The Direction of War; A Critique of the Political Direction and High Command in War
New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1955. Presumed First U.S. Edition, First Printing. Hardcover. 261, [3] pages. Institutional library stamp on fep and other ex-library markings. Some pencil marks noted. Cover has some wear and soiling. Some page discoloration noted. The Contents include: Preface; Introduction; Former Concepts of the Political Direction and High Command of War; The First World War; The Beginnings of Air Warfare; Developments between the two World Wars; The High Command Before and after Dunkirk; Allied Planning in the Second World War; The Allied Assault in Normandy; Personalities in High Command; High Command and Political Direction Abroad and at Home; Ministry of Defence; Conduct of Modern War--I; Conduct of Modern War--II. Air Vice Marshal Edgar James Kingston-McCloughry, CB, CBE, DSO, DFC & Bar (10 September 1896 – 15 November 1972), was an Australian fighter pilot and flying ace of the First World War, and a senior commander in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War. He shot down 21 aircraft and military balloons during the former war, making him the 6th highest-scoring Australian ace. He was also awarded the Distinguished Service Order and the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bar. McCloughry graduated from flying training in August 1917 and was posted to 23 Squadron RFC on the Western Front. He scored most of his victories in the last few months of the war. McCloughry joined the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1922. He served there in a strategy-planning capacity through the Second World War. McCloughry retired from the RAF in 1953 as an air vice marshal. The author states in the Preface that he believed that this was the first essay made on the subject from an inter-Service and inter-Allied approach. It was an attempt to elucidate and answer fundamental problems facing our Political Direction and High Command at the time written. The author recognized that it represented only one cross-section of the total panorama of war. The author felt that "nothing but good can result from a frank and honest account of the High Command. Such an account is never given in official histories because, by the very nature of things, Ministries to not write their own accounts for publication critically and impartially. Moreover, many of the more important factors, the atmosphere and the facts known to the High Command at the time, as well as the real reasons why various decisions were taken, are seldom recorded anywhere. Condition: Good.
Keywords: Military History, Military Organization, Military Strategy, Air Warfare, Ministry of Defence, Conduct of War, Political Direction, War Aims, Allied Planning, Military Planning, Norway Campaign, First World War
[Book #83637]
Price: $50.00