Preparing for Victory: Thomas Holcomb and the Making of the Modern Marine Corps, 1936-1943 - Hardcover

Preparing for Victory is a well-researched and detailed Naval Institute Press book in the Leatherneck Original series. . . .A masterfully written book, provides quality insight into this little-known Marine leader and his decisions in a crucial time of Marine history. The author has successfully portrayed Gen. Holcomb as a visionary leader, shrewd publicist, progressive thinker, meticulous planner, and a courageous combat leader. Due to his facility for `staying out of the limelight' he often is overlooked as a transformative figure in the Marine Corps. This classically crafted biography will go far toward gaining Gen. Holcomb his rightful place in the history of our Corps. * Leatherneck * Excellent narrative. . . .This book is strongly recommended to anyone interested in a fuller picture of the Marine Corps and its leaders than is normally understood during the first half of the 20th century. Thomas Holcomb is properly described in a manner that illustrates his seminal importance in the storied history of the Marine Corps. * Naval History Book Reviews * This book is the first biography of the former commandant, who, from December 1936 to December 1943, turned the Corps from a small brush-fire war force into four well-trained infantry divisions capable of large-scale amphibious assaults against Japanese-held island fortresses without suffering a defeat. * Seapower *

Preparing for Victory explains how and why Commandant Thomas Holcomb successfully supervised the dramatic expansion of the Marine Corps from 18,000 troops in 1936 to 385,000 in 1943. Not only did he leave the Corps much larger, but he also helped establish it as the United States' premier amphibious assault force and a major contributor to victory over Japan. Despite his successes, he has been ignored or given short shrift in most histories of the Marine Corps. No book-length study of his commandancy exists until now. Drawing on a wide range of printed and archival sources, this book contends that Holcomb expertly guided the Corps'preparations for war during the last years of the Great Depression and then provided his "Leathernecks" with astute direction during the first harrowing twenty-five months of the war. When measured with principles of organisation theory and leadership studies, Holcomb's abilities and achievements match those of such outstanding American military managers as Dwight D. Eisenhower, Chester W. Nimitz, and George C. Marshall. Like these unassuming yet efficient officers, Holcomb shied away from the limelight and therefore never garnered the attention that"Chesty" Puller or "Howlin' Mad" Smith have. This book fills a void and tells the story of one of the key leaders in World War II. More than any other marine, Holcomb moulded his Corps into the modern force-in-readiness that would eventually help fight the Cold War and the Global War on Terror. About the Author David J. Ulbrich is a historian at the U.S. Army Engineer School at Ft. Leonard, MO, USA and senior instructor in Norwich University's Masters in Military History programme.