Omar Bradley (Command Book 25)

Interesting biography of a general, who, despite his limitations and lack of presence, successfully played his part in commanding the 12US Army Group in WW 2.

Bradley is a difficult subject for Osprey's COMMAND series of commander profiles because there is so much information on him available . Published sources (two memoirs with two different ghost writers for starts) that extensive that one wishes that Osprey would have asked the author to do one of the many significant US generals of the Second World War that lack biographies. (That applies to airmen too - let's have one on General Williams in the ETO for starters).So the author had 20,000 words and no footnotes to cover everything. The treatment of controversial issues such as the failure to close the Falaise Gap and the subsequent recriminations with Montgomery are handled maturely and evenly, even if not in depth. The book is a generally supportive view of Bradley, whose detractors in recent years have not been limited to foreign historians (see, for example, Murray & Millet's recent WWII history).As with any Osprey, the illustrations are a strong point. There are black and white photos from throughout Bradley's life and career, some half-dozen detailed colour maps, mainly at an operational level, while the sharp-end "face of battle" aspects are the subject of three full-colour illustrations with detailed captions: a commander's conference, tank-infantry cooperation, a glider lift.Doing Omar Bradley justice in the limited space provided by this book is problematic, but this carries off this difficult and sometimes frustrating task well and provides an interesting if too-short read.

Like George Meade of the Civil War, Omar Bradley began his army career seeking a free education from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, and went on to become one of the foremost U.S. commanders of his era. This short 63-pp biography does a good job summarizing his life and career, and includes a useful summary of the best sources for more information. It is readable, well-illustrated, and short, giving lazy blokes like me a chance to learn something about an important U.S. military figure without slogging through a 300-page tome.Bradley was not an attention-seeker like Patton, MacArthur, or Mark Clark, but developed a solid reputation in part through the writings of correspondent Ernie Pyle, who labeled him the "GI General." Bradley was a solid military thinker but stayed closer to the mainstream than mavericks like Patton. Bradley was influenced by his time at the Infantry School at Fort Benning, where he developed ideas that would serve him well in the coming war. In 1933, Bradley attended the Army War College, a choice that seemed to put him at risk of becoming a permanent staff officer. In reality, the War College became a stepping-stone to command.Bradley built his reputation as commander of II Corps after Kasserine Pass, where he perceived how Ultra intelligence had undue influence on some U.S. commanders. Bradley used Ultra, but had an instinct for blending more conventional intelligence into the scheme for a more complete picture. Author Zaloga also allows for Bradley's occasional misjudgments, like the lengthy and costly slog in Hurtgen Forest, and his failure to anticipate the German Ardennes offensive. Bradley was on close terms with First Army commander Courtney Hodges, who became visibly shaken by the German "Bulge" offensive. Personal feelings may have prevented Bradley from taking the sensible approach and replacing his overtaxed subordinate commander.Bradley was a critical figure in the months after D-Day, devising the Cobra breakout, then shifting forces astutely between the original requirement for Brittany ports and an opportunistic blitzkrieg-style advance to exploit German weakness and disorganization. He strove to offset Eisenhower's tendency to equivocate between differing British and American points of view.For all these interesting insights, there are times when this biography becomes yet another recitation of Allied war progress from D-Day onward. This is probably unavoidable, since Bradley was enmeshed in most of the important decisions all the way to his crowning achievement, encirclement of the Ruhr Pocket. Unlike Montgomery, who was laboriously, slowly preparing his forces for a massive blow, Bradley perceived the growing crack-up of enemy morale and fighting efficiency. With the timing and perceptiveness that separates the best commanders from the rest of the crowd, Bradley saw the chance to win the war, and unleashed his forces.

Good read.

I've read Bradley's own books, and other biographers. This one is a good one for the person not wanting a really detailed book on Bradley, but will disappoint the more serious student.