Quote:
Originally Posted by Tom Canning  Geoff -
I would go along with that notion of Bill Slim being the greatest Commander in ww2 when you think that he came from being a successful Brigadier in Ethiopia to Field Marshal - with a lowly background - little to work with - and in spite of Mountbatten and Leese ganging up on him - defeated a very strong Japanese Army to show how it could be done in the most adverse conditions...we don't credit him enough with what he did...for all of us !
Cheers |
I'd agree that Slim was a great soldier and probably the best British general of the 2nd World War; indeed, he was quite possibly the best Allied general of the War for all the reasons outlined above by Tom Canning. And
Defeat into Victory is deservedly a great military standard since its first publication in 1961. Regrettably, the CBI was both during and after the War, a neglected theater of the operations and Slim (together with "Vinegar Joe" Stilwell) have been overlooked by history much too often. If one were to be objective and did not play personal favorites, Slim would have to rate very highly as a commander, stratetgist, tactician, and logistics planner; indeed, to repeat my opinion, he was arguably the best Allied general of the War given the limitations and constraints placed upon his command and operations. Bill Slim was also very popular with the Australian public as governor-general during his term in the 1950s.