This final volume details the last decade of Marshall's life. This seventh and final volume of The Papers of George Catlett Marshall covers the last ten years of Marshall’s life, when he served as secretary of defense from September 1950 to September 1951 following a year as American Red Cross president. Dramatic swings in fortune for US and UN forces in Korea consumed him as defense secretary, yet Europe remained Marshall’s strategic focus and with it the establishment of a NATO military command, efforts to convince the French to accept German rearmament, congressional approval for a major US military buildup, and a Mutual Security Program for America’s allies. Marshall also participated in the decision to relieve General Douglas MacArthur, sparking public uproar and a Senate investigation. Marshall remained active and honored in retirement, particularly in 1953, when he led the US delegation to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II and then became the first professional soldier to win the Nobel Peace Prize, a tribute to the Marshall Plan. Through it all, he maintained an extensive correspondence with national and international leaders. When he died on October 16, 1959, George Catlett Marshall was hailed by many as the nation’s greatest soldier-statesman since George Washington.
The extraordinary career of General George C. Marshall—America’s most distinguished soldier–statesman since George Washington—whose selfless leadership and moral character influenced the course of two world wars and helped define the American century “I’ve read several biographies of Marshall, but I think [David] Roll’s may be the best of the bunch.”—Thomas E. Ricks, New York Times Book Review • “Powerful.”—The Wall Street Journal • “Enthralling.”—Andrew Roberts • “Important.”—William I. Hitchcock • “Majestic.”—Susan Page • “Engrossing.”—Andrew J. Bacevich • “Judicious.”—Walter Isaacson • “Definitive.”—Kirkus Winston Churchill called him World War II's "organizer of victory." Harry Truman said he was "the greatest military man that this country ever produced." Today, in our era of failed leadership, few lives are more worthy of renewed examination than Marshall and his fifty years of loyal service to the defense of his nation and its values. Even as a young officer Marshall was heralded as a genius, a reputation that grew when in WWI he planned and executed a nighttime movement of more than a half million troops from one battlefield to another that led to the armistice. Between the wars he helped modernize combat training and re-staffed the U.S. Army's officer corps with the men who would lead in the next decades. But as WWII loomed, it was the role of army chief of staff in which Marshall's intellect and backbone were put to the test, when his blind commitment to duty would run up against the realities of Washington politics. Long seen as a stoic, almost statuesque figure, he emerges in these pages as a man both remarkable and human thanks to newly discovered sources. Set against the backdrop of five major conflicts—two world wars, Palestine, Korea, and the Cold War—Marshall's education in military, diplomatic, and political power, replete with their nuances and ambiguities, runs parallel with America's emergence as a global superpower. The result is a defining account of one of our most consequential leaders.
The two years covered in the fifth volume of The Papers of George Catlett Marshall were among the most momentous in the life of Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall—and in the course of the twentieth century. A year of transitions for Marshall, 1945 witnessed the final assault on Nazi Germany and the use of atomic weapons against Japan. Allied forces under the command of Marshall's protege, Dwight D. Eisenhower, had contained Hitler's Ardennes offensive at the beginning of the year and launched the final drive to smash the German regime. The war against Japan seemed far from over, however, and Marshall was deeply involved in planning for the massive and difficult redeployment of troops and materials from Europe to the Pacific. The debate with the U.S. Navy over supreme command of the invasion of Japan continued through the first six months of the year until Marshall secured Douglas A. MacArthur's appointment. In May and June, the chief of staff was involved in the decision to use the new atom bomb. Military-related political problems continued to consume much of Marshall's time as the Second World War drew to a close, although he was only peripherally involved in the Big Three conferences at Yalta and Potsdam. Instead, demobilization and readying U.S. Army ground and air forces for the postwar era were Marshall's chief concerns. He pressed for a unified military department against navy opposition and also lobbied incessantly for universal military training for all physically fit eighteen-year-old males as the key element in the nation's military readiness and deterrent value. After the fighting ceased, Marshall expected to retire, having served on active duty since 1902, but President Truman kept him in office until late November 1945. The day after his retirement, the president asked him to go to China to mediate in that country's increasingly violent civil war. Despite his initial success in negotiating a cease-fire between the Nationalists and Communists, irreconcilable differences soon led to renewed fighting. Marshall's continued hopes for achieving a political compromise, along with knowledge that his mission was the only hope for avoiding a disaster in China, kept him in the country until early 1947. He returned to the United States only when the president announced that General Marshall would join his cabinet as secretary of state. From The Papers of George Catlett Marshall "The one great element in continuing the success of an offensive is maintaining the momentum. This was lost last fall when shortages caused by the limitation of port facilities made it impossible for us to get sufficient supplies to the armies to continue their sweep into Germany when they approached the German border. Once additional ports had been captured and reopened there was a shortage of rail and transportation facilities with which to get supplies forward. Now the port facilities and the interior supply lines are adequate. Subject to the worldwide shortage of both cargo and personnel shipping, there is no foreseeable shortage which will be imposed by physical events in the field."—Speech to the Overseas Press Club, March 1, 1945 "Today we celebrate a great victory, a day of solemn thanksgiving. My admiration and gratitude go first to those who have fallen, and to the men of the American armies of the air and ground whose complete devotion to duty and indomitable courage have overcome the enemy and every conceivable obstacle in achieving this historic victory."—Marshall V-E Day Radio Address, May 8, 1945
A military analyst delivers a revelatory account of the remarkable, evolving relationship forged between George Marshall and Dwight Eisenhower during World War II and into the Cold War.
Born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, George Catlett Marshall (1880-1959) attended the Virginia Military Institute and was named VMI’s First Captain in his senior year, because of his character and sense of duty more than scholastic achievement. In 1902, while a second lieutenant, Marshall married Elizabeth Carter Coles. During World War I, Marshall demonstrated his superior skill for organization and leadership on the staff of General John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Force in France. Between World Wars I and II, Marshall served as Pershing’s aide in Washington, DC, with troops in China, as an instructor at Fort Benning, Georgia, and at other posts throughout the United States. Marshall married Katherine Boyce Tupper Brown in 1930 after the death of his first wife in 1927. He commanded the Vancouver Barracks in Vancouver, Washington between 1936 and 1938 and was appointed Army Chief of Staff by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on September 1, 1939. “Pogue and Harrison show admirably how Marshall’s early life prepared him for his later responsibilities — his beginning as a second lieutenant in the Philippines, his service on Pershing’s staff in the First World War, three years in China in the Twenties, his exceptionally influential term at the Infantry Training School at Fort Benning, a period organizing CCC camps..., a time in exile when MacArthur sent him to the Illinois National Guard, thereby, as Marshall thought, ending his career, until Pershing’s insistent pressure brought him back to Washington and Harry Hopkins, impressed by his cool efficiency, urged him on Roosevelt. Education of a General is carefully researched, well composed and judiciously written. The portrait of Marshall is sympathetic but by no means worshipful.” — Arthur Schlesinger Jr., New York Review of Books “A highly readable and thoroughly satisfactory biography that provides as full and definitive an account of the general’s career to 1939 as is likely to appear for a long time... The portrait that emerges from these pages is clearly that of an outstanding officer in both staff and command, with wide experience in a variety of posts and a record for performing the tasks assigned to him superlatively well... an outstanding work of scholarship and a definitive record of George Marshall’s early years.” — Louis Morton, The Journal of Modern History “This [book] will be interesting to the professional historian for its insights into the early career of a great soldier, for much new material on the development of the military profession in the first half of the twentieth century, and also for its methodology... No effort was spared to make the work truly ‘definitive’... a well- written volume that is, and will likely remain, the best thing on Marshall’s formative year.” — Harry L. Coles, The Journal of American History “Simplicity of tactics; training for the unexpected; regarding as more important knowing when to make a decision than what the decision should be — these, and the ability to command by obtaining assent rather than by exacting formal obedience, were qualities characteristic of Marshall’s own disposition. And they were tied up with the... conviction... that American Army officers must know how to command a citizen army... the present volume can help to explain why Marshall was a great war leader.” — Kent Roberts Greenfield, Political Science Quarterly “The volume traces in a superb and detailed manner the progress of the General from childhood to the time he assumed the duties as Chief of Staff, U.S. Army in 1939... This book is a most scholarly account of the trials and tribulations of an exceptional Army officer during the period prior to 1939, and clearly demonstrates how the right man got to the right place at the right time.” — Naval War College Review “A provocative history of the Army during the years of Marshall’s rise... Because this is a book rich in research and information it raises questions as well as answers them. It promises to be one of the few indispensable works on the modern American Army.” — Russell F. Weigley, The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science “Pogue... presents logically the development of a junior officer... The annotations are bountiful and explicit, the bibliography of great value to historians, the persuasive rebuttal of widely circulated views of a decade ago most welcome. This well-organized and solidly written volume is good in itself and a welcome herald of the post-1939 volumes dealing with periods of great personal, national, and international controversy.” — Mark S. Watson, The American Historical Review “A work very much worth attention... Mr. Pogue’s book... is a fascinating story; it gives a detailed account of the way in which this rather cold and self-contained person became a gifted leader and master of men...” — Bruce Catton, American Heritage “This is a vastly thorough piece of research... a careful picture of the life and problems of an able American regular officer in the first third of the twentieth century.” — C. P. Stacey, International Journal “A book which resembles its subject in simplicity, directness, and thoroughness... This is an excellent example of military-historical writing, and an important contribution to the history of our times.” — H. A. De Weerd, The Virginia Quarterly Review
General George C. Marshall, chief of staff of the U.S. Army during World War II, faced the daunting task not only of overseeing two theaters of a global conflict but also of selecting the best generals to carry out American grand strategy. Marshall and His Generals is the first and only book to focus entirely on that selection process and the performances, both stellar and disappointing, that followed from it. Stephen Taaffe chronicles and critiques the background, character, achievements, and failures of the more than three dozen general officers chosen for top combat group commands—from commanders like Dwight Eisenhower and Douglas MacArthur to some nearly forgotten. Taaffe explores how and why Marshall selected the Army’s commanders. Among his chief criteria were character (including “unselfish and devoted purpose”), education, (whether at West Point, Fort Leavenworth, or the Army War College), and striking a balance between experience and relative youth in a war that required both wisdom and great physical stamina. As the war unfolded, Marshall also factored into his calculations the combat leadership his generals demonstrated and the opinions of his theater commanders. Taaffe brings into sharp focus the likes of Eisenhower, MacArthur, George Patton, Omar Bradley, Walter Krueger, Robert Eichelberger, Courtney Hodges, Lucian Truscott, J. Lawton Collins, Alexander “Sandy” Patch, Troy Middleton, Matthew Ridgeway, Mark Clark, and twenty-five other generals who served in the conflict. He describes their leadership and decision-making processes and provides miniature biographies and personality sketches of these men drawn from their personal papers, official records, and reflections of fellow officers. Delving deeper than other studies, this path-breaking work produces a seamless analysis of Marshall’s selection process of operational-level commanders. Taaffe also critiques the performance of these generals during the war and reveals the extent to which their actions served as stepping stones to advancement. Ambitious in scope and filled with sharp insights, Marshall and His Generals is essential reading for anyone interested in World War II and military leadership more generally.
