September 1, 1939, was a pivotal date in world history: Adolf Hitler (Number l) invaded Poland, igniting World War II. It was also the date that George C.Marshall became U.S. Army Chief of Staff. At the time he took office, the U.S. Army ranked 19th in size among the world’s armed forces, and that included its reserves. It had more men under arms than Bulgaria but fewer than Portugal. Before he was done, Marshall would build the U.S. armed forces to more than 8.5 million, fighting on many battlefields around the world.
Marshall’s superb leadership, his absolute integrity, his dedication to the job at hand, his attention to detail, his ability to choose talented leaders for warriors, and his grasp of global strategy made him indispensable to the war effort. Ironically, that very set of skills may have cheated Marshall of the one thing he wanted most: to lead the Allied armies into battle on the continent of Europe.
Though no one man can be credited with winning victory in World War II, Marshall may have been the most influential. He was the architect of victory.
Early Military Career
Marshall was born in 1880 in Union town, Pennsylvania. He applied and was admit-ted to the Virginia Military Institute (V.M.I.). Why not West Point? Some observers have speculated that he might not have had the political connections for a Congressional appointment. His older brother, however, had gone to V.M.I., which might have been a factor in his decision.
Marshall graduated in 190l and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He enjoyed his first command in Philippines; after returning home, he was given additional leadership training. He then became an instructor at the Army Staff College.
World War I began in Europe in 1914. By the time the United States entered the war in 1917, Marshall was a captain. In France, he successfully planned American troop movements prior to the Argonne offensive. By the time the war ended, he had become a trusted aide to General John J. Pershing and had attained the rank of colonel.
After World War I, Marshall served first in China and then at the Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia. It was an opportunity for him to spot the potential leaders for any future war.
In 1936, Marshall finally won his first star as brigadier general. In the early years of the Franklin D. Roosevelt (Number 2) administration, Marshall had caught the eye of the commander in chief and had been put in charge of Civilian Conservation Corps camps in several southern states.
In 1938, Marshall was appointed head of the War Plans Division, one of the most prestigious positions in the U.S. Army. He was now on the fast track. Soon after, he became the Army Deputy Chief of Staff. On one occasion, he was the only officer to oppose a suggestion by the president. He spoke out forthrightly, earning Roosevelt’s respect. As war loomed in Europe, Marshall was chosen Army Chief of Staff. As Hit-ler’s panzers smashed into Poland, Marshall assumed his new role, which was arguably Roosevelt’s most critical appointment.
The War Years
It had taken Marshall 16 years to win his first star as a brigadier general. Now, after only three years, he was wearing four. A strong believer in air power, he lobbied for strengthening the Army Air Corps. In 1940, he began building the army using the Selective Service Act, but under that law, the draft was scheduled to expire in October of 1941. That summer, throughout the country, the letters O.H.I.O. were scrawled on the walls of many barracks. It stood for “Over the Hill in October.” Yet war was imminent, and Marshall knew it. The draft act had to be extended. It appeared that the Senate would pass the extension, but there was concern about the House of Representatives. Marshall personally spoke to congressmen who were either opposed to or ambivalent toward the measure. As a result, the draft extension was approved in the House by a single vote, on which the fate of Western civilization may well have hinged.
As war approached, Marshall was involved in numerous issues, from national security to army morale. Roosevelt wanted England strengthened to defend itself against a German invasion. As the chief of staff, Marshall signed off on sending supposedly outmoded rifles to the beleaguered British at the same time some American servicemen were drilling with broomsticks. Upset at the sight of recruits wandering around the small towns near their training camps because they had nothing to do when off duty, Marshall came up with the idea of entertaining the troops; the United Service Organizations (USO) was born. Marshall reviewed the lists of his generals, choosing those for retirement so that younger men could step forward to command. Most importantly, Marshall met with his British counterparts to plan for future military operations.
War Comes to the United States
When Pearl Harbor was attacked, Marshall responded rapidly. Looking back to 1939, he commented, “Then we had the time, but no money. Now we have the money, but no time.”
Marshall stressed the necessity of defeating Germany first, but he was at odds with Winston Churchill (Number 3) and the British on overall strategy in Europe. The English talked of hitting “the soft underbelly” of the enemy in southern Europe and the Mediterranean. Marshall wanted to go across the English Channel to northern France and then into the heartland of Nazi Germany. During the war, British and American political and military leaders often clashed.
The time came to select the overall commander to lead the Normandy invasion. Because the United States would play the major role in the invasion, the overall commander would have to be an American. Roosevelt would make that decision. Although it was common knowledge that he wanted the job, Marshall told President Roosevelt that he would do whatever the president wanted him to do. Although the commander in chief continued to press him, Marshall was adamant in his response. Reluctantly, Roosevelt made his decision; he needed Marshall in Washington. He chose Dwight D. Eisenhower (Number 7) to lead the invasion.
The End of the War and the Rebuilding of Europe
In September 1944, Marshall found himself in a terrible dilemma involving presidential politics. Roosevelt was running for a fourth term as president against Governor Thomas E. Dewey of New York. Marshall learned that Dewey had prepared a campaign speech that revealed that the United States had broken the Japanese code prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor. The implication was that the United States knew of the Pearl Harbor attack in advance and did nothing to prevent it. From Dewey’s point of view, this information would be devastating to Roosevelt’s reelection bid. However, it would be even more damaging to Allied intelligence. At that time, the Japanese still did not know that their code had been compromised. The continued monitoring of Japanese communications was vital in the Pacific, and Japanese messages to and from Berlin were helpful in fighting the war in Europe. Marshall wrote a letter to Dewey, advising him of the potential consequences to the war effort. Dewey decided not to use the dis-closure in his speech.
Roosevelt died several weeks before Germany surrendered. The new president was Harry S Truman (Number 14). The former senator and vice president had long known of Marshall’s abilities and brought him into his administration after the war. Marshall would go on to serve as secretary of state and secretary of defense. He would propose the Marshall Plan, which would provide billions of dollars from the United States for the purchase of food, raw materials, machinery, and equipment for 16 European countries, to help rebuild Europe.
In 1952, during the presidential election campaign, a few conservative Republicans denounced Marshall as “a living lie” and “a front man for traitors.” Eisenhower, who was running for president, originally had inserted in a campaign speech a defense of his advocate and mentor. Fearing it would cost him votes, Eisenhower deleted it from his speech.The following year, Marshall received the recognition he so richly deserved: He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for work on the Marshall Plan. He died in 1959.
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