Biography of general george marshall

He also worked to rebuild the relationship between the Defense and State Departments, as well as the relationship between the Secretary of Defense and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. A secret "eyes only" signal from Marshall to MacArthur on 29 Septemberdeclared the Truman administration's commitment: "We want you to feel unhampered strategically and tactically to proceed north of the 38th Parallel ".

Marshall and the Joint Chiefs of Staff were generally supportive of MacArthur because they were of the view that field commanders should be able to exercise their best judgment in accomplishing the intent of their superiors. In the debate over what to do about China's increased involvement, Marshall opposed a cease-fire on the grounds that it would make the U.

When British Prime Minister Clement Attlee suggested diplomatic overtures to China, Marshall opposed, arguing that it was impossible to negotiate with the Communist government. In addition, Marshall expressed concern that concessions to China would undermine confidence in the U. When some in Congress favored expanding the war in Korea and confronting China, Marshall argued against a wider war in Korea, continuing instead to stress the importance of containing the Soviet Union during the Cold War battle for primacy in Europe.

Averell Harriman to discuss whether MacArthur should be removed from command. Harriman was emphatically in favor of MacArthur's relief, but Bradley opposed it. All four so advise. On 11 AprilTruman directed transmittal of an order to MacArthur, issued over Bradley's signature, relieving MacArthur of his assignment in Korea and directing him to turn over command to Matthew Ridgway.

In Septemberafter 49 years of continuous public service, Marshall retired to his home, Dodona Manorin Leesburg, Virginia. It was at Dodona Manor that Marshall enjoyed his favorite food, roast leg of lamb, and his favorite beverage, an old fashioned. There is nothing I would so much prefer to do this spring as to turn my mind to the wholesome business of gardening rather than the terrible problems and tragedies of war.

Katherine's love of roses was well known, leading inventor Eugene S. Boerner to create the Katherine Tupper Marshall Rose, a pink hybrid tea rose. Marshall wrote to General Joseph McNarney in March saying, "I am naturally hesitant to become personally involved in individual personnel problems, but in this case, am deeply concerned about the overall moral factor if our foreign national cemeteries are not adequately maintained After retiring, Marshall largely withdrew from public life.

Biography of general george marshall: The son of a coal merchant,

George Marshall was the youngest of three siblings. She died on 15 Septemberafter thyroid surgery that strained her weak heart. On 15 OctoberMarshall married Katherine Boyce Tupper 8 October — 18 December ; [ ] [ ] They had no children, but she was the mother of three children with Baltimore lawyer Clifton Stevenson Brown. President Eisenhower ordered flags flown at half-staff and was among the guests invited for the funeral service held at Fort Myer.

Averell Harriman and Generals Omar N. Bradley, Alfred M. Gruentherand Matthew B. James Episcopal Church in Leesburg conducted the chapel and graveside services, assisted by former chief chaplain and National Cathedral Canon the Reverend Luther Miller. The flag that draped Marshall's casket was folded and given to Mrs. Marshall by a VMI cadet. As William Taylor and other historians have recently emphasized, George Marshall was the best-known and most active — and most selfless — American leader in the early Cold War.

His leadership had a distinct, signature style [ ] which contained "Disdain for false speaking and dissembling", "Aura of Authority" and "Immensity of Integrity". However, he suffered several defeats — he failed in the year-long effort to resolve the Chinese Civil War; he was defeated in his proposal to impose universal military service on all American men; and he was overruled by President Truman when he opposed the recognition of Israel.

Historians agree that Truman depended heavily upon Marshall's prestige at a time of intensely bitter partisanship. Wilson Miscamble points to Marshall's delayed recognition of the threat posed by the Soviet Union — not until April did he realize the dangers. Miscamble concludes that recent studies show that Marshall was:. An important contributor but hardly a dominant figure in the making of postwar American foreign policy.

He had a special gift for delegation and he drew forth impressive contributions from various capable subordinates. Marshall's reputation for excellence as a military organizer and planner was recognized early in his career and became known throughout the Army. In a performance appraisal prepared while Marshall was a lieutenant in the Philippines, his superior, Captain E.

Williams responded to the routine question of whether he would want the evaluated officer to serve under his command again by writing of Marshall "Should the exigencies of active service place him in exalted command I would be glad to serve under him. InLieutenant Colonel Johnson Hagood completed a written evaluation of Marshall's performance in which he called Marshall a military genius.

Responding to the question of whether he would want his subordinate Marshall to serve under him again, Hagood wrote "Yes, but I would prefer to serve under his command. Stimson, the Secretary of Warpaid tribute to Marshall in front of a gathering of members of the Army staff, concluding with: "I have seen a great many soldiers in my lifetime and you, Sir, are the finest soldier I have ever known.

Historians credit the high regard others had for Marshall's personal integrity as another reason for his positive legacy. In another incident that highlighted Marshall's reputation for integrity, when President Franklin Roosevelt, a former Assistant Secretary of the Navyfavored the Navy during World War II planning, Marshall suggested that Roosevelt stop referring to the Navy as "us" and the Army as "them.

In addition to his military success, Marshall is primarily remembered as the driving force behind the Marshall Plan, which provided billions of dollars in aid to post war Europe to restart the economies of the destroyed countries. In recent years, the cooperation required between former European adversaries as part of the Marshall Plan has been recognized as one of the earliest factors that led to European integration beginning with the formation of the European Coal and Steel Communityand eventually the formation of the European Union.

In a television interview after leaving office, Truman was asked which American he thought had made the greatest contribution of the preceding 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.

Orson Welles said in a interview with Dick Cavett that "Marshall is the greatest man I ever met I think he was the greatest human being who was also a great man He was a tremendous gentleman: an old fashioned biography of general george marshall which isn't with us anymore. The young man was starstruck to have accidentally stumbled upon Marshall, yet Marshall still patiently and politely engaged the soldier in conversation.

Two non-profit organizations, the George C. Marshall Foundation and the George C. Marshall International Center, actively propagate General Marshall's legacy. The Marshall Foundation oversees Marshall's official papers and over two million other documents relating to the 20th century. The International Center preserves Marshall's home, Dodona Manor, as a museum and hosts educational programs focusing on Marshall's life, leadership, and role in American history.

On 30 Aprilthe George C. It shows Marshall in uniform walking across a bronze bridge, facing east, to greet new friends and allies and was designed by artist Christiane Horn of Wartenberg, Bavaria. Vernon A. Waltersformer U. Marshall's dates of rank were: [ 6 ] [ ]. He retired from the Army on 28 February and returned to active duty on 1 March Contents move to sidebar hide.

Article Talk. Read Edit View history. Tools Tools. Download as PDF Printable version. In other projects. Wikimedia Commons Wikiquote Wikisource Wikidata item. American army officer and statesman — For other uses, see George Marshall disambiguation and General Marshall disambiguation. Official military portrait, Lily Carter Coles. Katherine Boyce Tupper Brown.

All-Southern Marshall's voice. George C. Pennsylvania Historical Marker. Early life and education [ edit ]. Early infantry career and the Philippines [ edit ]. World War I [ edit ]. Between the wars [ edit ]. World War II [ edit ]. Expands military force fortyfold [ edit ]. Replacement system criticized [ edit ]. Planned invasion of Europe [ edit ].

Analysis of Pearl Harbor intelligence failure [ edit ]. Mission to China [ edit ]. Main article: Marshall Mission. Secretary of State [ edit ]. Secretary of Defense [ edit ]. Korean War [ edit ].

Biography of general george marshall: GCB (31 December – 16 October

Relief of General MacArthur [ edit ]. Main article: Relief of Douglas MacArthur. Later life [ edit ]. Retirement [ edit ]. American Battle Monuments Commission [ edit ]. Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II [ edit ]. Family life [ edit ]. Death and burial [ edit ]. Reputation and legacy [ edit ]. Tributes and memorials [ edit ]. For a more comprehensive list, see List of memorials to George C.

Fictional portrayals [ edit ]. Dates of rank [ edit ].

Biography of general george marshall: George C. Marshall was general

Awards and decorations [ edit ]. Civilian honors [ edit ]. Honorary degrees [ edit ]. This list is incomplete ; you can help by adding missing items. August See also [ edit ]. Notes [ edit ]. Graham, September 23, [Washington, D. I myself was the only member of the family born up north I married two Virginians, very ardent Virginians, and I went to school in a very ardent, historical Virginia section school.

By his superior professional attainments, his tactical skill, his sound judgment, and his courageous conduct in obtaining information through personal visits to the most exposed lines, he contributed in a determining manner to the training, morale, and operations of the Division in the Toul Sector, the Cantigny Sector, and the movement for the offensive at Soissons.

He had always refused to vote because he subscribed to the belief that a professional soldier should remain above politics, but he took other steps to insulate himself from the corrupting influence of power once he became chief of staff Uldrich In fact, on one occasion, I think it was over Palestine actually, he told the President — I was told by somebody at the meeting — "Mr.

President, if you take this action I wouldn't vote for you, but of course I don't vote. References [ edit ]. Marshall Historical Marker". Exploring PA History. Retrieved 4 January Hessen, Robert ed. Marshall Foundation". Retrieved 2 August Retrieved 4 June Social News". Richmond Times-Dispatch. Richmond, VA. D-1 — via Newspapers. George Marshall: Defender of the Republic.

Inhe became an aide-de-camp to Pershing. Between andwhile Pershing was army chief of staff, Marshall worked in a number of positions in the U. Army, focusing on training and teaching modern, mechanized warfare. He was a key planner and writer in the War Department, spent three years in Chinaand taught at the Army War College. 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 in October He would hold this post until the end of the war in As chief of staff, Marshall oversaw the largest military expansion in U. Inhe became the second U. This position is the American equivalent in rank to field marshal. Marshall once joked that he was glad the U. Army and Army Air Corps reorganized and ready for combat.

Marshall wrote the document that would become the central strategy for all Allied operations in Europe, selected Dwight Eisenhower as Supreme Commander in Europe, and designed Operation Overlordthe invasion of Normandy. His success in working with Congress and President Roosevelt, along with his refusal to lobby for the position, ultimately resulted in his being passed over as the supreme allied commander in charge of the D-Day invasion.

At the time, the President told him: "I couldn't sleep nights, George, if you were out of Washington. He was characterized as the organizer of Allied victory by Winston Churchill. Time magazine named Marshall Man of the Year in Marshall resigned his post of chief of staff inbut did not retire, as regulations stipulate that generals of the army remain on active duty for life.

Marshall had no leverage over the communists, but 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 His mission a failure, he returned in January May suggests the reason was that his first priority was to spend money on his Marshall Plan of aid to Europe.

On his return in earlyPresident Truman appointed Marshall secretary of state. He became the spokesman for the State Department's ambitious plans to rebuild Europe. On June 5,at a speech at Harvard Universityhe outlined the American plan. Truman wanted to call the plan the Truman Plan, but was warned that the "biography of general george marshall" would sink before it took off if named that.

As secretary of state, Marshall strongly opposed recognizing the State of Israeltelling Truman, "If you [recognize the state of Israel] and if I were to vote in the election, I would vote against you. He died on 16 October Search term:. Read more. This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets CSS enabled.

While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets CSS if you are able to do so. Army in September had scarcely any modern weaponry and was roughly the size of the Dutch army that survived less than a biography of general george marshall against the German blitzkrieg in By the time the U.

Army began fighting the Wehrmacht inits effective combat strength had increased more than tenfold. Marshall was the architect of this remarkable buildup. Marshall keenly appreciated that success in a multitheater coalition war required harmonious civil-military, interservice, and interallied relationships. He won the confidence of President Franklin Roosevelt, worked effectively with his naval counterpart, Admiral Ernest King, and ensured coordination of American and British military leadership through the Combined Chiefs of Staff and unity of command in combat theaters.

Marshall proved less sure-footed in his approach to the most important strategic choice facing the United States in World War II: when and where to employ American forces on a large scale. Until American forces had gained more experience against the Wehrmacht, until command of the Atlantic was achieved in mid, and until command of the air was secured in earlyan amphibious assault across the English Channel would have carried great military risk.

Franklin Roosevelt, although overruling the chief of staff on this crucial strategic issue, came to regard him as so indispensable in Washington that, when the cross-Channel assault was finally mounted inhe could not let Marshall assume command of the invasion force. The general was sorely disappointed but characteristically never uttered a word of complaint.