Julius Caesar's Decisions During World War II

“Veni, vidi, vici.” These Latin words, translated into English as “I came, I saw, I conquered”, were spoken by Julius Caesar, and captured his decision making and leadership skills (“Latin Quotes by Julius Caesar”). Julius Caesar is considered one of the greatest military minds of all time. Through a series of political alliances and battles, he expanded the Roman Republic and built the foundations for the Roman Empire (“Julius Caesar – Dictator, General”). As with other successful leaders, such as Winston Churchill and Dwight Eisenhower, Caesar’s success was highly dependent on his decision making skills. Good decision making is oftentimes the result of confidence, determination, and courage. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “If I have lost confidence in myself, I have the universe against me” (Moncur, “Quotations by
Author”). Confidence gives hope to others, and is therefore contagious and can be built upon, which helps leaders gain support for their decisions and achieve success.
A key to Julius Caesar’s success as a military leader was his confidence. His self-confidence enabled him to rise up in the political ranks, become a military general, and create an alliance between two of Rome’s political and military leaders, Pompey and Crassus. Caesar later became the dictator of Italy, surpassing the power of both Pompey and Crassus (“Julius Caesar – Dictator-General”). Caesar transformed the empire by relieving debts and reorganizing government, reforming the Roman calendar, reviving city-states that had been destroyed by his predecessors, and granting citizenship to many foreigners (Toynbee, “Julius Caesar”). For a man from relatively humble beginnings, none of this would have been possible if Caesar had not had extraordinary confidence that he could achieve greatness for himself and a better political climate for his people.
Winston Churchill, prime minister of Great Britain during World War II, once said: “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty (“Winston S. Churchill Quotes”). From September 1940 to May 1941, Germany conducted aerial raids that came to be known as the blitzkrieg (“lightning war”), or Blitz, on sixteen British cities (“The Blitz”). While much of Great Britain was left in rubble, Churchill kept up an air of confidence and optimism that helped carry the British citizens through the war. In her book, We Shall Not Fail – The Inspiring Leadership of Winston Churchill, Churchill’s granddaughter, Celia Sandys, says: “Churchill’s spirit was seldom crushed. The morning after the first blitz, Churchill drove to ground zero: London’s East End and the docks. That first blitz set the tone for dozens more. Churchill brought his V for victory sign, his cane, his tears, his words of strength. Leaders go straight to the front line, and Churchill often arrived while the ruins were still smoldering. When he called out to the crowd, asking if they were disheartened, they cried back, “No!” Churchill had come to feel the nation’s pain, to give the people resolve they would need to face the months and years ahead.” This helped Churchill gain the confidence of the British citizens so that they would support him in the difficult decisions that he would have to make to pull Great Britain out of the ruins and into victory against the Axis powers (IBT Staff, “Why Confidence Matters”).
At times it is enough for a leader to express his confidence in his forces to give them the strength they need to endure battle. This confidence in his decisions, and the men who would carry out his orders, was expressed by U.S. General Dwight Eisenhower during and after the D-Day invasion during World War II. In a message from Eisenhower to the Allied troops immediately prior to the D-Day invasion, Eisenhower wrote that while the enemy was well trained, well equipped, battle hardened, and would fight savagely, “This is the year 1944 ! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us a superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world marching together to Victory! I have full confidence in your devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory!” (“Messages from General Dwight D. Eisenhower”). Though thousands of lives from the Allied troops were lost when they stormed Normandy Beach on D-Day, the Allied forces were able to conquer the beach and begin the heroic struggle that would eventually liberate Europe from Nazi tyranny.
Confident leaders are needed in challenging times. When they believe strongly in themselves and their ideas, their optimism spreads to others who can help them be successful.
Another quality necessary to good decision makers is determination. If a leader is certain of his or her direction, the decisions made will be those that will lead him or her further toward the goal.
After years away from Italy while governing Gaul, which is now France and Belgium, in 49 BC Julius Caesar decided to return to Italy, bringing his army with him. Before crossing the Rubicon River, which marked the border between Gaul and Italy, Caesar paused at a bridge to make a short speech, in which he told the troops what the likely impact would be on the Roman world. Some sources say that his last words before crossing the Rubicon were “iacta alea est”, or “the die is cast.” Knowing that a civil war was imminent if he entered Italy, he was determined to make the Roman Empire great, so he decided the challenges ahead were worth it (Bachelor, “Decisions, Decisions…”).
When Adolph Hitler first rose to power in 1933, Winston Churchill did not see him as a threat. By 1938, however, when Germany had begun to control its neighboring countries, Winston Churchill became a strong critic of the British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, who had a policy of appeasement toward the Nazis. In May 1940, Chamberlain was taken out of office and King George VI appointed Churchill as prime minister and minister of defense. Soon Germany invaded the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. When German forces entered France, the British Army was there to fight alongside France (“Winston Churchill Biography). Soon the U.S. entered the war as well. If Churchill had not seen the danger of Adolph Hitler’s rise to power and been determined to take a stand against Germany, World War II may have ended quite differently.
One of the most important decisions during World War II was made by Dwight Eisenhower.
After postponing military operations for a month to allow the Allies time to build and gather the landing craft they would need to transport troops to the beaches of Normandy, Eisenhower set June 5, 1944 as D-Day, the date the Allies would invade the Germans in France. Time and weather were not on Eisenhower’s side. The weather forecast for June 5 was cloudy skies, rain, and turbulent seas. He had a very small window to coordinate the attack, as the tides would not favor another invasion for nearly two weeks, and in that amount of time the Germans could possibly learn of the plan. Eisenhower took a gamble with the weather. He postponed D-Day for one day, and the invasion took place on June 6, 1944. Utilizing over four thousand warships, almost ten thousand aircraft, and approximately one hundred sixty thousand troops, it was the largest amphibious invasion in the history of the world (“Eisenhower Decides on D-Day”). Though many Allied lives were lost, the invasion was a success, because Eisenhower was determined to defeat Nazi Germany, despite the
obstacles.
Determination is a positive decision-making characteristic, because without the determination to be successful, obstacles can seem insurmountable and failure becomes an option.
Aside from confidence and determination, successful leaders must also have courage. As the great philosopher Aristotle once said: “You will never do anything in this world without courage. It is the greatest quality of the mind next to honor” (“Courage Quotes”).
It would be difficult to dispute that Julius Caesar was not a courageous leader. In his own words, “Ignavi coram morte quidem animam trahunt, audaces autem illam non saltem advertunt.” Translated, this means “the cowards agonize about death, the brave don't even notice it” (“Latin Quotes by Julius Caesar”). Throughout his life, Julius Caesar faced many situations that might have resulted in his death. He challenged political leaders and engaged in battles in Gaul, Spain, Greece, and Italy. For him, the loss of his honor was likely a worse fate than the loss of his life, so his courage became his legacy.
Winston Churchill had the courage to take a stand against Adolph Hitler, who was rapidly conquering European countries, despite Germany’s merciless invasions against Great Britain. In Churchill’s own words: “Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts” (“Winston S. Churchill Quotes”).
On January 31, 1958, in a speech to the Republican National Committee, Dwight Eisenhower said, “What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight--it is the size of the fight in the dog” (Moncur, “The Quotations Page: Quote from Dwight D. Eisenhower”). By this he meant that only with courage would success be achieved. Eisenhower knew that the Allies were up against an army of well trained, well equipped, battle hardened, savage fighters (“Messages from General Dwight D. Eisenhower”). He had to have the courage to stand up to Nazi Germany, which was rapidly taking over Europe and threatening freedom throughout the world, and this courageousness had to be contagious, so that his troops could withstand the difficult battles to victory.
Without courage, no difficult decisions can be made. As the Greek Historian Thucydides said, "The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding go out to meet it" (“Courage Quotes”).
Good decision making is oftentimes the result of confidence, determination, and courage. The world’s greatest leaders and decision makers would not have been half as successful without these attributes. Political and military leaders Julius Caesar, Winston Churchill, and Dwight Eisenhower were all successful in defeating their enemies by displaying all the traits of successful decision makers and leaders. Without confidence, determination, and courage, the world would not have benefitted from the many advances in law, politics, and the arts made in Caesar’s Roman Empire, and not only Great Britain, but all of Europe may have fallen victim to ruthless Nazi Germany. Without great decision makers and leaders, our society would likely be nothing like what it is today.