Ike's Fixer (The Inside Story of Eisenhower, Patton, and the Mysterious General Who Helped Win World War II)

In a war as massive and complex as World War II, difficulties inevitably arose, and even a brilliant commander like Dwight Eisenhower needed help managing a conflict that spanned continents and involved millions of soldiers. Enter General Everett Hughes, Ike’s troubleshooter and confidant, Patton’s champion— the invisible hero of the American war effort. Ike’s Fixer draws on untapped sources to show how Hughes solved some of the thorniest problems of World War II and take readers inside Supreme Headquarters to reveal how the United States fought and won the war in Europe.

From North Africa to D-Day, from France to the Bulge, Everett Hughes found problems, fixed them, and identified issues before they became problems. A jack of all trades, he was a master of logistics and supply who broke logjams, untangled knots, and kept fuel, food, and materiel flowing to the front lines, nowhere more pivotal than on the Normandy beaches. He kept the troops fed— not only Americans, but also German POWs. As Eisenhower’s chief troubleshooter, the Supreme Commander’s eyes and ears, he rooted out malfeasance among American officers, reported on discipline, and, on a more personal level, kept Ike supplied with his preferred brand of whiskey. He recommended his longtime friend George Patton for promotion after the disaster at Kasserine Pass and protected and defended the scandal-prone general over and over. Hughes also oversaw the first overseas deployment of the Women’s Army Corps and publicized the unsung contributions of the African-American drivers of the Red Ball Express.

Part biography, part military history of World War II as it unfolded at the highest levels of command, Ike’s Fixer completes the picture of how American generals waged the war. Beyond giving Hughes his dues at last, Lovelace’s revelatory book also sheds new light on Eisenhower himself, from his relationship with Kay Summersby and his mental and physical health to the ins and outs of his leadership style. Ike’s Fixer restores the human dimension to World War II in Europe.