US Generals Of WWII

World War II was a critical period for America, not to mention the world as well. Throughout all the fighting and bloodshed, Americans returned home successful. Over 700,000 soldiers were disabled after the war, thankful for their lives. All the success and happiness of this country wouldn't have been possible if not for the bravery, courage, and strategies of our U.S. Generals. They provided the smarts, the morale, and motivation for our soldiers, navy, and airforce to come out victorious and recognized as the best in world history. The five major generals (George Marshall, Dwight Eisenhower, George Patton, Omar Bradley, and Douglas MacArthur) shall never be forgotten as the best generals America has ever had.

General George C. Marshall was Army Chief of Staff during World War II. General Marshall planned some important strategies against the Japanese. He was born on December 31, 1880, in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, and was educated at Virginia Military Institute. He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the infantry in 1901 and served in the Philippine Islands from 1902 to 1903. During World War I he served as chief of operations with the U.S. First Army in France. He became a colonel in 1918 and received wide military recognition for his handling of troops and equipment during the Saint Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne operations. From 1919 to 1924 he was aide to the U.S. commander in chief, General John Pershing, and during the next three years he saw service in China. Marshall taught in various army schools and organizations from 1927 to 1936, when he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general.

In 1939 Marshall was appointed U.S. army chief of staff with the rank of general. He directed U.S. preparations for war over two years, and after the nation's entry into World War II in December 1941, he was chiefly responsible for the training, organization, and deployment of U.S. troops in all sectors of the fighting, and for the appointment of commanders in all major operations. As one of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's principal advisers on strategy, Marshall participated in the Allied conferences at Casablanca, Qu'bec, Tehran (Teheran), Yalta, and Potsdam. In 1944 he was promoted to the rank of General of the Army. When he retired in 1945, President Harry S. Truman appointed him special representative, with the rank of ambassador, to China. He spent two years in China attempting to mediate the differences between the Chinese Communist and Nationalist leaders, but was unsuccessful. (Alexandria, pg. 24)

One of Marshall's briefings was called Operation Downfall, which was Marshall's final blow against the city of Hirohito. This strategy had two parts in able to be accomplished. The first part was named Code Olympic and the main priority would be to send 815, 548 American soldiers to invade Kyushu, which was the southernmost part of the Japanese islands, and overwhelm anyone or anything that stood in their way. The second part was called Operation Coronet, which was the invasion of Honshu. In Code Olympic, there were 31,000 American casualties in only 30 days but this did not distract General Marshall. In the words of General George Marshall, 'It is a grim fact that there is not an easy, bloodless was to victory in war.' The Japanese knew they were defeated, so both sides negotiated or peace.

On June 5, 1947 George C. Marshall created a document called the Marshall Plan. This document stated that during the post-war, America should help the infrastructure of Europe, which was facing famine and an economic crisis. This document lead to the Economic Cooperation of 1948 and it restored Europe's industrial and agricultural productivity. (Stone, pg. 119)

Th Marshall plan was followed by the Conference for European Economic Co-operation and Development. The two main countries that joined this plan were Great Britain and France. The invitation was sent to the governments of Albania, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey and Yugoslavia. Unfortunately, Russia refused to be part of the plan. As time goes by, many other countries refuse to be involved. The organization held limited meetings and in March 18, 1947 they hold their final meeting. (secondworldwar.com)

Dwight D. Eisenhower (or 'Ike') can arguably be considered as the best general of World War II. On the morning of October 14, 1890, Dwight David Eisenhower was born in a two-story frame house at the corner of Lamar Avenue and Day Street in Denison, Texas. Ike was the only one of David and Ida Eisenhower's seven children born in Texas. The future leader of the free world in war and peace was born in a railroad neighborhood, with the family home nestled within a few yards of three railroad lines.

He showed great leadership and courage as he graduated in his officer class. In 1918 he received the rank of Major in the military hierarchy and remained the same rank for a long 16 years. Later he was assigned chief of war plans in 1941 after receiving the attention of General George Patton.

Dwight Eisenhower was American military leader and 34th president of the United States. He was the supreme commander of the Allies in Europe during World War II and the first Supreme Commander of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) forces. As a soldier he commanded the invasion of Normandy and, in the Battle of Bulge, the defeated Germany's last offensive. As president he ended the Korean Warin 1953, launched the Interstate Highway System, built up America's nuclear arsenal, and kept peace while pursuing a policy of containing Communism throughout the world. (Stone, pg. 57-58)

Under Eisenhower's command, 100,000 American troops and landed in nearly nine sites in North Africa on November 8, 1942. They overwhelmed the Vichy government and seized many French colonial ports in Cassablanca in Morocco and Oran and Algiers in Algeria. Eisenhower hoped he could finish the final steps of his plan within two weeks, which was to move his army to the coastal cities of Tunis and Bizerte, Tunisia because of Axis reinforcements and a possible defeat. On the other side of the war, Hitler sent in the reinforcements only one day after the American invasion and stopped the Allies in Tunis. Under command for the Axis powers was General Erwin Rommel, who was before driven from Egypt by Britain's General Bernard Law Montgomery. Seeking revenge for his previous defeat, Rommel attacked the Allies and forced them to retreat fifty miles to Kasserine Pass. (Alexandria, pg. 45)

General Eisenhower was also part of Operation Overlord. This strategy was to assault the German occupied Western Europe and ease the pressure of the Soviets. Eisenhower scheduled the invasion date for Monday, June 4, 1944. He would send aircraft carrying paratroopers, who could not be seen at night as they were covered in darkness. Luckily the moonlight identified their drop zones. A low tide aided seaborne forces by exposing mines and other deadly traps planted by the Germans offshore. At Eisenhower's command, Overlord's 175,000 assault troops, 5000 ships and craft, 50,000 vehicles and 11,000 aircraft bombarded Normandy. The German defense only contained of 30,000 troops and 3,500 vehicles. After a long bloody battle, the Allies prevailed over the Axis Powers. (Stone, pg.87-89)

George S. Patton was a well-educated man who went to West Point. He was a great athlete, but unfortunately didn't do so well in Mathematics and French. He participated in the 1912 summer Olympic games where he performed swimming, cross-country running, shooting and riding. In the swimming event, he collapsed from exhaustion and was received by the aid of a boat hook. He placed 5th place overall. In 1916, Patton joined Woodrow Wilson to pursue Poncho Villa. Patton single handedly took out three soldiers. This was the start of a real American fighter. (Blumenson, pg. 21)

One of the reasons why Patton was so successful was methods strategy using both skill and pinpoint tactics. One of his tactics would be properly using his Third Army, which originated in August 1st, 1944 at approximately 1200 hours. The Third Army astonished the world in terms of statistics and challenged the imagination of many. The Third Army only had one general order, to seek out the enemy, trap him, and destroy them. The Germans never knew what to expect from Patton or his American Blitzkrieg because their fighting methods were so different than other generals were. They tore open German lines and trapped thousands of soldiers. Most were either killed or surrendered. (www.angelfire.com/il/georgespattonjr/patinfo.html)

The significance of the Third Army is that they constantly attack. They would fight anyplace, anytime, rain, snow, sleet, or shine. The thing about the Third Army was that ...

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