The Impact of Military Communication and Leadership on the Outcome of Defensive Battles During World War II

Abstract

Effective communication and good leadership have a significant impact on the result of military battles. Communication and leadership, within military protocol, are key to the result. The history books have demonstrated inconsistencies in the treatment of officers in command of defensive battles that were lost or although ultimately victorious, should have been prevented. They were not held accountable to the same standards. History has been benevolent to the American generals of World War II (WWII) allowing them to retire at their highest rank with the exception of Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, the Navy commander of Pearl Harbor, and Lieutenant General Walter C. Short, commander of the Army’s Hawaiian Department. This thesis will address what these inconsistencies say about communication and leadership within the military by examining the Pearl Harbor attack along with four other significant defensive battles fought by the United States (U.S.) during World War II. In addition to the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the attacks on the Philippine Islands, and Savo Island in the Pacific, the Battle of Sidi Bou Zid and Kasserine Pass in the Tunisia Campaign in Africa, and the Battle of the Bulge in the Ardennes in Europe will be examined. The analysis of World War II defensive battles will demonstrate what effect, if any, communication and leadership had on the outcome of these battles and the treatment of the commanders involved.