First published 2013
Paul Kennedy examines the pivotal middle tier of World War II leadership that transformed grand strategy into battlefield victory. In January 1943, Roosevelt and Churchill met in Casablanca to set four ambitious Allied objectives. They aimed to stop Nazi blitzkrieg tactics, secure Atlantic shipping routes and European airspace, launch a European invasion, and halt Japanese expansion. Within just over a year, these goals were nearly achieved. Kennedy reveals the forgotten innovators who made this possible. He traces how scientists created the cavity magnetron radar device and the Hedgehog grenade launcher to protect Atlantic convoys. He shows how engineers installed supercharged Rolls-Royce engines in P-51 Mustangs to outmatch German fighters. He describes the pontoon bridge innovations that helped Soviet forces evade Nazi attacks. Kennedy details the complex coordination required for the Normandy invasion and explains how crew chiefs perfected the B-29 bombers that delivered atomic weapons to Japan. This account restores credit to the scientists, engineers, and middle-rank officers whose tactical innovations bridged the gap between strategic vision and operational success.
Genres: history, 20th-century, non-fiction, military-history, engineering, academic
Vibes: thought-provoking
Tropes: historical
Setting: Casablanca
Period: 1943
464 pages · Hardcover · Random House