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

by David Rigby

Calling the Combined Chiefs of Staff the glue that held the British-American alliance together in World War II, David Rigby describes the vital contributions to Allied victory made by the organization, which drew its members from the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, the British Chiefs of Staff Committee, and the British Joint Staff Mission. Readers get a good understanding of the personalities involved and insights into the relationships between the Chiefs and Allied theater commanders. The role of the Combined Chiefs in economic mobilization and the bitter inter-Allied strategic debates are fully examined. Detailed information is also given about the Casablanca Conference and the Chiefs' often highly contentious meetings in Washington. The book gives the Combined Chiefs what they have long deserved--a book not weighted towards the Americans or the British and not strictly naval, army, or air oriented, but combined in an international as well as an inter-service manner.

289 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

Reviews

[Packard Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

(3)A decent and solid read - well researched. A very good overview of the Chiefs of Staff. Each chapter could be its own book to be sure. So the overview nature of the book was an enjoyable quick read. It did lend toward wanting to read more on the topics introduced during the book.

[Christy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is worth a look for those interested in the military side of the "special relationship" between the US and UK. Strong points of the book included details on the structure of the Combined Chiefs of Staff and the personalities involved. Problematic was the book's organization which jumped around in chronology in an effort to support a thematic approach which ultimately felt a bit weak and redundant. Most odd was the author's reference to all civilians as "armchair strategists" implying that only those in uniform were equipped to weigh in on strategy, which given the wide range of issues involved in WWII and the author's lament that State Department should have played a larger role in the effort seems both inaccurate and contradictory.