Command decision

by William Wister Haines

1 HARDCOVER BOOK WITH DUST COVER

Genres: Fiction, Military Fiction, Historical Fiction, World War II

258 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

William Wister Haines, a novelist, playwright and screenwriter whose best-known work was the play ''Command Decision,'' died on Saturday, three days after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage. He was 81 years old and lived in Laguna Niguel, Calif.

Mr. Haines's first two books, ''Slim'' and ''High Tension,'' were based on his work as a telephone lineman during the Depression. Films he wrote or co-wrote include ''Man of Iron'' (1935), ''The Eternal Sea'' (1955), ''The Wings of Eagles'' (1957) and ''Torpedo Run'' (1958).

Mr. Haines's play ''Command Decision,'' about the agonizing decisions of an Army Air Corps general in World War II, opened on Broadway in 1947 with Paul Kelly in the lead role. The film version starred Clark Gable.

Mr. Haines served in the Army Air Corps during World War II, reaching the rank of lieutenant colonel. His work with an intelligence team that broke German codes led to a nonfiction book on the subject titled ''Ultra.''

NY Times obituary

Reviews

[Martin Hill · Rating 5 out of 5]

William Wister Haines was an established American novelist when the United States entered WWII. After serving in the war as an air intelligence officer with the U.S. Army Air Forces in Britain, Haines came home and immediately sat down to write a novel based on his wartime experiences. Published in 1947, Command Decision was herald as one of the first realistic novels to come out of the war.

Unlike most war novels, there are no descriptions of combat in this book. The entire action takes place in the office of Brigadier General Casey Dennis, commander of the 5th Air Division. The plot focuses on the stresses Dennis endures as he sends combat crews on costly missions deep into Germany to knock out factories producing the new German jet fighters. At the same time, Dennis has to battle with his own higher command levels as well as intrusive visiting congressmen.

The stress of wartime command is not an untold story. The 1930 WWI short story "The Flight Commander" by John Monk Saunders, twice made into movies called The Dawn Patrol, tells a similar story at the squadron level. The 1948 novel 12 O'clock High by Sy Bartlett and Beirne Lay, Jr. explored the same theme at the bomber group level. Command Decision explores the stress of command from a level where the commander whose decision affects the lives and deaths of thousands of men, rather than a dozen or a few hundred as in the other stories.

Having served on a battalion command staff and as a battalion executive officer (in peacetime, fortunately), I appreciated Haines' description of the military decision making process, and of the frustrations of trying to run a military unit with so much interference from higher ups.

I feel lucky to have found this book in e-book form. So many books from that era are no longer in print (such as 12 O'Clock High), and buying a surviving copy can be costly. I wish there would be an effort to bring more of these out-of-print books back to life for a 21st century reading audience.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written as a play. In the past, I would have avoided this, but recently I found that I like verse novels. A nice thing about reading a play is that it is easy to tell who is talking, and what about.

This was about a bomber command, trying to get its job done despite all the political forces that constantly interfere. Bottom line, there is no easy way to operate without getting crews killed. But that is hard to sell in the political environment.

The main character, General Dennis, was trying to shorten the war by getting his bombers deeper and deeper into enemy territory, unfortunately beyond the cover of the fighters. The powers that be finally forced him out, replacing him with someone who had far less drive to do the hard things.

This reminded me of my time in factory management, where you constantly get interference from all over the place. After a while, you learn to do what you think is best, and to ignore everything else.

[Frank · Rating 4 out of 5]

William Wister Haines' play was written before his novel, but when nobody would produce it, he novelized it with great success. MGM wanted the film rights to the novel and offered him a bonus if he could get a stage version produced before the film could be made. He won the bonus easily and produced a hit. The play is a fascinating look at the view of World War II in the immediate post-war years as a painful but necessary sacrifice. It focuses on an Army Air Force general sending his men on deadly missions beyond enemy lines in hopes of destroying the plants that could give Germany a huge aerial advantage in the war (yes, it's very similar to "Twelve O'Clock High"). Although it has a single set, the large, all-male cast makes it difficult to do today, as does the lack of irony in its view of warfare. It has strong suspense, however, and well-drawn characters, particularly the general's chief aide, a wise-cracking role that brought James Whitmore a Tony and a Hollywood contract.

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I knew nothing of the play "Command Decision" before reading it. The plot deals with the heavy responsibility of officers who had to order Army Air Corp bombers on dangerous missions. During WWII the RAF bombed at night while the Americans did precision bombing during the day. At this point in the war, if targets were well within German borders the bombers flew beyond the coverage of their fighters. Losses were very high. I liked the play and recommend it, especially if you are interested in WWII history and issues. Kristi & Abby Tabby

[Bert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first bestselling novel written about WWII. My uncle taught young men to pilot the B-17 Flying Fortress, so I fully appreciated the operational accounts of a division based in England and engaged primarily in bombing Nazi Germany's industrial targets, some of which were located out of range of fighter squadron escorts. The author fully exposes the evils of politics, burocracy, peacetime unpreparedness, and the self-preservation instincts of those in command who put career objectives ahead of mission. Truly human stories of day to day soldiers assigned to the Army Air Corps, predecessor to the United States Air Force. It amazes me that those in charge even managed, albeit belatedly, to figure out that air power (eventually propelled by jet engines) was indeed the wave of the future. Rating (even 67 years after publiication): ☆☆☆☆☆

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Last of three books I've finished today. A classic, I picked up this e-book because I've always liked the Gable/Van Johnson/Walter Pigeon movie made from those book. The pressures of doing the right thing, and the perspectives of the "right thing" are differs depending on where you sit. Kind of like the Five Sided Puzzle Palace.

[Dennis E. Flynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Inside view

A good look at the inside of bomber command and what they go through. Some of the politics and wiggling that hamper a good commander and the personal loss felt by him when his boys go out on a mission.
Good read and different

[Chaplain Stanley Chapin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Powerful

It is truly a novel that describes both the politics and military accurately. it's accurate description of them made it powerful