Command and Control of the Airlift - The Early Days
The history of the world has been shaped by generals. Alexander the Great, Caesar, Saladin, Richard the Lionheart, Henry V, George Washington, Napoleon -- everyone has heard their names. Yet while no battle can be won by any general on his own, poor leadership can doom a campaign or lose a war. The Berlin Airlift was no exception. Regardless of the dedication and skills of the participants, without good leadership and competent command, it too would have failed. The first vulnerability of the Western Allies was the very fact that they were three sovereign states each with their own priorities and agenda. Indeed, given the history of friction between the U.S. and France over German policy, Stalin had every reason to believe that the Western Powers would start bickering among themselves and fail to agree on a joint policy at all. Stalin must have hoped that he could drive a wedge between the Western powers and exploit their differences. That the West did find a common p...