This is CBS Eye on the World.

Here's John Batchelor.

Professor Lloyd Clark, his new book, The Commanders,

The Leadership Journeys of George Patton, Bernard Montgomery, and Erwin Rommel.

Three men were about to meet on the battlefield as commanders in the catastrophe known as the Second World War.

The professor is director of research at the Center for Army Leadership at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst,

and the theme of this book is leadership.

How did they prepare themselves?

How did they conduct themselves as leaders in, to say it's a life and death struggle, it's the planet that's at risk here.

We go to war with George Patton by going to exercises.

Professor, the U.S. again does not enter into the war for some time.

The attack by the Nazis in September of 39 and Britain and

France are all in a full end the war. So is Russia, except for it's not an adversary of Berlin

yet. It's just bullying the Poles and mistreating people in the East. However, George Patton knows there is a war coming,

and so does the command of the US Army.

George Marshall will emerge as the commander of the army.

There are exercises in Louisiana, Tennessee,

and the Carolinas in 1940 and 41.

At this point, did the Army know the tank was going to be a major factor?

Had they accepted it, Professor?

I think that this was the period during which all of the new ideas about armoured warfare

were coming to a head.

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