Rent 9780813136585 | Beetle : The Life of General Walter Bedell Smith

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Summary Table of Contents Author Biography

A valued adviser and trusted insider in the highest echelon of U.S. military and political leaders, General Walter Bedell Smith began his public service career of more than forty years at age sixteen, when he joined the Indiana National Guard. His bulldog tenacity earned him an opportunity to work with General George C. Marshall in 1941, playing an essential role in forming the offices of the Combined and Joint Chiefs of Staff; and after his appointment as chief of staff to Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1942, Smith took a central part in planning and... MORE orchestrating the major Allied operations of World War II in Europe. Among his many duties, Smith negotiated and signed the surrenders of the Italian and German armed forces on May 7, 1945.Smith's postwar career included service as the U.S. ambassador to the Soviet Union, director of the Central Intelligence Agency, and undersecretary of state. Despite his contributions to twentieth-century American military and diplomatic history, the life and work of Smith have largely gone unappreciated. In Beetle: The Life of General Walter Bedell Smith, D. K. R. Crosswell offers the first full-length biography of the general, including insights into his close relationships with Marshall and Eisenhower.Meticulously researched and long overdue, Beetle sheds new light on Eisenhower as supreme commander and the campaigns in North Africa, Italy, and Europe. Beetle is the fascinating history of a soldier, diplomat, and intelligence chief who played a central role in many decisions that altered mid-twentieth-century American history.

General Walter Bedell Smith's (1895-1961) service to his country spanned more than forty years, three major American wars, and the administrations of eight presidents. In Beetle: The Life of General Walter Bedell Smith, D. K. R. Crosswell recounts the life and achievements of this fascinating American soldier and diplomat who began his career in 1911 as a sixteen-year-old private in the Indiana National Guard and retired as a four-star general. Dubbed "the American Bulldog" by Winston Churchill, the formidable Smith emerged as both a principal architect of the joint and combined staff structures and a conspicuous actor in the formulation of Allied grand strategy in the critical first months ,of the Anglo-American coalition of World War II. While serving as Eisenhower's chief of staff, he personally negotiated and signed the surrenders of Italy in 1943 and Germany in 1945. Throughout his long service, Smith's contributions were vital to U.S. diplomatic and military efforts. Beetle meticulously chronicles the life of a soldier who became a trusted insider at the highest echelon of U.S. leadership, participating in some of the most important decisions in twentieth-century American history. Book jacket.

List of Illustrations	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xi
List of Abbreviations	p. xv
Introduction	p. 1
Epilogue as Prologue- Soldier, Diplomat, Spymaster
Soldier Turned Diplomat	p. 9
Expecting the Worst	p. 31
Dulles's Number Two	p. 47
The Geneva Conference	p. 71
"Ike's Prat Boy"	p. 95
Offic... MORE
Born to Be a Soldier	p. 109
The Summons to War	p. 121
"They Don't Make 'Em Any Better than Smith"	p. 143
"Expunge the Bunk, Complications and Ponderosities"	p. 163
The Other Class Stars Fell On	p. 175
"No One Ever Graduates"	p. 191
The Towering Figure-George C. Marshall
The Chief's Apprentice	p. 205
Forging the Mold	p. 229
"Exceptionally Qualified for Service as Chief of Staff"	p. 257
The Mediterranean Campaign
"Smith Will Save Ike"	p. 287
"We Are on the Threshold of a Magnificent Success"	p. 313
"Thank God You Are in London"	p. 333
"We Shall Continue to Flounder"	p. 355
"Allies Are Very Difficult People to Fight With"	p. 387
The Many Travails of an Allied Chief of Staff	p. 413
The Road to Messina	p. 441
The Italian Job	p. 469
"A Feeling of Restrained Optimism"	p. 497
"We Conduct Our Wars in a Most Curious Way"	p. 525
France	p. 1944
The Supreme Command	p. 551
"Enough to Drive You Mad"	p. 583
"It's a Go"	p. 607
Normandy Deadlock	p. 627
What Has the Supreme Command Amounted To?	p. 667
End the War in'44	p. 695
"The Logistical Bottleneck Now Dictates Strategy"	p. 735
Apr�s le D�luge	p. 771
The Victory Campaign
One Desperate Blow	p. 801
D�j� Vu All over Again	p. 829
The German Is a Whipped Enemy	p. 865
Mission Fulfilled	p. 889
Appendixes
Marshall's Reorganized War Department General Staff	p. 927
AFHQ Command and Staff Structure	p. 928
SHAEF Command and Staff Structure	p. 929
Notes	p. 931
Sources and Further Reading	p. 1045
Index	p. 1053
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

D. K. R. Crosswell is the Richard R. Hallock Distinguished University Chair in Military History at Columbus State University in Columbus, Georgia. He is the author of The Chief of Staff: The Military Career of General Walter Bedell Smith.

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