover

First published August 19, 1974

About the author

Sir Arthur Wynne Morgan Bryant was an English historian, columnist for The Illustrated London News and man of affairs. His books included studies of Samuel Pepys, accounts of English eighteenth- and nineteenth-century history, and a life of George V.

Bryant's historiography was often based on an English romantic exceptionalism drawn from his nostalgia for an idealised agrarian past. He hated modern commercial and financial capitalism, he emphasised duty over rights, and he equated democracy with the consent of "fools" and "knaves"

Reviews

[Duane Bindschadler · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating insight into the mind of a man who was key to the British war effort in the Second World War and yet hardly appears at all in most histories. Alan Brooke (Field Marshall Lord Alanbrooke) was the Chief of the Imperial General Staff (C.I.G.S.) from late 1941 through mid-1946. During those years (and during his service on the Continent prior to the collapse of the Allied efforts in France in 1940) he kept a daily diary of his experiences and impressions. Alanbrooke was the primary strategist for the efforts of the British Army from the darkest days of 1940 and 1941 when Britain stood alone against the ascendant Axis powers, through the North African and Italian campaigns, and the invasion at Normandy and defeat of Nazi Germany. In that time he served as the cool, methodical, tactical and strategic counterweight to Churchill's impetuous desire to fight the Germans and Japanese wherever and whenever possible. Lacking in personal agendas and ambitions beyond serving his country, he is eclipsed in the histories by personalities like Churchill, Stalin, Marshall, Patton, Montgomery and others. Yet the whole of the British war effort rested as much upon Lord Alanbrooke as it did upon Churchill himself.

[Ian Rees · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent record of the behind the scenes work that won the war. More wonderful pen portraits of Winston Churchill, and also insights into other significant characters: Eisenhower's inexperience in command and the mistakes he made; meeting up with Stalin; Montgomery's tendency to open his mouth and put his foot in it. It also shows that Alanbrooke was the right man for the job: an astute judge of character and ability, clear thinking about a situation and how it should be approached, not afraid to speak his mind and hold to his ideas. He was perhaps the single most important figure behind the scenes.

[Roqsan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second volume of Bryant's annotated version of Alan Brooke's war diaries. Brooke and Churchill meet Stalin, Roosevelt... Fascinating.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

The second part of the accumulation of Alanbrooke's diaries explained and put in context by Bryant. As the commander of all British armies who worked hand-in-hand on an almost daily basis with Churchill to run the war, the fly-on-the-wall insights to the history that we've spent lifetimes accumulating is amazing. The meetings with Stalin and Roosevelt, the fight to apportion not-enough resources to the world battles that were engaged and planned, the political maneuvering between the allies to end the war once they managed to get on the continent are, again, amazing. Maybe most interesting is the alternative view of the US domination of getting through to Germany. Eisenhower and his generals were not portrayed as well as most histories portray them. And Monty made a lot more sense than what seems to be portrayed in history. No one was above playing PR. A great privilege to be able to read both of Bryant's books.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read edition published in 1957. Fascinating and candid treatment. Brooke's diaries are amplified by comments he made ten years later. The editor Bryant ties it all together. This volume covers the latter part of WW II, starting in the fall of 1943. Made me want to read more about Gen. Jan Smuts, whom Brooke held in great esteem.