Offering dual biographies of the two great World War II leaders, the author follows both as they are shaped by personal, social, and historical events into the men they became. Reprint.
Major General John Strawson, CBE was a British Army officer, best known for his service during the Second World War in the Middle East and Italy, and afterwards in Germany and Malaya.
Following the amalgamation of the 4th and 8th Hussars as The Queen's Royal Irish Hussars, he commanded the Regiment in Malaysia and Germany. For his leadership during the Borneo campaign he was invested O.B.E. (Officer of the Order of the British Empire).
Later he commanded at brigade level and was Chief of Staff, United Kingdom Land Forces. For this latter service he was advanced to C.B.E. (Commander of the Order of the British Empire). He had previously been awarded the US Bronze Star for his leadership during the Italian campaign of 1944-45. In civilian life he became a prolific author, especially on military matters.
After retiring from the Army, Strawson wrote a number of books of military history and biography, including studies of the British Army. He collaborated with General Sir John Hackett and others in writing the two volumes of "The Third World War". His later books include "The Duke and the Emperor; Wellington and Napoleon" (1994) and "Churchill and Hitler: In Victory and Defeat" (1997).
The Churchill sections are wonderful, but a lot of the hero-worship is almost funny, like a Monty Python sketch or something. ("No British officer could possibly look for a finer example of leadership than that of Churchill. And his eloquence, kindness, love of life, passion, wit, humor, warmth and imagination are without equal in the entire human experience!")
The Hitler sections have some good military and political analysis, but no psychological discussion at all. The author knows Hitler is a loathsome villain, and that's all there is to it. But if you already knew that there's not much point in hearing it again second hand. General Strawson quotes from Allan Bullock's Hitler writings so often it feels like a book report!
Truly fascinating and very descriptive. Lots of stuff I never knew. Loved the list of characters at the start. This book makes sense. Read it and you'll understand