Abrams, Creighton W. (1914–1974), one of the leading American generals of the twentieth century.From a humble background, in Springfield, Massachusetts, he earned an appointment to West Point in 1932 and graduated in the famous class in 1936 that produced 60 wartime generals. “Abe” Abrams commanded an armored battalion in World War II, and, astride his tank “Thunderbolt,” led the column that relieved American forces in Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge.

Considered the best tactical leader in the army, he was placed in charge of armored forces in Germany during the Berlin Crisis of 1961. He also earned the respect of President John F. Kennedy for his sensitive handling of federal troops in racial disturbances in Alabama. Sent to Vietnam as deputy to General William C. Westmoreland, he succeeded Westmoreland in 1968. Under President Richard M. Nixon's strategy of “Vietnamization,” Abrams sought to train and equip South Vietnamese troops to fight on their own.

In the last two years of his life, as Army Chief of Staff (1972–74), he was determined to rebuild the army in a way that would ensure its decisive use in future engagements. His vision is widely credited with creating the foundation for the 1991 Desert Storm victory over Iraq during the Persian Gulf War. His insistence on joining superbly trained soldiers to multiple and synergistically devastating equipment led to the development of the Air Land Battle, the strategy that produced the most lopsided military victory in history in 1991.

Bibliography

Lewis Sorley , Thunderbolt: General Creighton Abrams and the Army of His Times, 1992.
Robert H. Scales, ed., Certain Victory: The U.S. Army in the Gulf War, 1993.

Timothy J. Lomperis