Thoughts on Dwight Eisenhower’s Book “Crusade in Europe”
by Robert L. Pyles, MD
September 2024
Part I
I have just finished a really remarkable book called “Crusade in Europe”, by Dwight Eisenhower. It is so good that I can’t figure out how I could have missed it in the past! I really recommend it to everyone. It is nominally a military history, but much more than that.
Eisenhower was the Supreme Commander of all the allied forces in Europe, before he became what most people feel was as good a president as he was a military leader. There is a really riveting discussion of the ever-changing tactics to defeat Hitler’s forces. One astonishing statistic was that, by the end, in Germany, he had under his command, three million men (mostly U.S.), and 12,000 planes!
But the really amazing discussions are about the group dynamics of the various forces involved - not only the Germans, but the French, the Russians, and our own military. For example, the French defenses were considered virtually impregnable. They had the “Maginot Line”, and a huge army. Yet the Germans went right around the French defenses, and the whole French army surrendered, almost without a fight.
Why? Eisenhower has an answer. The French and especially the French Army, had become so imbued and infected with socialism, they no longer had any sense of identification with their own country, or any will to fight for their own people. Sound familiar?
The Russians, on the other hand, had a very different dynamic. Under the sway of Communism, they had very little sense of individual identity, and had no hesitation completely sacrificing their own lives by the hundreds of thousands to the cause of the “State”. They eventually turned the Germans back at Moscow using that tactic, and the Germans then got finished off by the brutal Russian winter.
But a word about the Germans as well - as Eisenhower makes clear, the great majority of German soldiers, and not just the Nazis, were extremely loyal to Hitler, and continued to fanatically follow his orders, even after it was clear that the war was lost. The German Nazi Party was officially known as the “National Socialist German Workers’ Party”. Hitler functioned as a virtual dictator, making all decisions, especially the military ones. The system worked well, as long as the German Army was winning, but as soon as there began to be push-back by the Allied Forces, Hitler’s judgment began to disintegrate. His narcissistic character could not tolerate even the slightest failure, and his decisions became increasingly disastrous, causing one defeat after another. His generals could not bring the problems to his attention, knowing they would likely be executed on the spot, as some indeed were. All of this prevented the German military leaders from mounting an effective defensive strategy, and the German army fell much more quickly as a result. Hitler’s predictable response was to commit suicide, rather than try to ease the pain of his Army and his Nation, which of course, he himself had caused in his quest for his own personal glory.
In total contrast to both the French and the Russians, the U.S. forces increasingly came into their own, as they gained battle experience, had superb leaders like Marshall and Patton, and by the end of the war, had to have been one of the most formidable, resilient, and creative military forces in human history.
The book ends with an amazing exchange between the Russian General Zhukov and Eisenhower, in which Zhukov gives his view of the American system of “Capitalism”. He says he cannot see how it can possibly work, because everyone is encouraged to behave in a totally individualistic and selfish manner, rather than pledging their entire being to the cause of the “State”!
The rather disturbing lesson I draw from all of this, is that human beings seem shockingly vulnerable to “Group Process” and “Group Hysteria”. It rather seems that people (at least most people), will fall for just about anything, given the right kind of group and leadership pressure. This dynamic was first identified by Gustave Le Bon in “The Madness of Crowds” in 1895. Freud carried the idea further, pointing out that it takes a charismatic leader, or a compelling idea, to create a cohesive group. Then, ironically, it was Freud’s nephew, Edward Bernays, considered the “Father of Public Relations”, who pointed out how people could be hugely influenced by the use of advertising and group pressure. However, it took the Nazi Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, to show how people can be deliberately manipulated by the State, to accept beliefs that are literally completely delusional - such as the inferiority and dangerousness of Jews, for example.
And lest we take solace in feeling that we modern folks are too sophisticated to fall for such nonsense, consider that now, how many groups and individuals feel that they can’t even tell the difference between a man and a woman, probably the most basic truth in human existence!
Part II - A Comparison of Political Systems
The book is a real boots-on-the ground object lesson - a comparison between different political systems and how they operate under extreme stress, as in war. The problem with systems like Communism, Socialism (at least the kind practiced in France), and Fascism, is that they are not designed to operate in any way in concert with basic human nature. They seek to take an intellectually designed system, and force it onto a population, expecting that people will adjust to it, and even be grateful for it. They try to force human nature to fit the system, rather than try to design a system that will fit human nature.
When it doesn’t work, as it almost never does, and the people start resisting and pushing back, the usual response of the leadership is to force it on the population. In case of World War II, the fatal flaws of the various political systems resulted in massive casualties, and either defeat, or near-defeat. Russia did manage to pull through, but only because Hitler’s grandiosity had caused him to start wars on two fronts.
The United States, on the other hand, had the good fortune to have a system that the Founding Fathers remarkably based squarely on essential human nature. Despite the fact that our country had been caught entirely by surprise, and was completely unprepared, our people quickly rallied to the cause, both militarily, and almost miraculously, in terms of developing an amazing manufacturing capacity. Men went to war, and women came out of homes for the first time, and went to work, by the millions, in arms-producing plants. My own mother became one of the “Rosie the Riveters”! As a side note, this was the real beginning of “Women’s Lib”.
My point here is that our amazing system of governance, and our positive identification with our Nation, which emphasized the patriotic independence of every citizen, allowed us to respond to an extreme international emergency, and to rather quickly develop a massive, remarkably effective military force. We also undertook an enormous manufacturing effort, involving every citizen, which enabled us to become the ”Arsenal of Democracy”.
If a validation was ever needed for the genius of the Founding Fathers, in designing a system of governance that allows and calls for the participation of every citizen, and for the survival of the country, this was surely it.
Thomas Jefferson said that “the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of tyrants and patriots”. Certainly, World War II was such a time. Unfortunately, it would seem that another one of those times is again upon us. Our Constitution, our beliefs, and our way of life are once again under unrelenting attack by the “woke” forces of the Far Left.
Jefferson also said that our country would never be defeated by an external enemy. He said that our destruction, if it came, would come from within. It certainly seems that we have arrived at that point.
The question for us now, is can we step up to the plate and meet the dark forces, the way the “Greatest Generation” was able to do. The time has come, for each of us, to mount the ramparts of our own “Arsenal of Democracy”, and protect our country, our families, and the greatest experiment in human liberty and freedom the world has ever seen.
__________________________
Among other credits, Dr. Pyles served as President of the American Psychoanalytic Association and was awarded the honor of “Distinguished Life Fellow” of the American Psychiatric Association.
by Robert L. Pyles, MD
September 2024
Part I
I have just finished a really remarkable book called “Crusade in Europe”, by Dwight Eisenhower. It is so good that I can’t figure out how I could have missed it in the past! I really recommend it to everyone. It is nominally a military history, but much more than that.
Eisenhower was the Supreme Commander of all the allied forces in Europe, before he became what most people feel was as good a president as he was a military leader. There is a really riveting discussion of the ever-changing tactics to defeat Hitler’s forces. One astonishing statistic was that, by the end, in Germany, he had under his command, three million men (mostly U.S.), and 12,000 planes!
But the really amazing discussions are about the group dynamics of the various forces involved - not only the Germans, but the French, the Russians, and our own military. For example, the French defenses were considered virtually impregnable. They had the “Maginot Line”, and a huge army. Yet the Germans went right around the French defenses, and the whole French army surrendered, almost without a fight.
Why? Eisenhower has an answer. The French and especially the French Army, had become so imbued and infected with socialism, they no longer had any sense of identification with their own country, or any will to fight for their own people. Sound familiar?
The Russians, on the other hand, had a very different dynamic. Under the sway of Communism, they had very little sense of individual identity, and had no hesitation completely sacrificing their own lives by the hundreds of thousands to the cause of the “State”. They eventually turned the Germans back at Moscow using that tactic, and the Germans then got finished off by the brutal Russian winter.
But a word about the Germans as well - as Eisenhower makes clear, the great majority of German soldiers, and not just the Nazis, were extremely loyal to Hitler, and continued to fanatically follow his orders, even after it was clear that the war was lost. The German Nazi Party was officially known as the “National Socialist German Workers’ Party”. Hitler functioned as a virtual dictator, making all decisions, especially the military ones. The system worked well, as long as the German Army was winning, but as soon as there began to be push-back by the Allied Forces, Hitler’s judgment began to disintegrate. His narcissistic character could not tolerate even the slightest failure, and his decisions became increasingly disastrous, causing one defeat after another. His generals could not bring the problems to his attention, knowing they would likely be executed on the spot, as some indeed were. All of this prevented the German military leaders from mounting an effective defensive strategy, and the German army fell much more quickly as a result. Hitler’s predictable response was to commit suicide, rather than try to ease the pain of his Army and his Nation, which of course, he himself had caused in his quest for his own personal glory.
In total contrast to both the French and the Russians, the U.S. forces increasingly came into their own, as they gained battle experience, had superb leaders like Marshall and Patton, and by the end of the war, had to have been one of the most formidable, resilient, and creative military forces in human history.
The book ends with an amazing exchange between the Russian General Zhukov and Eisenhower, in which Zhukov gives his view of the American system of “Capitalism”. He says he cannot see how it can possibly work, because everyone is encouraged to behave in a totally individualistic and selfish manner, rather than pledging their entire being to the cause of the “State”!
The rather disturbing lesson I draw from all of this, is that human beings seem shockingly vulnerable to “Group Process” and “Group Hysteria”. It rather seems that people (at least most people), will fall for just about anything, given the right kind of group and leadership pressure. This dynamic was first identified by Gustave Le Bon in “The Madness of Crowds” in 1895. Freud carried the idea further, pointing out that it takes a charismatic leader, or a compelling idea, to create a cohesive group. Then, ironically, it was Freud’s nephew, Edward Bernays, considered the “Father of Public Relations”, who pointed out how people could be hugely influenced by the use of advertising and group pressure. However, it took the Nazi Minister of Propaganda, Joseph Goebbels, to show how people can be deliberately manipulated by the State, to accept beliefs that are literally completely delusional - such as the inferiority and dangerousness of Jews, for example.
And lest we take solace in feeling that we modern folks are too sophisticated to fall for such nonsense, consider that now, how many groups and individuals feel that they can’t even tell the difference between a man and a woman, probably the most basic truth in human existence!
Part II - A Comparison of Political Systems
The book is a real boots-on-the ground object lesson - a comparison between different political systems and how they operate under extreme stress, as in war. The problem with systems like Communism, Socialism (at least the kind practiced in France), and Fascism, is that they are not designed to operate in any way in concert with basic human nature. They seek to take an intellectually designed system, and force it onto a population, expecting that people will adjust to it, and even be grateful for it. They try to force human nature to fit the system, rather than try to design a system that will fit human nature.
When it doesn’t work, as it almost never does, and the people start resisting and pushing back, the usual response of the leadership is to force it on the population. In case of World War II, the fatal flaws of the various political systems resulted in massive casualties, and either defeat, or near-defeat. Russia did manage to pull through, but only because Hitler’s grandiosity had caused him to start wars on two fronts.
The United States, on the other hand, had the good fortune to have a system that the Founding Fathers remarkably based squarely on essential human nature. Despite the fact that our country had been caught entirely by surprise, and was completely unprepared, our people quickly rallied to the cause, both militarily, and almost miraculously, in terms of developing an amazing manufacturing capacity. Men went to war, and women came out of homes for the first time, and went to work, by the millions, in arms-producing plants. My own mother became one of the “Rosie the Riveters”! As a side note, this was the real beginning of “Women’s Lib”.
My point here is that our amazing system of governance, and our positive identification with our Nation, which emphasized the patriotic independence of every citizen, allowed us to respond to an extreme international emergency, and to rather quickly develop a massive, remarkably effective military force. We also undertook an enormous manufacturing effort, involving every citizen, which enabled us to become the ”Arsenal of Democracy”.
If a validation was ever needed for the genius of the Founding Fathers, in designing a system of governance that allows and calls for the participation of every citizen, and for the survival of the country, this was surely it.
Thomas Jefferson said that “the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of tyrants and patriots”. Certainly, World War II was such a time. Unfortunately, it would seem that another one of those times is again upon us. Our Constitution, our beliefs, and our way of life are once again under unrelenting attack by the “woke” forces of the Far Left.
Jefferson also said that our country would never be defeated by an external enemy. He said that our destruction, if it came, would come from within. It certainly seems that we have arrived at that point.
The question for us now, is can we step up to the plate and meet the dark forces, the way the “Greatest Generation” was able to do. The time has come, for each of us, to mount the ramparts of our own “Arsenal of Democracy”, and protect our country, our families, and the greatest experiment in human liberty and freedom the world has ever seen.
__________________________
Among other credits, Dr. Pyles served as President of the American Psychoanalytic Association and was awarded the honor of “Distinguished Life Fellow” of the American Psychiatric Association.