The Making of a Supreme Commander — How Eisenhower Became the Leader Who Delivered Victory on D-Day

The Art of Manliness

Society & Culture, Education, Philosophy

4.7 • 14.5K Ratings

🗓️ 3 June 2025

⏱️ 51 minutes

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Summary

That Dwight D. Eisenhower became Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe, orchestrating the largest amphibious invasion in history on June 6, 1944, was far from inevitable. He came from the middle of nowhere — Abilene, Kansas — had never led men in battle, spent most of his career as a staff officer, and didn’t make general until he was in his fifties. How, then, did he become the leader on whom the fate of the world would rest? Today, we trace the making of Ike with Michel Paradis, author of The Light of Battle. We talk about how Eisenhower’s Midwestern upbringing shaped his character, and how his most important education happened outside the classroom. Michel shares how crucial mentors were in Ike’s development, and how Eisenhower made the most of those relationships. We discuss the books that were most formative in shaping his thinking, including what he got from Nietzsche. We also get into some of the practices Eisenhower used to lead effectively, including how he budgeted his time to maintain his morale while under the pressure of planning D-Day and what he did the evening before the invasion to deal with the stress.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Brett McKay here and welcome to another edition of the Art of Manliness podcast.
0:11.6	That Dwight D. Eisenhower became supreme commander of the Allied forces in Europe,
0:15.7	orchestrating the largest amphibious invasion in the history on June 6, 1944, was far from inevitable. He came from the
0:22.4	middle of nowhere, Abilene, Kansas, had never led men in battle, spent most of his career as a staff
0:27.8	officer, and didn't make general intel he was in his 50s. How then did he become the leader on whom
0:33.0	the fay of the world would rest? Today we traced the making of vke with Michelle Paradigee, author of The Light of Battle.
0:39.3	We talk about how Eisenhower's Midwestern upbringing shaped his character and how his most
0:43.0	important education happened outside the classroom. Michelle shares how crucial mentors were in Ike's
0:47.6	development and how Eisenhower made the most of those relationships. We discussed the books that were
0:52.0	most formative in shaping his thinking, including
0:54.1	what he got from Nietzsche. We also get into some of the practices Eisenhower used to lead effectively,
0:59.0	including how he budgeted his time to maintain his morale while under the pressure of planning D-Day,
1:03.3	and what he did in the evening before the invasion to deal with the stress. After the shows over,
1:07.6	check at our show notes at aOM.is slash Supreme Commander.
1:25.7	All right, Michelle Paradis, welcome to the show.
1:27.0	Thanks so much for having me.
1:30.4	So you got a book out called The Light of Battle, which is about D-Day.
1:35.7	D-Day is one of the most studied and written about events in modern history.
1:39.1	What do you think gets missed in the books on D-Day?
1:42.3	And what were you hoping to bring to our understanding of D-Day with your book?
1:44.0	No, that's exactly right.
1:49.1	There are so many great books about D-Day, too, that I definitely knew in starting this one,
	...

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