George Marshall

General of the Army
George Catlett Marshall
50th United States Secretary of State
In office
January 21, 1947 – January 20, 1949
President Harry S. Truman
Preceded by James F. Byrnes
Succeeded by Dean Acheson
3rd United States Secretary of Defense
In office
September 21, 1950 – September 12, 1951
President Harry S. Truman
Preceded by Louis A. Johnson
Succeeded by Robert A. Lovett
15th United States Army Chief of Staff
In office
September 1, 1939 – November 18, 1945
Preceded by Malin Craig
Succeeded by Dwight D. Eisenhower
Personal details
Born December 31, 1880(1880-12-31)
Uniontown, Pennsylvania
Died October 16, 1959(1959-10-16) (aged 78)
Washington, D.C.
Political party Nonpartisan[1]
Spouse(s) Katherine Boyce Tupper
Elizabeth Carter Cole
Alma mater Virginia Military Institute
Profession Soldier
Statesman
Religion Episcopal[2]
Signature
Military service
Allegiance United States of America
Service/branch United States Army
Years of service 1902–1945 also through to 1959 (General of the Army regulations)
Rank General of the Army
Commands Chief of Staff of the United States Army
Battles/wars Philippine–American War
World War I

World War II

Awards Distinguished Service Medal (2)
Silver Star
Nobel Peace Prize

George Catlett Marshall (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American military leader, Chief of Staff of the Army, Secretary of State, and the third Secretary of Defense. Once noted as the "organizer of victory" by Winston Churchill for his leadership of the Allied victory in World War II,[3] Marshall served as the United States Army Chief of Staff during the war and as the chief military adviser to President Franklin D. Roosevelt. As Secretary of State, his name was given to the Marshall Plan, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953.[4]

Contents

Early life

George Catlett Marshall was born into a middle-class family in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, the son of George Catlett Marshall, Sr. and Laura Emily (Bradford) Marshall.[5] Marshall was a scion of an old Virginia family, as well as a distant relative of former Chief Justice John Marshall. Marshall graduated from the Virginia Military Institute (VMI),[6] where he was initiated into the Kappa Alpha Order, in 1901.

World War I

Following graduation from VMI, Marshall was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Until World War I, he was posted to various positions in the US and the Philippines and was trained in modern warfare. His pre-war service included a tour at Fort Leavenworth, KS from 1906 to 1910 as both a student and an instructor.[7] During the war, he had roles as a planner of both training and operations. He went to France in mid-1917 as the director of training and planning for the 1st Infantry Division. In mid-1918, he was promoted to American Expeditionary Forces headquarters, where he worked closely with his mentor General John J. Pershing and was a key planner of American operations. He was instrumental in the design and coordination of the Meuse-Argonne offensive, which contributed to the defeat of the German Army on the Western Front.[8]

Between World War I and II

In 1919, he became an aide-de-camp to General John J. Pershing. Between 1920 and 1924, while Pershing was Army Chief of Staff, Marshall worked in a number of positions in the US Army, focusing on training and teaching modern, mechanized warfare. Between World Wars I and II, he was a key planner and writer in the War Department, commanded the 15th Infantry Regiment (United States) for three years in China, and taught at the Army War College. From June 1932 to June 1933 he was the Commanding Officer at Fort Screven, Savannah Beach, Georgia, now named Tybee Island. In 1934, Col. Marshall put Edwin F. Harding in charge of the Infantry School's publications, and Harding became editor[9]:41 of Infantry in Battle, a book that codified the lessons of World War I. Infantry in Battle is still used as an officer's training manual in the Infantry Officer's Course and was the training manual for most of the infantry officers and leaders of World War II. Marshall was promoted to Brigadier General in October 1936. He commanded the Vancouver Barracks in Vancouver, Washington from 1936–1938. Nominated by President Franklin Roosevelt to be Army Chief of Staff, Marshall was promoted to General and sworn in on September 1, 1939, the day German forces invaded Poland, which began World War II. He would hold this post until the end of the war in 1945.

World War II

As Chief of Staff, Marshall organized the largest military expansion in U.S. history, inheriting an outmoded, poorly equipped army of 189,000 men and, partly drawing from his experience teaching and developing techniques of modern warfare as an instructor at the Army War College, coordinated the large-scale expansion and modernization of the U.S. Army. Though he had never actually led troops in combat, Marshall was a skilled organizer with a talent for inspiring other officers.[10] Many of the American generals who were given top commands during the war were either picked or recommended by Marshall, including Dwight Eisenhower, Lloyd Fredendall, Leslie McNair, Mark Wayne Clark and Omar Bradley.[11]

Expands military force forty fold

Faced with the necessity of turning an army of former civilians into a force of over eight million soldiers by 1942 (a fortyfold increase within three years), Marshall directed General Leslie McNair to focus efforts on rapidly producing large numbers of soldiers. With the exception of airborne forces, Marshall approved McNair's concept of an abbreviated training schedule for men entering Army land forces training, particularly in regard to basic infantry skills, weapons proficiency, and combat tactics.[12][13] At the time, most U.S. commanders at lower levels had little or no combat experience of any kind; without the input of experienced British or Allied combat officers on the nature of modern warfare and enemy tactics, many of them resorted to formulaic training methods emphasizing static defense and orderly large-scale advances by motorized convoys over improved roads.[14] In consequence, Army forces deploying to Africa suffered serious initial reverses when encountering German armored combat units in Africa at Kasserine Pass and other major battles.[15] Even as late as 1944, U.S. soldiers undergoing stateside training in preparation for deployment against German forces in Europe were not being trained in combat procedures and tactics currently being employed there.[16]

Replacement system criticized

Originally, Marshall had planned a 200-division Army with a system of unit rotation such as practiced by the British and other Allies.[17] By mid-1943, however, after pressure from government and business leaders to preserve manpower for industry and agriculture, he had abandoned this plan in favor of a 90-division Army using individual replacements sent via a circuitous process from training to divisions in combat.[17] The individual replacement system (IRS) devised by Marshall and implemented by McNair greatly exacerbated problems with unit cohesion and effective transfer of combat experience to newly-trained soldiers and officers.[15][18] In Europe, where there were few pauses in combat with German forces, the individual replacement system had broken down completely by late 1944.[19] Hastily trained replacements or service personnel re-assigned as infantry were given six weeks' refresher training and thrown into battle with Army divisions locked in front-line combat. The new men were often not even proficient in the use of their own rifles or weapons systems, and once in combat, could not receive enough practical instruction from veterans before being killed or wounded, usually within the first three or four days.[15][20][21] Under such conditions, many replacements suffered a crippling loss of morale, while veteran soldiers were kept in line units until they were killed, wounded, or incapacitated by battle fatigue or physical illness. Incidents of soldiers AWOL from combat duty as well as battle fatigue and self-inflicted injury rose rapidly during the last eight months of the war with Germany.[15][18][20] As one historian later concluded, "Had the Germans been given a free hand to devise a replacement system..., one that would do the Americans the most harm and the least good, they could not have done a better job."[20][22]

Marshall's abilities to pick competent field commanders during the early part of the war was decidedly mixed. While he had been instrumental in advancing the career of the able Dwight D. Eisenhower, he had also recommended the swaggering Lloyd Fredendall to Eisenhower for a major command in the American invasion of North Africa during Operation Torch. Marshall was especially fond of Fredendall, describing him as "one of the best" and remarking in a staff meeting when his name was mentioned, "I like that man; you can see determination all over his face." Eisenhower duly picked him to command the 39,000-man Central Task Force (the largest of three) in Operation Torch. Both men would later come to regret that decision after the U.S. Army debacle at Kasserine Pass.[11]

Plans invasion of Europe

During World War II, Marshall was instrumental in preparing the U.S. Army and Army Air Forces for the invasion of the European continent. Marshall wrote the document that would become the central strategy for all Allied operations in Europe. He initially scheduled Operation Overlord for April 1, 1943, but met with strong opposition from Winston Churchill, who convinced Roosevelt to commit troops to Operation Husky for the invasion of Italy. Some authors think that World War II could have been terminated one year earlier if Marshall had had his way, others think that such invasion would have meant utter failure. But it is true that the German Army in 1943 was overstretched, and defense works in Normandy were not ready.

It was assumed that Marshall would become the Supreme Commander of Operation Overlord, but Roosevelt selected Dwight Eisenhower as Supreme Commander. While Marshall enjoyed considerable success in working with Congress and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, he refused to lobby for the position. President Roosevelt didn't want to lose his presence in the states. He told Marshall, "I didn't feel I could sleep at ease if you were out of Washington."[23] When rumors circulated that the top job would go to Marshall, many critics viewed the transfer as a demotion for Marshall, since he would leave his position as Chief of Staff of the Army and lose his seat on the Combined Chiefs of Staff.

On December 16, 1944, Marshall became the first American general to be promoted to five-star rank, the newly created General of the Army. He was the second American to be promoted to a five-star rank, as William Leahy was promoted to fleet admiral the previous day. This position is the American equivalent rank to field marshal.

Throughout the remainder of World War II, Marshall coordinated Allied operations in Europe and the Pacific. He was characterized as the organizer of Allied victory by Winston Churchill. Time Magazine named Marshall Man of the Year for 1943. Marshall resigned his post of Chief of Staff in 1945, but did not retire, as regulations stipulate that Generals of the Army remain on active duty for life.

Analysis of Pearl Harbor intelligence failure

After World War II ended, the Congressional Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack received testimony on the intelligence failure. It amassed 25,000 pages of documents, 40 volumes, and included nine reports and investigations, eight of which had been previously completed. Among these documents was a report critical of Marshall for his delay in sending General Walter Short, the Army commander in Hawaii, important information concerning a possible attack on December 6 and 7. The report also criticized Marshall’s admitted lack of knowledge of the readiness of the Hawaiian Command during November and December 1941. Ten days after the attack, Lt. General Short and Admiral Husband E. Kimmel, commander of the Navy at Pearl Harbor, were both relieved of their duties. The final report of the Joint Committee did not single out and fault Marshall. While the report was critical of the overall situation, the committee noted that subordinates had failed to pass on important information to their superiors, including Marshall. The report noted that once General Marshall received information about the impending attack, he immediately passed it on.[24][25]

Post War: China, Secretary of State, Nobel Peace Prize

In December 1945, President Harry Truman sent Marshall to China to broker a coalition government between the Nationalist allies under Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and Communists under Mao Zedong. Marshall had no leverage over the Communists, but he threatened to withdraw American aid essential to the Nationalists. Both sides rejected his proposals and the Chinese Civil War escalated, with the Communists winning in 1949. His mission a failure, he returned to the United States in January 1947.[26][27] As Secretary of State in 1947–48, Marshall seems to have disagreed with strong opinions in The Pentagon and State department that Chiang's success was vital to American interests, insisting that U.S. troops not become involved.

After Marshall's return to the U.S. in early 1947, Truman appointed Marshall Secretary of State. He became the spokesman for the State Department's ambitious plans to rebuild Europe. On June 5, 1947 in a speech[28] at Harvard University, he outlined the American plan. The European Recovery Program, as it was formally known, became known as the Marshall Plan. Clark Clifford had suggested to Truman that the plan be called the Truman Plan, but Truman immediately dismissed that idea and insisted that it be called the Marshall Plan.[29][30] The Marshall Plan would help Europe quickly rebuild and modernize its economy along American lines. The Soviet Union forbade its satellites to participate.

Marshall was again named Time's Man of the Year for 1947 and received the Nobel Peace Prize for his post-war work in 1953. He was the only U.S. Army General to have received this honor.

As Secretary of State, Marshall strongly opposed recognizing the state of Israel. Marshall felt that if the state of Israel was declared that a war would break out in the Middle East (which it did in 1948 one day after Israel declared independence). Marshall saw recognizing the Jewish state as a political move to gain Jewish support in the upcoming election, in which Truman was expected to lose to Dewey. He told President Truman in May 1948, "If you (recognize the state of Israel) and if I were to vote in the election, I would vote against you."[31][32][33]

Marshall resigned from the State Department because of ill health on January 7, 1949, and the same month became chairman of American Battle Monuments Commission.[34] In September 1949, Marshall was named president of the American National Red Cross.

Secretary of Defense

When the early months of the Korean War showed how poorly prepared the Defense Department was, Truman fired Secretary Louis A. Johnson and named Marshall as Secretary of Defense in September 1950. On September 30, Defense Secretary George Marshall sent an eyes-only message to MacArthur instructing MacArthur to escalate the war in Korea "We want you to feel unhampered tactically and strategically to proceed north of the 38th parallel."[35] His main role was to restore confidence and rebuild the armed forces from the post-war state of demobilization. He served in that post for one year, retiring from public office for good in September 1951. In 1953, he represented America at the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.

Impact of McCarthyism

U.S. Senator Joe McCarthy, whose hearings and black lists later spawned the term McCarthyism, gave a speech titled America's Retreat from Victory: The Story of George Catlett Marshall (1951), in which he argued that General Albert Coady Wedemeyer had prepared a wise plan that would keep China a valued ally, but that it had been sabotaged. He concluded that "If Marshall were merely stupid, the laws of probability would dictate that part of his decisions would serve this country's interest."[36] He suggested that Marshall was old and feeble and easily duped but did not charge Marshall with treason. McCarthy specifically alleged:

"When Marshall was sent to China with secret State Department orders, the Communists at that time were bottled up in two areas and were fighting a losing battle, but that because of those orders the situation was radically changed in favor of the Communists. Under those orders, as we know, Marshall embargoed all arms and ammunition to our allies in China. He forced the opening of the Nationalist-held Kalgan Mountain pass into Manchuria, to the end that the Chinese Communists gained access to the mountains of captured Japanese equipment. No need to tell the country about how Marshall tried to force Chiang Kai-shek to form a partnership government with the Communists."[37][38]

Legacy

Marshall died on Friday, October 16, 1959. He is buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

After leaving office, in a television interview, Harry Truman was asked who he thought was the American who made the greatest contribution of the last thirty years. Without hesitation, Truman picked Marshall, adding "I don't think in this age in which I have lived, that there has been a man who has been a greater administrator; a man with a knowledge of military affairs equal to General Marshall."[39]

Orson Welles, in an interview with Dick Cavett, called Marshall "...the greatest human being who was also a great man... He was a tremendous gentlemen, an old fashioned institution which isn't with us anymore."[40]

In spite of world-wide acclaim, dozens of national and international awards and honors and the Nobel Peace prize, public opinion became bitterly divided along party lines on Marshall's record. While campaigning for president in 1952, Eisenhower denounced the Truman administration's failures in Korea, campaigned alongside McCarthy, and refused to defend Marshall's policies. Marshall, who assisted Eisenhower in his promotions, and in refusing to lobby for the position of supreme commander effectively stood aside, thus allowing Eisenhower an opportunity to be chosen for that role, was surprised at the lack of a positive statement supporting him from Eisenhower during the McCarthy hearings.[41][42]

Family life

He married Elizabeth Carter Cole of San Antonio,Texas, in 1902. She died in 1927. In 1930, he married Katherine Boyce Tupper (formerly Mrs. Clifton Stevenson Brown), a widowed mother of three children. One of Marshall's stepsons with Tupper, Army Lt. Allen Tupper Brown, was killed by a German sniper in Italy on May 29, 1944. George Marshall maintained a home, known as Dodona Manor (now restored), in Leesburg, Virginia. Actress Kitty Winn is his step-granddaughter.

Dramatic portrayals

Dates of rank

No pin insignia in 1902 Second Lieutenant, United States Army: February 2, 1902
First Lieutenant, United States Army: March 7, 1907
Captain, United States Army: July 1, 1916
Major, National Army: August 5, 1917
Lieutenant Colonel, National Army: January 5, 1918
Colonel, National Army: August 27, 1918
Captain, Regular Army (reverted to peacetime rank): June 30, 1920
Major, Regular Army : July 1, 1920
Lieutenant Colonel, Regular Army: August 21, 1923
Colonel, Regular Army: September 1, 1933
Brigadier General, Regular Army: October 1, 1936
Major General, Regular Army: July 1, 1939
Lieutenant General, Regular Army: August 1, 1939
General, Regular Army, for service as Army Chief of Staff: September 1, 1939
General of the Army, Army of the United States: December 16, 1944
General of the Army rank made permanent in the Regular Army: April 11, 1946

Awards and decorations

U.S. military honors

Distinguished Service Medal with one Oak Leaf Cluster
Silver Star
Philippine Campaign Medal
World War I Victory Medal with four battle clasps
Army of Occupation of Germany Medal
American Defense Service Medal
American Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal

Foreign military honors

Civilian honors

The George C. Marshal European Center for Security Studies in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany

Bibliography

See also

Biography portal
World War I portal
World War II portal
United States Army portal

References

  1. ^ Marshall Papers Pentagon Office Selected Correspondence Box 69 Folder 18 George C. Marshall Foundation http://www.marshallfoundation.org
  2. ^ George Catlett Marshall, General of the Army
  3. ^ "George Catlett Marshall, U.S. Army Chief of Staff, Secretary of State". CNN. Archived from the original on 2007-11-13. http://web.archive.org/web/20071113061529/http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/cold.war/kbank/profiles/marshall/. Retrieved 2007-12-12. 
  4. ^ W. Del Testa, David; Florence Lemoine and John Strickland (2001). Government Leaders, Military Rulers, and Political Activists. pp. 120. 
  5. ^ George Marshall Childhood
  6. ^ Uldrich, Jack (2005). Soldier, Statesman, Peacemaker: Leadership Lessons From George C. Marshall. pp. 14–15. 
  7. ^ Stoler, Mark (1989). George C. Marshall: Soldier-Statesman of the American Century. pp. 21–25. 
  8. ^ Lengel, Edward G. (2008). To Conquer Hell.. New York: Henry Holt. ISBN 0805079319.. 
  9. ^ Campbell, James (September 30, 2008). The Ghost Mountain Boys: Their Epic March and the Terrifying Battle for New Guinea—The Forgotten War of the South Pacific. Three Rivers Press. pp. 400. ISBN 978-0307335975. 
  10. ^ Bland, Larry I., George C. Marshall and the Education of Army Leaders, Military Review 68 (October 1988) 27–51, Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas
  11. ^ a b Ossad, Steven L., Command Failures: Lessons Learned from Lloyd R. Fredendall, Army Magazine, March 2003
  12. ^ Ambrose, Stephen, Citizen Soldiers: The U.S. Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to the Surrender of Germany June 7, 1944 – May 7, 1945, New York: Simon & Schuster (1997), pp. 271–284
  13. ^ Keast, William R. (Maj), Provision of Enlisted Replacements, Army Ground Forces Study No. 7, Washington, D.C.: Historical Section – Headquarters Army Ground Forces, 314.7(1 Sept 1946)GNHIS September 1, 1945
  14. ^ George, John B. (Lt. Col), Shots Fired In Anger, NRA Press (1981), ISBN 0-935998-42-X, pp. 13–21
  15. ^ a b c d Keast, William R. (Maj), Provision of Enlisted Replacements
  16. ^ Hanford, William B., A Dangerous Assignment, Stackpole Books, ISBN 978-0-8117-3485-1, p. viii
  17. ^ a b Vandergriff, Donald E., Seven Wars and a Century Later, a Failed System, Article
  18. ^ a b Ambrose, Stephen, Citizen Soldiers, pp. 277–284
  19. ^ Henry, Mark R., The US Army in World War II: Northwest Europe, Osprey Publishing (2001), ISBN 1-84176-086-2, 9781841760865, pp. 12–14
  20. ^ a b c Henry, Mark R., The US Army in World War II: Northwest Europe, Osprey Publishing (2001), ISBN 1-84176-086-2, 9781841760865, pp. 12–14
  21. ^ Ambrose, Stephen, Citizen Soldiers, pp. 271–284
  22. ^ Ambrose, Stephen, Citizen Soldiers, p. 277
  23. ^ Buell, Thomas B.; John H. Bradley. The Second World War: Europe and the Mediterranean. pp. 258. 
  24. ^ Hearings before the Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack, Congress of the United States, Seventy-Ninth Congress (Washington, D.C.), Part 39, P 144-145.
  25. ^ Conclusions and Recommendations of the Joint Committee on the Investigation of the Pearl Harbor Attack, Congress of the United States, Seventy-Ninth Congress (Washington, D.C.)P. 252, 265
  26. ^ Stoler, Mark A. (1989). George C. Marshall. pp. 145–51. 
  27. ^ Tsou, Tang (1963). America's Failure in China, 1941–50. 
  28. ^ "The Marshall Plan". http://www.georgecmarshall.org/learn/index.asp?L=17. Retrieved 2009-02-17. 
  29. ^ McCullough, David (1992). Truman. New York: Simon and Schuster. pp. 717. ISBN 0-671-86920-5. 
  30. ^ Behrman, Greg (2007). The Most Noble Adventure: The Marshall Plan and the Time When America Helped Save Europe. Free Press. ISBN 0743282639. 
  31. ^ "President Truman's Decision to Recognize Israel". http://www.jcpa.org/JCPA/Templates/ShowPage.asp?DBID=1&LNGID=1&TMID=111&FID=376&PID=0&IID=2203. Retrieved 2009-02-17. 
  32. ^ "Truman Adviser Recalls May 14, 1948 US Decision to Recognize Israel". Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. May/June 1991. pp. 17. http://www.wrmea.com/backissues/0591/9105017.htm. Retrieved 2009-02-17. 
  33. ^ "Recognition of Israel". The Truman Library. http://www.trumanlibrary.org/hst/h.htm. Retrieved 2009-02-17. 
  34. ^ New York Times: January 8, 1949, p. 1.
  35. ^ Weintraub, Stanley. MacArthur’s war: Korea and the Undoing of an American Hero, Simon & Schuster, ISBN 0-684-83419-7. p.157:158.
  36. ^ McCarthy, Joe (1951). Major Speeches and Debates. pp. 264. 
  37. ^ McCarthy, Joe (1951). Major Speeches and Debates. pp. 191, from speech of March 14, 1951. 
  38. ^ Reeves, Thomas C. (1982). The Life and Times of Joe McCarthy. pp. 371–374. 
  39. ^ "The David Susskind Show: Interview with President Harry S. Truman". http://www.hulu.com/watch/46482/the-david-susskind-show-interview-with-president-harry-s-truman#s-p2-so-i0. 
  40. ^ "Orson Welles talks about Cornelia Lunt". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1fauAc48tA&feature=related. 
  41. ^ "American Experience: The Presidents: Dwight D. Eisenhower". http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/34_eisenhower/printable.html. 
  42. ^ "American Experience: The Presidents: Dwight D. Eisenhower (Film Script". http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/34_eisenhower/filmmore/filmscript.html. 

Primary sources

Further reading

External links

Military offices
Preceded by
Malin Craig
Chief of Staff of the United States Army
1939 – 1945
Succeeded by
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Political offices
Preceded by
James F. Byrnes
United States Secretary of State
Served under: Harry S. Truman

1947–1949
Succeeded by
Dean Acheson
Preceded by
Louis A. Johnson
United States Secretary of Defense
Served under: Harry S. Truman

1950–1951
Succeeded by
Robert A. Lovett
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Prince Konoye
Cover of Time Magazine
July 29, 1940
Succeeded by
Sir Alan F. Brooke
Preceded by
Ed Flynn
Cover of Time Magazine
October 19, 1942
Succeeded by
John Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort
Preceded by
Patriarch Sergius I of Moscow
Cover of Time Magazine
January 3, 1944
Succeeded by
Erich von Manstein