Q&A · 2:39:45-2:40:24

Swapping Nimitz and Cunningham

A theater-swap counterfactual pairs Nimitz and Cunningham because of their similar command philosophies.

Question

Which American and Commonwealth commanders would be most interesting to swap between theaters?

Short answer

Nimitz and Cunningham, because their similar philosophies make their responses to each other's theaters an illuminating comparison.

Notes

Asked to exchange American and Commonwealth commanders between theaters, the answer pairs Chester Nimitz with Andrew Cunningham. They are presented as two of the most similar admirals of the Second World War in approach and philosophy. Moving each into the other's Pacific or Mediterranean role would test how a shared command style responds to different operational problems. The answer is exploratory rather than a prediction that one would outperform the other.