The Worst Way to Fight—Except All the Others

James R. Holmes

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Alliances are worthless. Don’t believe me? Then take it from General Dwight D. Eisenhower, who choreographed the Allied offensive against Nazi Germany more than 80 years ago and knew firsthand the frustrations and misadventures that come with leading polyglot armies, navies, and air forces. Opined the supreme commander in his memoir, Crusade in Europe:

History testifies to the ineptitude of coalitions in waging war. Allied failures have been so numerous and their inexcusable blunders so common that professional soldiers have long discounted the possibility of effective allied action. Even Napoleon’s reputation as a great military leader suffered when students in staff colleges came to realize that he always fought against coalitions—and therefore against divided counsels and diverse political, economic, and military interests.1

His critique rings true. An army cannot act in unison if its political masters cannot agree on political aims, strategy, or operational design. It loses cohesion under duress—and a fighting force without cohesion ceases to be a fighting force. It fractures. Coalition after coalition broke against Napoleonic armies—simplifying the military problem for France’s little emperor. Only after decades of war, when Napoleon made it obvious that France posed a deadly and lasting threat to all European states, did a final coalition band together and endure long enough to prevail.

Deprecating Napoleon’s feats of arms was salty talk coming from Eisenhower, arguably the United States’ foremost soldier-diplomat—and alliance overseer—of the 20th century.

Two Types of Alliances

But. . . . Immediately after scourging alliance warfare as a futile if not self-defeating mode of war-making, the general pivoted to strike down the straw man he had set up. He maintained, in effect, that fighting alongside allies is the worst way to fight—except for all the others.

It is important to note that Ike was referring to a particular type of alliance management grounded in negotiation among peer allies.