MWSA Review

The Original Jeeps by Paul R. Bruno begins with a well written and interesting background chapter about the US Army between World War I and World War II. It then changes into a more academically written detailed analysis of the development of what ultimately became the Jeep. The book offers a great appreciation for the difficulty in dealing with military procurement rules. Persistence is definitely required.

In addition to the difficulties in defining what is needed by the military and how best to adjust manufacturing needs to meet those demands, the automotive companies were also dealing with the great depression and the American disinterest in small cars. All of this is clearly described. The book concludes with a well written Epilogue that nicely summarizes the “rest of the story.” The book is replete with detailed information and technical data, some of which is found in tables in the back of the book. There is also a useful timeline in the back of the book, as well as a detailed index.

Review by Nancy Kaufmann (January 2021)
 

Author's Synopsis
The spring and summer of 1940 witnessed the resounding defeats of the French army and British Expeditionary Force at the hands of modernized German troops, designed to take advantage of the latest advances in technology. These included mobile vehicles and tanks used in formation to blast through enemy lines, as well as combined ground and air tactics. The evacuation of the British from Dunkirk and the final defeat of their French allies in June 1940 left only a thin line of English fighter planes between that island nation and total defeat.

Meanwhile, leaders of the United States Army, decimated by demobilization after World War I and budget cuts during the Great Depression, knew they were completely unprepared for this new type of mobile warfare called “blitzkrieg,” a German term meaning “lightning war.” Though experts in the U.S. Army had worked from the end of World War I to develop a combination light weapons carrier and command and reconnaissance vehicle, no perfect model had yet been developed by 1940. In June of that same year, the Army compiled a list of requirements for a revolutionary new truck to replace the mule as the Army’s primary method of moving troops and small payloads.

The Original Jeeps tells the story of the American Bantam Car Company, Willys Overland-Motors, Inc. and the Ford Motor Company, the three firms who dared to meet the challenge to build pilot models of this extraordinary new vehicle. The efforts by these automotive pioneers represent an astounding story of grit, determination and never-say-die courage that inspires, and ended in the creation of a legend: the Jeep.

ISBN/ASIN: 978-0-578-72175-0

Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle

Review Genre: Nonfiction—History

Number of Pages: 241