deployment and operations

At the outset of World War II the US Army was profoundly unprepared for war. After years of interwar neglect, it faced enormous challenges in mobilization, training, deployment and operations. Even late in the war, US troops were often undersupplied and the Germans had the technological edge. While the Army's performance against the vaunted Wehrmacht was superb by late 1944–early 1945, two generations of historians have managed to conclude that the US simply overwhelmed the enemy with material.

Nothing Less Than Full Victory provides conclusive proof that this was not the case. Drawing on his expertise as a logistics specialist and nearly a decade of original research, Miller tells a remarkable story of transformation and change under significant pressure: an all-or-nothing campaign against a well-prepared enemy. He organizes the account into three major sections: how the US Army ended up in its depleted condition at the beginning of World War II; how well (or poorly) it performed initially; and, finally, a wrap-up section that sets the story in context of significantly improving performance under fire. The result is a groundbreaking work that will reset the historical framework for comparison of US and German performance over the course of the European campaign.

Nothing Less Than Full Victory is presented in cooperation with the Association of the US Army.

About the Author
Edward G. Miller is a retired Army officer and designated military historian. His previous book, A Dark and Bloody Ground – the Hütgen Forest and Roer River Dams 1944-1945, won the F.C. Pogue Prize, was a featured selection of the Military Book Club, and was selected for classroom use by the Army's Command and General Staff College. He has led Army groups on visits to WWII battlefields and has appeared on national TV.