Talking Strategy

Jean-Marc Lieberherr examines Jean Monnet’s vital role in securing US arms for Britain and France during the Second World War and in driving international cooperation. A committed internationalist, long before becoming one of the founding fathers of the EU, Jean Monnet played a crucial role in enabling cooperation between countries in two world wars. As a member of the Executive Committee of the Allied Maritime Transport Council during the First World War, he helped coordinate shipping between the Allied powers of France, Great Britain, Italy and, from 1918, the US, before becoming the Deputy Secretary General of the League of Nations in 1919. During the subsequent world conflagration, , Monnet, trusted by Winston Churchill and Charles de Gaulle, coordinated arms procurement from the US through the Anglo-French Co-Ordinating Committee, the British Purchasing Committee and the Combined Production and Resources Board. According to economist John Maynard Keynes, Monnet’s work shortened that war by one year. After 1945, Monnet continued seeking internationalist solutions, connecting the French and German markets under the European Coal and Steel Community. Seeing how the principles of cooperation could be applied more broadly, he advocated for a European Defence Community during the Korean War. While this attempt at European defence integration failed, his work inspired the founding treaties of the EU. He became the first ‘Honorary Citizen of Europe’ in 1976. Jean-Marc Lieberherr is the founding chairman of the Jean Monnet Institute (JMI), which is devoted to promoting Monnet’s historical heritage. Before creating the JMI in 2021, he had a career with large international groups such as LVMH, Unilever and Rio Tinto. Further Reading Jean Monnet, Memoirs (London: Harper Collins, 1978). François Duchêne, Jean Monnet: The First Statesman of Interdependence (New York, NY: W W Norton, 1994). Robert R Nathan, ‘An Unsung Hero of World War II’, in Douglas Brinkley and Clifford Hackett (eds), Jean Monnet: The Path to European Unity (New York, NY: St Martin’s Press, 1991). W W Rostow, ‘Jean Monnet: The Innovator As Diplomat’ in Gordon A Craig and Francis L Loewenheim (eds), The Diplomats, 1939-1979 (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1994), pp. 257–88. Sherrill Brown Wells, Jean Monnet: Unconventional Statesman (Boulder, Colorado: Lynne Reinner, 2011). Institut Jean Monnet Website, available at: https://institutjeanmonnet.eu/en/.

Professor Mark Wilson explains how governments, industry and the military collaborated to forge the US’s ‘arsenal of democracy’ during the Second World War. The prevailing myth is that the miracle of US industrial production was achieved by individual business leaders who were freed from the dead hand of government. The truth is more nuanced. The impressive efforts of business leaders relied on their workforce, government and the military. It was also a truly international effort. French and British orders started before the European war and long before Pearl Harbor, thereby expanding US industrial capacity and providing a springboard for success once the US was mobilised. This episode’s guest, Professor Mark Wilson, is an historian from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He specialises in in military-industrial relations and war mobilisations in US history, having written important books on US Civil War mobilisation and the business and politics of US industrial mobilisation for the Second World War.

Dr. Catherine Hanley, a Medieval Studies expert and author of "Matilda: Empress, Queen, Warrior," dives into the life of Empress Matilda, the formidable figure in 12th-century England's Anarchy. She discusses Matilda's royal lineage and her fierce fight for the throne against Stephen of Blois. Key topics include her strategic marriage, clever alliances, and the significant role of castles in medieval warfare. Hanley also highlights Matilda's impact on her son Henry II's reign and her groundbreaking influence on female leadership in history.

Dr. Mesut Uyar, a visiting professor and expert on Ottoman military history, shares insights into Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's transformative impact on modern Turkey. They discuss Atatürk's early military education and his critical role in the Gallipoli campaign during WWI. Uyar highlights Atatürk's vision for a unified Turkish identity and his radical reforms aimed at modernizing the nation. The conversation explores the challenges of visionary leadership and the enduring legacy of Atatürk's transformative policies in contemporary Turkish society.

H.R. McMaster, a distinguished military officer and former U.S. National Security Advisor, shares insights from his extensive career in strategy and leadership. He discusses the complex process behind crafting the 2017 National Security Strategy, emphasizing the importance of collaboration and clear communication. McMaster also highlights the evolving challenges of U.S. foreign policy, particularly with China, and the relentless pressure that strategic leaders face. His experiences in navigating bureaucratic dynamics provide a fascinating glimpse into the intricacies of national security.

The world’s first independent air force owes its survival and shape to its ‘father’, Hugh Trenchard. We explore how with the RAF Museum’s Dr Harry Raffal. Described as ‘the architect and patron saint of modern air power’, Marshal of the RAF Viscount Hugh Trenchard (1873–1956) was the first Chief of the Air Staff (January–April 1918 and 1919–1930). An army officer badly wounded in the Boer War, he was among the first British military pilots and the frontline commander of the Royal Flying Corps during the First World War. The RAF was formed on 1 April 1918, and Trenchard set firm foundations for its survival and development, often against bitter hostility from the other Services. His administrative skills, realism, tenacity and willingness to be unpopular created an organisation that saved the nation during the Battle of Britain. His friend TE Lawrence (Season 3, Episode 7) argued that ‘The RAF is the finest individual effort in history. No other man has been given a blank sheet and told to make a Service from the ground up. It is your single work…’ Following retirement from the RAF, Trenchard was appointed as Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, where he set about a substantial reform agenda with the same single-mindedness. Dr Harry Raffal is Head of Collections and Research at the RAF Museum. His doctorate, from the University of Hull, explores RAF and Luftwaffe operations during the evacuation of Dunkirk. He is a Committee member of the RAF Historical Society and the British Commission for Military History, and Vice-Chair of the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Aeronautical Heritage Group.

Dr. Pelayo Fernández García, a scholar from the University of Oviedo and expert on the Third Marquess of Santa Cruz de Marcenado, delves into the life and ideas of this influential figure. Marcenado's military leadership during the Spanish War of Succession highlights his strategic blend of psychological and historical insights. His extensive treatise explores ethics in warfare and innovative governance in counterinsurgency. García reveals how Marcenado's views, initially celebrated, echo modern concerns about rebellions and insurgencies, showcasing his timeless relevance.

In this engaging discussion, Dr. Robert Lyman MBE, a former British Army officer and author of William Slim's biography, delves into the remarkable story of Field Marshal William Slim, voted Britain’s greatest general. He reveals Slim's strategic brilliance in turning around a defeated army, emphasizing his humane leadership during the retreat from Burma. Lyman discusses Slim's innovative military tactics, his ability to unify diverse troops, and his enduring legacy in military strategy and leadership. Prepare to be inspired by the man known as 'Uncle Bill'!

In this episode we discuss Admiral Katsu Kaishū’s transformation of the modern Japanese navy into a force that defeated the Russians in 1905. For 200 years, Japan was largely isolated from the world. By the 19th century, as countries in Europe and North America were expanding into its neighbourhood, Japan’s military capability had atrophied. In response, the Tokugawa Shogunate created a navy in 1853 and Katsu became a naval officer. Trained by the Dutch, he became an expert in Western gunnery and commanded the Kanrin Maru on the first deployment of a Japanese warship to a Western port. There he could observe how a Western navy worked – ideas he brought back to Japan as the basis for the modern Japanese Navy. By 1867, under the Meiji government, he was responsible for overseeing the Navy’s transition from sail to steam technology. He introduced profound changes to the Navy’s organisation, strategy and tactics, including shore-based defences, harbours, shipyards and human resource systems that allowed access to the talent needed by a more technological service. Ultimately, the foundations he laid helped the Japanese defeat the Russian Navy at the battle of Tsushima in 1905. Commander Dr Hiroyuki Kanazawa, our first guest for this episode, serves in the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, and his PhD examines the Japanese Navy in the Late Tokugawa Period (1853–1868). Dr Haruo Tohmatsu, our other participant, is Professor of Diplomatic and War History at the National Defense Academy. His PhD in Politics and International Relations is from the University of Oxford. He has published numerous works in English, including Pearl Harbor (London: Cassell, 2001) and World War Zero: The Russo-Japanese War in Global Perspective, vol. 2 (Leiden: Brill, 2006).

Lieutenant General George Flynn, who served the US Marine Corps for 38 years, shares insights about his mentor, General Alfred Mason Gray. Flynn discusses Gray's radical reforms that transformed the Marines' culture towards prioritizing maneuver warfare and the vital role of the human element in military strategy. He reflects on the shift from rigid protocols to innovative, initiative-based operations and the integration of female Marines. The legacy of Gray’s leadership profoundly shaped modern military strategies and the ethos of the Corps.