Commanding Professionalism: General Simpson and the Ninth US Army

Commanding Professionalism: General Simpson and the Ninth US Army
With William Stuart Nance

When one thinks of influential WWII military figures, five-star generals such as Dwight D. Eisenhower and Omar Bradley instantly come to mind. As important as these central figures were to the Second World War, the conflict produced equally effective lower-profile leaders whose influence had an undeniable impact. Among these leaders are William Simpson, commander of the US Ninth Army, and James Moore, his chief of staff. Working in tandem, the pair helmed a unit that gained recognition as "uncommonly normal," an affectionate designation driven by their steadfast professionalism in all endeavors. It was their unobtrusive leadership style that relegated these career military men to the footnotes of military history.

Dr William Nance is an recently retired active duty armor officer. He taught military history at the United States Military Academy and the United States Command and General Staff College.

William's previous WW2TV show
Sabers in the Ardennes (Battle of the Bulge) - The US Army Cavalry Groups

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[davidnancarrow]

I think Eisenhower made the greatest praise of General Simpson when he allegedly said, "If Simpson ever made a mistake, I never heard about it.

[OTDMilitaryHistory]

Great show! I'm looking forward to the book.

[scottgrimwood]

An outstanding presentation. I really appreciated the acknowledgment of the value of good staff work and the troops that supported the combat units.

[ewawilsons]

Excellent! I also recommend “Corps Commanders of the Bulge: Six American Generals and Victory in the Ardennes” by Harold R. Winton

[lorencain]

Excellent presentation. I've long thought Simpson, Patch, and Eichelberger were the best overall US army commanders in the war.

[KevinJones-yhjb]

Another excellent presentation, being a Brit, I knew very little of the American input in WW2, in the ETO, PTO etc. However with being a part of Woodys channel these past few years Ive learnt so much from Woodys excellent guests, talking on the USAs input. Dr Nances really made this easy to follow, thank you both, bring Dr Nance back if you can.

[ramal]

Simpson's Army was (if I recall correctly) the only Western Allied Army to have driven or advanced close to Berlin at Magdeburg, while the 1st Army drove to Leipzig and Elbe River at the Soviet Army line of contact, the Third Army swung southbound towards Bavaria, Austria and Czechoslovakia.

Simpson and 9th Army was also the only US Army to be under Montgomery's 21st Army Group command from the Bulge until the end of the Ruhr and Rhineland Campaign in early April 1945 when they were finally revert back to 12th Army Group's command. He's probably one of the few US Army generals that could get along with Monty either willingly or had to do it to win or get stuff done.

[morganhale]

This was wonderful. I learned so much and funny enough most of it wasn't about the combat operations of Ninth Army. Please have Mr. Nance on again. A fountainhead of knowledge and a very engaging personality.

[Historianphil]

Excellent talk, will be watching again.

[jimwatts]

Howdy there folks! Educational and entertaining story of US 9th Army. Learned lots about an underappreciated fighting force.

[jonrogers]

Awesome presentation! I knew very little about Simpson before viewing this. Very impressive. I'd like to see others like this on people like Sandy Patch, Devers, Collins, Truscott...etc..

[stuweiss-zirc]

One of the best episodes for insights into how the armed forces worked in WW2. I kept saying to myself “I did not realize that” The logistics side - like “we got the shells but not he fuses” and the burden on corps commanders in absence of an army above them was fascinating.

[lascargroup]

Classic "the US Army was smaller than the Romanian Army" humorous/shocking factoid. 😊

[therealuncleowen]

Simpson sounds like he kept his ego in check in favor of getting the job done. That is a commendable trait. You'd think it would be more common, but it's easy for someone like that to be overlooked and never reach the higher levels of command.
Marshall's management of the 30th ID situation is a good window into why he was effective as well. Also, that man could identify talented men and put them in the right jobs. Plucked Ike from Lt Colonel pre-war. Imagine right after the fall of France, the betting odds you'd have gotten on Ike to eventually lead the Allied invasion of France? 10, 000 to 1? Eisenhower who? Yet could anyone today say that he wasn't a great choice to manage the politics of a multinational force.
For an apparently unexciting topic, this video was very informative.

[marchuvfulz]

Dr. Nance is outstanding, hope you have him back.

[USAACbrat]

Hi tim from Florida, The quiet guys that do the work while the stars swan for headlines.

[billyshakespeare]

Another outstanding presentation Woodrow. Guy is a Ted Cruz doppelganger?

[marks_sparks]

Enjoyed & learned a lot from Bill Nances presentation. William Simpson comes across as a consumate professional, who let his soliders do the talking. Sounds like a guy you want to work under all the time.

[philbosworth]

Great stuff from Bill, not just about Simpson, but about how armies work.

[lyndoncmp]

Great show. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Simpson has long been my favourite American general of WW2 and this only served to strengthen my opinion. Simpson, to his great credit, was clearly concerned with the Allied cause rather than just the American cause.
Cheers ✌️