Learn more about correspondent Tom Wilmer, reporting from U.S. Army Reserve base Fort Hunter Liggett, where he visited with Brian Newman, Ph.D., a historian at the U.S. Army Center of Military History at Fort McNair in Washington, DC.
Newman provides insights into the personality of Lieutenant General Hunter Liggett, who was deputy commander of the American Expeditionary Forces of the US Army in Europe during World War I.
Liggett was a visionary tactician who revolutionized field tactics through combined arms, which are still used by the U.S. Army today.
This show is being reshared as a Journeys of Discovery Best of the Best podcast – Neumann’s conversation was recorded on November 8, 2018, at Fort Hunter Liggett in Monterey County, following his lecture on the Meuse-Argonne Offensive – the final battle of World War I – and the subsequent armistice of November 11, 1918.
Lieutenant General Hunter Liggett served in the regular army before World War I and was stationed, among other places, in the Spanish-American War and on the Western frontier.
Excerpt from Michael Shay’s book, Hunter Liggett: A Soldier’s General … his “leadership style contrasted with, and sometimes clashed with, the military culture of his day. While Pershing employed a ‘fear and blame’ approach to leadership, Liggett let his subordinates grow into their duties while instructing them on the best way to do things. While Pershing was feared, Liggett enjoyed the respect – if not the affection – of his men. Liggett was a humble man and a dedicated student of military history at a time when many officers of his generation depended on a combination of connections, political influence and seniority to advance their careers.”
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