This new biography focusses on the war years, exploring why he was the
right man for the job, and why he has been overlooked since the Allied
victory.
Lord Alanbrooke was Churchill's right-hand man during World War II, and
as Chief of the Imperial General Staff he had an integral part in
shaping the strategy of Britain and the Allies. Despite this crucial
role, he is very little known compared to military commanders such as
Montgomery, Alexander, Slim, Mountbatten, Patton, or Eisenhower. This
new biography of Lord Alanbrooke uses archival material and his diaries
to trace his life, including his experiences in World War I and the
development of his military career in the interwar years, with a focus
on his post as the Chief of the Imperial General Staff during World War
II.
Voted the greatest Briton of the 20th century, Churchill has long been
credited with almost single-handedly leading his country to victory in
World War II. However without Brooke, a skilled tactician, at his side
the outcome might well have been disastrous. Brooke more often than not
served as a brake on some of Churchill's more impetuous ideas. However,
while Brooke's diaries reveal his fury with some of Churchill's
decisions, they also reveal his respect and admiration for the wartime
prime minister. In return Churchill must surely have considered Brooke
one of his most difficult subordinates but later wrote that he was
"fearless, formidable, articulate, and in the end convincing."
As CIGS, Brooke was integral to coordination between the Allied forces,
and so had to wrestle with the cultural strategy clash between the
British and Americans. Comments in his diaries offer up his opinions of
both his British and American military colleagues - his negative
assessments of Mountbatten's ability, and acerbic comments on the
difficult character of de Gaulle and the weaknesses of Eisenhower.
Conversely he was clearly over-indulgent in the face of Montgomery's
foibles. Brooke was often seen as a stern and humorless figure, but a
study of his private life reveals an little-seen lighter side, a
lifelong passion for birdwatching, and abiding love for his family. The
two tragedies that befell his immediate family were a critical influence
on his life. Sangster completes this new biography with a survey of the
way various historians have assessed Brooke, explaining how he has
lapsed into seeming obscurity in the years since his crucial part in the
Allied victory in World War II.