Meanwhile, Stalin, the leftist’s hero, was demanding a sanguinary and sacrificial landing on the French coast to relieve pressure on the Red Army, and his flunkies demanded “SECOND FRONT NOW!” in New York and Los Angeles.
Let us let the military men fight the military battles and the politicians to fight the political battles and let us not let the roles cross. Unfortunately, the Clintons don’t see the difference between the two roles; thus we have a Richard Clark.
“FDR, if not a military genius, was a very astute observer of humanity and knew to pick good men to do the job for him, such as Harry Hopkins as personal envoy, George Marshall as Chief of Staff, and Eisenhower as SACEUR.”
Good point!
Minor quibble. Marshall was in favor of landing troops in France in 1943. He was prevented from doing this by Churchill, who wanted to invade Sicily & Salerno (Italy) first, to secure the Mediterranean. Churchill knew from experience (Dieppe 1942) what a tough nut the French coastline would be without overwhelming numbers. Better to commit the resources available to a narrower theater (Italy) than to throw them in the deep end of the European pool & lose them.
Essentially Churchill prevented Marshall from making a mistake.
and don't forget his military counterpart GEN WESLEY CLARK