Understanding Historical Leaders: Flaws and Realities

Phillips O’Brien, chair of Strategic Studies at the University of St. Andrews and author of The Strategists: Churchill, Stalin, Roosevelt, Mussolini, and Hitler--How War Made Them and How They Made War, joins the show to discuss the nature of strategic decision making in World War II and beyond.

▪️

Times 

    •      01:50 Introduction

    •      02:48 Germany 1st debunked

    •     06:50 A matter of choices  

    •      08:20 Management styles  

    •     11:23 FDR the navalist   

    •      14:42 Strategic balance

    •      16:52 The British Empire  

    •      18:58 Churchill the shapeshifter     

    •      26:42 Britain’s place

    •      29:22 Casablanca 

    •      33:54 Making Hitler

    •      38:43 Firepower + racial superiority 

    •      42:41 Delaying defeat

    •      44:55 A childish view of war 

    •      46:50 Human decisions

    •      48:28 Stalin the survivor

    •      51:30 “Not nice people”

Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast

Find a transcript of today’s episode on our School of War Substack