Military Leaders

World War II Military Leaders

French

Abrial, Jean-Marie-Charles - As Vice Admiral was given charge of protecting the north coast of France and French overseas trade in December 1939. Named Commander in Chief of northern naval forces in May 1940. Helped organize the beachhead at Dunkerque (even though he wasn't notified by the British of the evacuation). He was among the last to leave Dunkerque. Surrendered the port of Cherbourg (June 19, 1940). Governor General of Algeria (July 1940 to July 1941), Vichy Secretary of the Navy (November 1942 to March 1943). Arrested for collaboration and sentenced to ten years of forced labor.

Armenguad - a senior French air force office, correctly reported his analysis of German blitzkrieg tactics and reported to Gamelin his belief the Germans would strike in the center of the French lines and the Germans could breach the French line within 48 hours. Gamelin refused to accept this analysis and stuck Armenguad in a desk job.

Brocard, Antoine - commander of the 3rd Armored Division (dispersed by Flavigny which made it ineffectual)

Bruche, A.C. - commander of the 2nd Armored Division. The division was so scattered (transportation problem) that Bruche didn't even know where all the components of his division were when the Germans smashed through them.

Doumenc, Aime - French land forces commander

Flavigny, J. A. - commander of the 21st corp (Armor and Motorized units). Lacked confidence and was slow to follow orders.

Gamelin, Maurice - commander of the French Armed Forces (1930 - 1940). In 1939, at the age of 68, he was still considered as one of the world's most brilliant military commanders. This opinion is difficult to support with actual performance. Gamelin was an intellectual with a fine appreciation for culture, philosophy and art. By the outbreak of WWII, Gamelin appeared to have more concern for enjoying life than concern for military efficiency. Poor communication and unclear definitions of responsibilities in the French command structure nullified any military skill Gamelin possessed. HQ at Chateau de Vincennes near Paris.

Georges, A.L. - operational commander of the French armies in Northeastern France. Bad relations with Gamelin and unclear authority. Maintained his own HQ 35 miles away from Gamelin's and also spent significant time at another personal HQ near his residence (twelve miles away). His staff operated out of a mansion at Montry, halfway between Gamelin's and George's HQs.

Without radio communication between the three major French HQs, communication was usually via personal visit. This resulted in a delay of typically 48 hours for orders to reach the front.

Giraud - possibly a very good French leader, made rapid advance in response to need for help in the Netherlands (commanding the Seventh Army). Also rumor of skill in North Africa.

Huntziger - commander of the second army (later promoted and eventually became War Minister), made several terrible command decisions during the early days of the invasion of France. Per Len Deighton, "greatest failure of the whole campaign".

Keller - General Keller dismissed Colonel de Gaulle's memorandum questioning the danger of a German breakthrough. Keller's response was "Even supposing that the present fortified line were breached or outflanked, it does not appear that our opponents will find a combination of circumstances as favourable for blitzkrieg as in Poland." Keller went on to specify that tanks would remain in their role of infantry support.

Libaud, E. A. - commander of the 41st Corp. Pinned down Reinhardt's 41st Panzerkorp at the Meuse for three days.

Weygand, Maxime - replaced Gamelin on May 18, 1940 and took two days to arrive from Beirut, thus not able to even evaluate the situation until May 20th (and proceeded to function in a fantasy world).

German

Adam, Wilhelm - promoted to General in January 1939; commanded the War Academy in Berlin; commanded Army Group 2 at Kessel responsible for defending the western borders. Opposed Hitler's policies in Czechoslovakia and was replaced by Witzleben.

Barsewisch, Karl-Henning von - Appointed Luftwaffe general to the commander in chief of the army in December 1942 and served in this post until the end of the war. He promoted the idea of reconnaisance by fighter planes and had the trust of the young pilots.

Bogatsch, Paul - Luftwaffe general to the commander in chief of the army until March 1942, replaced by General Gunther Lohmann.

Bohme (General) - commanded the 18th Mountain Corps (two mountain divisions and the 2nd Panzer division) for the invasion of Greece.

Guderian, Heinz - essentially developed the concept of blitzkrieg, wrote the book "Actung Panzer!" in 1937. Guderian comprehended the combined value of communication (radio), fast moving armor and the critical importance of logistical supply.

Halder, Franz - Chief of the General Staff from 1939 until September 1942. Excellent strategist, his subordinates thought extremely highly of him. Halder desired to use his position to oppose the Nazi regime but never took any action. Halder understood well the value of mobility.

Kesselring, Albert - 1939 and 1940 commanded the Luftwaffe units for the invasion of Poland and Belgium. 1941 Commander of Army Group South and subsequently Commander in Chief in Italy. Took over command of the Western Front in March of 1945.

Kleist, Ewald -

Leeb, Wilhelm Ritter von - "was one of the world's foremost authorities on defensive warfare."1 In 1936 von Leeb wrote "Die Abwehr" (The Defense), a book on defensive warfare stating that to defend you must meet the attack with the same weapons and tactics (as the attacker).

Lohmann, Gunther - Luftwaffe general to the commander in chief of the army from March 1942 until December 1942. Generally considered "unimaginative and a do-nothing". Replaced by Karl-Henning von Barsewisch.

Manstein, Erich von - Chief of Staff of Army Group A for the invasion of France.

Model, Walter - an able tactician and popular with his troops. Loyal to Hitler.

Rommel, Erwin - an infantry specialist that gained fame as a Panzer commander in North Africa. One of the world's most daring and brilliant tacticians and strategists. Rommel was raised to value loyalty and obedience as fundamentally important virtues. Rommel was extremely dedicated to his military career and was not distracted by art, music or any other diversion. Rommel was very skilled in mountain warfare.

Rundstedt, Gerd von -

Witzleben, Erwin von - forced to retire in 1938 because of his strong opposition to the Nazi party, he was involved in several conspiracies against Hitler. He was recalled and commanded the 1st Army for the invasion of France. His troops broke through the Maginot Line in June 1940. His success in accomplishing this break through resulted in his promotion to Field Marshal. In 1942 because of his criticism of the government he was recalled to Germany and retired. He was found guilty of treason and hung on August 8, 1944.

Zeitzler, Kurt - Lieutenant Colonel in 1938; appointed as chief of staff to General Paul von Kleist in 1940 (France); became chief of staff to General Gerd von Rundstedt in January 1942 and played an important role in defeating the Allied invasion at Dieppe; in September 1942 he replaced Franz Halder as Chief of the General Staff. Zeitzler clashed with Hitler over the no withdrawl policy in Russia and claiming ill health left his position on July 20, 1944. Zeitzler was brilliant in solving complex supply problems during the French and Russian campaigns.

Italy

Badoglio, Pietro - Chief of General Staff 1925 to 1940

Cavagnari, Dominico - Chief of Staff Navy

Cavallero, Ugo - Chief of General Staff 1940-1943.

Graziani, Rodolfo - Chief of Staff Army

Pricolo, Francesco - Chief of StaffAir Force

Japan

Abe, Hiroaki - Promoted to Rear Admiral in 1938; commanded the 8th Cruiser Division for the attack on Pearl Harbor; involved in battles at Wake Island, Eastern Solomons, Santa Cruz and Guadacanal; resigned in March 1943; considered to be capable but lacking imagination.

Abe, Koso - Admiral; commanded the troop lift portion of the Port Moresby invasion force (May 1942), when the invasion was called off his force returned to Rabaul. Commanded bases in the Marshall Islands.

Abe, Noruyuki - General and Statesman

Adachi, Hatazo - served as Chief of Staff for the North China Area Army Group and then commanded the Eighteenth Army at Rabaul; handled bad situations well

Russia

Eremenko, Andrey - A general who remained as part of the top Soviet command throughout the entire war. Eremenko had a number of reasonable successes but largely defensive and thus not highly regarded by Stalin.

Khrushchev, Nikita

Timoshenko, Semion

Voroshilov,

Zhukov, Georgii

United Kingdom

Alexander, Harold - distinguished himself commanding the rear guard in the retreat to Dunkerque; commanded in Burma then took command of British forces in the middle east where he enjoyed good relations with Montgomery and US military leaders; commanded British and US forces for the invasion of Sicily and the Italian campaign.

Brooke, Alan - Corps commander in the BEF, falsely claimed credit for the success of the Dunkirk evacuation.

Horrocks, B.G. - extremely aggressive; served well in Tunis and under Montgomery in France/Belgium.

Vereker, John - Lord Gort, commander of the BEF, disliked by many and described in negative terms, was a brave commander in WWI and in WWII potentially made the critical command decision that saved the BEF leading to the evacuation at Dunkirk. (others claim credit, specifically Lt. General Alan Brooke, but Gort's redeployment of two divisions was critically important although it went against the commands of the French and London)

USA

Abrams, Creighton - Aggressive leader, commanded a tank battalion in the 4th Armored Division. Patton described him as "the best tank commander in the Army".

Ainsworth, Walden Lee - a strict disciplinarian; As a captain, commanded Destroyer Squadron 2 in the Atlantic (July 1940 to December 1941); promoted to rear admiral in July 1942 (commander of Destroyers in the Pacific); moved up to command cruisers and destroyers; lost the Battle of Kolombangara.

Patton, George -

Stilwell, Joseph W - "Vinegar Joe" had a background of experience (language officer) serving in China in the 1920s (supervised road building in Shanxi 1921-1922) and late 1930s (Military Attache). In January 1942 he returned to China as a Lt. General as Chief of Staff to Chinese leader Jiang Jieshi (Chiang Kai-shek). Simultaneously Stilwell was commander of all US troops in the China-Burma-India (CBI) theater. In 1944 he had a serious disagreement with Chiang over the employment of Chinese troops against the Japanese and was recalled to the United States (at Chiang's insistence) in October 1944. He was promoted to commander of Army Ground Forces on January 23, 1945. He was opinionated and had a reputation as a flexible and innovative tactician. He showed deep concern for his men and encouraged initiative in his subordinates.

Opinion

Two leaders stand out clearly as brilliant and talented military commanders: Heinz Guderian and Erwin Rommel. Guderian and Rommel's successes seemed only limited by the incompetence of those above them. There are no military decisions made by either Guderian or Rommel which are debatable or questionable. There is no evidence that any opposing commander ever outsmarted either of them.

Primary References

"Who's Who in Twentieth Century Warfare" by Spencer C. Tucker

"The Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography" by Trevor N. Dupuy