8 May 1945, Victory in Europe Day“I watched you getting into your car this morning … with a crowd looking at you and none of them realizing that beside them was the man who had probably done most to win the war against Germany.”

As Chief of the Imperial General Staff and chairman of the British Chiefs of Staff Committee, Alanbrooke was principal military advisor to Churchill for most of the Second World War and one of the chief architects of Anglo-American strategy. He also played a crucial role in saving the British Expeditionary Force in France in May 1940 and was Montgomery’s immediate superior throughout WW2.

Whilst Alanbrooke the soldier and strategist has been covered by historians, Alanbrooke the man is unexplored territory. This book reveals – for the very first time – his complex and contradictory character and presents him in a markedly different, and more sympathetic, light to the way he has been portrayed since 1945.

Based on a detailed analysis of Alanbrooke’s war diary, it also identifies the lessons which could have been learnt from his experiences in World War Two: these include the difficult relationship that exists between political and military leaders, the weaknesses of politicians (notably Churchill) and the invaluable template created by Alanbrooke as to how military leaders should handle their political masters. The importance of these lessons is illustrated by showing how some of the mistakes made in WW2 were repeated in the recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.