A Commander's Testament

...A Commander's Testament A General's Life By Omar N Bradley and Clay Blair Simon & Schuster 725 pp $19 95 Reviewed by William L. O'Neill Author, "A Better World" General Omar N Bradley was the last American officer to wear five stars Commander of our ground forces during World War II, he subsequently served as head of the Veterans Administration, Army Chief of Staff, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff He had much to say by the end of his career, and thanks to co-author Clay Blair this has been communicated about as well as possible If Ulysses S Grant was the exception to the rule that generals are not good writers, Bradley was the example He made little headway m his attempt to construct a sequel to his 1951 ghostwritten book, A Soldier's Story, until he joined forces with Blair, the author of a first-rate military history The fruit of their collaboration—drawing on the great store of documents in Bradley's possession, information that has come to light in other quarters since '51, oral reminiscences that the General had recorded, Blair's own interviews of Bradley, and sundry miscellaneous material—is virtually a model of its kind Bradley is at his most attractive in the first part, which follows him up to his departure for Africa in 1943 The wilting here is personal, charming, and lull of human interest Small wonder that Bradley himself was delighted with (his section—the only one ready for him to read before his death at age 88 in 1981 Blair nevertheless decided to stick with the autobiographical format, and wisely so He has developed a style that seems to authentically capture Bradley's voice without sacrificing readability All the opinions, we are assured, were taken directly from the tapes or written matter left by the General They are offered with delightful candor, possibly more than Bradley would ultimately have allowed had he lived to see the project through Indeed, while I am no expert, I would venture that the text's accuracy will stand up to close inspection in the future Two of the book's five parts concern the General's World War II adventures There are some tedious patches where detailed military information is entered for the record, but these are compensated for by spicy descriptions of various reputedly great men whom Bradley found unimpressive To a degree, his reactions may be attributed to the fact that the great frequently tend to shrink the closer one gets to them On the other hand, although the oft-noted contrast between Bradley's modest, straightforward nature and that of many other high commanders was real enough, it can be misleading His eschewing the vaingloriousness of, say, General George C Patton should not be seen as an indication of any less ambition No one rises as high as Bradley did without a good deal of determination, and it is evident from these pages that his competitive spirit colored his judgment Except for George C Marshall, whom he revered as did almost everyone else, compliments in A General's Life are reserved for officers who ranked beneath Bradley Of his equals and superiors (few as they were by 1944) he has little good to say Bradley despised Patton, both for his vulgar exhibitionism and for hogging the credit after victories British Field Marshal Bernard L Montgomery was in his estimation even worse, matching Patton m ego but totally lacking the ability of "Old Blood and Guts " As for Dwight D Eisenhower, the best Bradley can say is that he was not nearly so bad, a remarkably stingy verdict considering the two men's relationship Ike did more than anyone besides Marshall to help Bradley up the promotion ladder, and during the Wat he consistently backed him at critical points, sometimes in the face of tremendous opposition Acknowledging the debt, Bradley nonetheless diminishes the benefactor Thinking himself the better soldier, Bradley apparently resented taking orders from Eisenhower He makes no secret of loathing what he saw as the Supreme Allied Commander's far too pro-British stance—and thus demonstrates that, as is the case with most military men, his vision was only as broad as his command Bradley recognized that Eisenhower was forced to function as a political general, without ever really understanding what that entailed Ike knew he had to win the trust of the British for the Allies to launch a successful invasion of Western Europe Since the British tended to regard every decision that went against them as indicative of American prejudice, this meant deferring to them more than was perhaps strictly fair The incessant grousing that such partiality provoked on the Yankee side could be ignored, the U S officers had no choice but to follow their chief's orders Of course, Ike could not always give the Royal Armed Forces what they wanted He did, however, consistently grant them the benefit of the doubt—and it was his greatest achievement that the coalition therefore worked brilliantly If Eisenhower could perhaps not have matched Bradley's achievements on the battlefield, Bradley also could never have filled Eisenhower's shoes as a diplomat, and Ike's job was ultimately the more delicate and important one These arguments would be utterly lost on Bradley, who throughout the War seems to have despised the British more than the Germans He expresses admiration for the Wehrmacht's professionalism, and gratitude for the chance to use his talents against a worthy foe His ostensible partners in the tight, by contrast, are persistently criticized—particularly Montgomery whom Bradley depicts as Hitler s secret weapon Scarcely less abominable in Bradley eyes were the generals of the American Vu Corps Obsessed with fantasies of Victory through strategic air power they withheld crucially needed tactical support from Army ground forces, most notably during the opening attacks on Sicily and Normandy On both occasions, Bradley says, the assault troops had to be saved by naval gunfire, a fact that no doubt explains his kindly treatment of the Navy Bradley describes these and other combat situations he was involved in with lucidity and intelligence, disposing the reader to accept his judgments and critiques He falters only when the view from the ground is not good enough—as in his evaluation of Eisenhower Whatever its blemishes, A General's Life is engrossing Bradley's account of his experiences as head of the Joint Chiefs during the Korean War would by itself make the volume worth reading He spares neither himself nor his JCS colleagues for their mistakes, most of them the consequences of bending to the will of General Douglas MacArthur, a megalomaniac who could have given Patton and Montgomery lessons In the end, Mac Arthur was dismissed, the War was resolved, and Bradley was free to retire He lived for another 28 mostly healthy and active years His country showered him with well-deserved awards and honors, and as a final service, he has given it this excellent chronicle...