eral of the Army, although in some nations the much older term field marshal
is used. The same general principle applies to naval officers who may lead a
flotilla, then a squadron, then a fleet, and then fleets; the highest rank is Fleet
Admiral (Admiral of the Fleet in Great Britain).
The granting of such titles has often been merely an honor, a token of
gratitude from a nation. Frequent reference is made in this book to command-
ers being given the rank of field marshal for a notable victory, even though they
only led a division in the battle concerned. Thus, Congress specifically created
the six-star rank of General of the Armies for John J. Pershing (though he
never wore the insignia). George C. Marshall was awarded the rank of five-star
general, but he was not a commander in the field, and for this reason he was
excluded from consideration in this book.
It should also be remembered that when a country sends an army to fight
with an ally, the army commanders may be of equal rank, but one will have
authority over the other, with government agreement; Eisenhower and Mont-
gomery in the Second World War are typical examples. In this book, I have
used commonly understood terms for clarity wherever possible.
I set out at the start with a list of some 1,000 names of military leaders I
hoped to examine. The one main objective was to focus on those generals and
admirals who had fought at least one major battle—on sea or land—which was
important to history. With this key goal in mind, the list was whittled down
to the entries that comprise this work. Any errors of fact or other errors are
entirely mine. Finally, the reader should note that all dates are rendered in the
European—and military—style of day-month-year.
I would like to thank the following people and institutions, without whose
help this work would never have been completed: The staff of the British Li-
brary, London, where much of this book was written; the staff of the New
York Public Library, who aided in finding some important material not found
anywhere else; the staff of the Hayden Library of Arizona State University,
Tempe, Arizona, where much of the research for this work was conducted; and
the staff of the Maricopa County Library, Phoenix, who ably retrieved for me
many books via interlibrary loan.
— Mark GrossmanintroDuCtion xvii