The Eighth Army at the Gothic Line, August–September 1944: A Study in Staff Compatibility and Coalition Command

Abstract

This article takes a reverse-engineering approach to gain some insight as to how the armies of the British Commonwealth became so compatible – and, therefore, easy for commanders to use. It begins with an examination of operations conducted by the British Eighth Army in the late summer of 1944 to examine how common staff procedures and methods allowed a limited commander like Lieutenant-General Sir Oliver Leese to assemble his multinational forces and break the much-vaunted Gothic Line. It then looks at how staff uniformity had been developed over months, years, and, in some cases, decades.