George Marshall, as army chief of staff, organized the U.S. military for World War II, planned the strategy for the two-front war that defeated the Axis powers, and served as the primary adviser on all military matters for two presidents. Except when he attended major Allied strategy conferences or made rare visits to overseas rear staging areas, Marshall spent the entire World War II period working in Washington, D.C. Although he never heard “a shot fired in anger,” he stands out as one of the most influential generals in military history.
Born on December 31, 1880, in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, Marshall graduated from the Virginia Military Institute in 1901 and received a commission as a second lieutenant. During the years prior to World War I, Marshall served two tours in the Philippines and was given several additional ^assignments with troops and at schools in the American Midwest.
Promoted to captain in 1916, as a staff officer, Marshall accompanied the First Infantry Division to France in 1917. In August 1918, Marshall, now a temporary colonel, joined the staff of the First Army. In September, he planned and supervised the successful movement of a half million soldiers and nearly three thousand pieces of artillery to the Argonne front to begin a new offensive.
Marshall remained a staff officer for the duration of the war. After the armistice, he reverted to his permanent rank of captain and became an aide to General JOHN JOSEPH PERSHING . Marshall served under Pershing in his role as army chief of staff until 1924. During this period, Marshall advanced to permanent lieu¬tenant colonel; he learned from Pershing and made military and political connections that would serve him well in the future.
After leaving his position as aide, Marshall served tours in China, the Fort Benning Infantry School, and the Illinois National Guard before commanding the Eighth Infantry Regiment in South Carolina. In 1938 he joined the army’s general staff as a brigadier general. Marshall, already convinced of his future leadership role, began to keep a “black book” in which he recorded the names of officers who impressed him or possessed outstanding potential.
In September 1939, Marshall bypassed thirty-two officers who outranked him when President Franklin Roosevelt selected him to become the army chief of staff. Recognizing the possibility that the United States would enter the war in Europe, he began strategic planning and lobbying Congress to increase the force size and to properly arm and equip the army.
With the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the U.S. declaration of war, Marshall implemented his plans. As he increased the army from a mere two hundred thousand men to a massive force of 8 million soldiers, he reorganized the general staff and restructured his service into three major commands—army ground, army service, and army air forces. Using his “black book” as reference, Marshall personally selected the leaders of each of these commands as well as key officers throughout the army.
For the duration of World War II, Marshall remained a trusted adviser to President Roosevelt and, later, Harry Truman. Marshall attended the major Allied planning conferences at Casablanca and Potsdam. He was the primary American proponent of the two-front war strategy, with the first priority being the defeat of Germany. His ideas on the development of weapons and equipment proved instrumental in the rapid mobilization of the American public and its industrial base.
On several occasions during the war, particularly prior to the Operation Overlord invasion of Normandy, Marshall expressed a desire to directly command combat troops. Each time, his superiors reiterated that he could best serve his country and the war effort as a stateside staff officer and strategist.
One of Marshall’s most important characteristics, which kept him in good stead with the presidents he served, was his lack of personal political ambitions. Even his promotion to the five-star rank of General of the Army was intended to keep the American military leader on an equal basis with the British rank of field marshal rather than to appease any grandiose desires of Marshall. True to his demeanor, Marshall resigned his position shortly after the end of the war and recommended that DWIGHT DAVID EISENHOWER become his replacement.
Marshall’s retirement was short-lived. Ten days after he stepped down, President Truman convinced him to go to China as his representative to mediate the conflict between the Communists and Nationalists. Although the mission proved to be one of Marshall’s few failures, Truman named him secretary of state in January 1947. On June 5 the new secretary announced his ideas for a program to finance a European economic recovery. What became known as the Marshall Plan provided funding for war-torn Europe that made stronger friends of former allies and friends out of former enemies. The strategy of recovery also assisted in die resistance to the spread of communism into Western Europe. In 1953, Marshall received the Nobel Peace Prize for his plan, making him the only professional soldier ever so recognized.
Because of illness Marshall resigned as secretary of state in 1949. A year later, Truman again called on the general to become his secretary of defense. During his tenure in that position, Marshall ensured strong U.S. support of the United Nations and the North Adantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Marshall again re tired on September 12, 1951. He died on October 16, 1959, in Washington, D.C., and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Marshall may very well be the most influential staff offlccr in the history of warfare. From his position in Washington, he designed the force and selected the leaders who would achieve victory in World War II. Known for integrity, intelligence, and political acumen rather than prowess or bravery on the battlefield, Marshall was a key figure in winning the war and establishing the U.S. military as the strongest in the world. His later work in executing the Marshall Plan in effect rebuilt Western Europe and ensured the eventual defeat of communism and the breakup of the Soviet Union. Although fellow generals Eisenhower and MacArthur gained more fame due to their direct acdons at the front, Marshall’s indirect acdons from Washington had a greater influence on the war and its aftermath.