A Time for Leadership: Marshall and Final Victory in World War II
“War is the realm of uncertainty; three quarters of the factors on which action is based are wrapped in a fog of greater or lesser uncertainty.”
“Don’t fight the problem, decide it.”
In war, as in all human endeavors, there are no perfect solutions to the problems people face. No matter what action we take, there is always some degree of doubt, risk and unintended consequence. That reality confronts leaders at all levels at all times.
The road not taken will always remain a mystery, but that is the business of historians. Leaders don’t have the luxury of inaction, especially in the heat of battle. Hesitation, as opposed to prudence, carries heavy costs, especially when challenges and threats mount by the moment.
The final campaigns of World War II presented an almost limitless series of high-stakes decision points for the political and military leaders of the allied nations, most notably the United States and Great Britain, as they sought to defeat fascism and set the stage for an enduring peace, economic recovery and potential conflict with the Soviet Union. The agenda for Presidents Roosevelt and Truman, Prime Minister Churchill, Army Chief of Staff General George C. Marshall and others was daunting.
It was a time when effective, principled leadership was essential.
Marshall and other allied leaders were buffeted by changing circumstances, evolving priorities and new threats on the horizon. Each day presented a fresh opportunity to gather the facts as they were known, analyze their impact on the future the allies sought to shape and commit to a course of action intended to maximize the chances of success. There were no guarantees, and even today historians debate the merits of the roads these leaders took – and the roads they did not take.
Starting this June, when we mark the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy, the Marshall Center will share insights from the final months of World War II, when leadership made all the difference. From the “longest day” of June 6, 1944, to the signing of Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945, allied leaders navigated a series of pivot points on the way to final victory over fascism and preparation for the Allies to “win the peace.”
In the coming months, we will consider how General Marshall and his fellow leaders arrived at decisions during this exceptionally chaotic and confusing 15-month period. We will also invite contemporary leaders to share their insights into the risks and challenges leaders face—and overcome—in uncertain times, asking them how they decide the problem even as they navigate the fog of uncertainty.