position, however, the strain between the ranks compounded. In his book Company Commander, historian Charles B. MacDonald described his experience as a newly commissioned captain to a combat-experienced regiment during the Battle of the Bulge. Early in the campaign, after his first engagement as the company’s commander, MacDonald recalled, “I wondered what the men of my headquarters group thought of me as a company commander now? Had I been a complete failure? Had I done anything correctly? Was my fear as noticeable as I imagined it must have been?” His feeling of inadequacy subsided for a time, only to re-emerge further in his story. After being wounded and rotating back to a hospital for treatment and recovery, MacDonald again found himself a replacement commander, this time to a different company. MacDonald detailed several instances throughout Company Commander where he internally second-guessed himself after giving a particular order. Personal turmoil pepper his account of the campaign, and provide a glimpse into the mindset of a young, inexperienced officer during a tumultuous time. Part of being an effective leader is recognizing the inadequacies not only within yourself, but within your …show more content…
In the weeks after the 1st Marines’ campaign on Guadalcanal—when naval lines were secure enough to fill supply needs to the rear, but not sufficient as yet to meet the needs of the Marines on the front—Leckie details one instance where he and a fellow soldier snuck to the rear and crawled into the food dump in search of anything edible to take back to their comrades. While Leckie weaves a likeable story of cat-and-mouse with those set as guard to the food dump, the story does not overlook the dire situation of the Marines on the frontline, who had subsisted for weeks on worm-ridden rice taken from Japanese soldiers killed in