Random Thoughts

German Supreme Commander:

* Adolf Hitler

Chief of Luftwaffe and second most powerful leader in Germany:

* Reichsmarshal Hermann Goring

Major Generals and flag officers:

* Keitel (High Command)
* Erich von Manstein (Field Marshal)
* Gert von Rundstedt (Field Marshal)
* General von Paulus (lost at Stalingrad)
* Admiral Dönitz (chief of Kriegsmarine)
* Rommel (The famous desert fox)
* General Heinz Guderian (inventor of Blitzkrieg)

United States of America: President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (died in 1945, succeeded by Harry S. Truman)

High Command:

* General Marshall

Major Generals:

* "Ike" Eisenhower
* George Patton
* Bradley

Soviet (USSR):

* Supreme Commander Josef Stalin
* Foreign minister Molotov
* Beria (Chief of NKVD, predecessor of KGB, extremely influential at that time)

Major Generals:

* Konev
* Zhukov (arguably the best allied commander)
* Rokkosovskij
* Jeremenko

Prime Ministers of Great Britain in order of appearance:

* Neville Chamberlain (appeasement)
* Winston Churchill (old warhorse)

Major Generals:

* Field Marshal Montgomery (leader of 8th army, the desert rats, victor at El-Alamein)

Italy:

* Il Duce Benito Mussolini
* Foreign minister Count Ciano

China:

* Chiang Kai Shek

Canada:

* Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King

France:

* Leader of the French resistance: Jean Moulin
* Leader of the Free French: Charles De Gaulle
* Leader of Vichy France: Henri Petain

Hungary:

* Miklos Horthy

Great commanders of minor nations:

* Friherre Mannerheim of Finland (never mess with the fins, they are vicious if aggravated)
* General Metaxas of Greece

(chased the Italians right back over the albanian border)

There are more.

The leadership in various countries during WWII was a vast and talented group.

In the USA, the President was Roosevelt. Elected four times, he was a larger than life figure. Roosevelt came from old family money. He exuded confidence. He was smart enough to know to stay out of the way of major military and economic planning and let the experts handle matters.

Under him, a team of great leaders flourished. Many books have been written about any one of these men - Kaiser, Patton, MacArthur, Nimitz, Marshall, Eisenhower, and many others.

Germany, too, had many men of great leadership ability. Certainly Hitler had this quality. He was the dominant political figure on earth prior to the war. His personality generated mass will on the part of the German people to overcome their enemies.

Under him, Germany had many great leaders in the persons of Speer, Goering, Himler, Leeb, Manstein, Guderian, Doenitz, Rommel, and many others.

Russia had fewer great leaders. Stalin was the overall dictator that determined production figures, military manuevers, etc. Due to his personal insecurities, a large array of national leaders never developed in the USSR. Certainly there were a few such as Zhukov, but he was the exception. So paranoid was Stalin that even this national hero was shuttled off to an early obscure pension after the war. Of course, Uncle Joe Stalin was beloved or at least trusted by almost all the leaders of the world outside of Germany.

Britain produced few great leaders in the war. Churchill certainly had the speaking ability and personal charisma to lead but he lacked judgement. He chose to side with Stalin over Hitler, even when offered a chance, a chance that would have enabled the British to maintain their world leadership position. Churchill's meddling in military affairs is notorious but probably no worse overall than the leadership provided by his generals. Montgomery was the best he had during the war and 'Monty' wouldn't have led a battalion in the German army. Beyond those two I can think of no one of great importance produced by the English.

China had two towering figures - Chang Kai Shek and Mao. These two both became major world leaders after the war.

Japan had a few great leaders - Yamamato was possibly the finest carrier officer in the Japanese navy. He was obviously no match for Nimitz, though. Tojo had quality leadership characteristics.

Italy had Mussolini - the most senior in position of all these men. His star passed before the others and he was swept from the scene before the end of the conflict. Otherwise Italy had not one great army, navy, or economic leader.

Tito led the combined Yugoslavian partisan forces with great effectiveness. So great was his leadership that he was able to hold this artificially created nation together for many decades after the war - all while keeping the Soviets at arms length, despite his close political ties to the USSR.