Operation Overlord

I once asked a friend of mine who was in the Army who was the greatest, most capable officer ever associated with the US Military. He said without hesitation, "General George Marshall." Churchill wrote this too him after the war. He was truly a great man.

“It has not fallen to your lot to command the great armies. You have had to create them, organise them, and inspire them. Under your guiding hand the mighty and valiant formations which have swept across France and Germany were brought into being and perfected in an amazingly short space of time. . . . You have been the mainspring of that marvellous organisation, the Combined Chiefs of Staff, whose conduct and relationship will ever be a model for the planning and supervision of Allied and Combined operations. There has grown in my breast through all these years of mental exertion a respect and admiration for your character and massive strength which has been a real comfort to your fellow-toilers, of whom I hope it will always be recorded that I was one.” (Churchill to Marshall, May 17, 1945)

That's a great post. He's condemned to have his name known to posterity without the man himself being recognised as he should.
 
I once asked a friend of mine who was in the Army who was the greatest, most capable officer ever associated with the US Military. He said without hesitation, "General George Marshall." Churchill wrote this too him after the war. He was truly a great man.

“It has not fallen to your lot to command the great armies. You have had to create them, organise them, and inspire them. Under your guiding hand the mighty and valiant formations which have swept across France and Germany were brought into being and perfected in an amazingly short space of time. . . . You have been the mainspring of that marvellous organisation, the Combined Chiefs of Staff, whose conduct and relationship will ever be a model for the planning and supervision of Allied and Combined operations. There has grown in my breast through all these years of mental exertion a respect and admiration for your character and massive strength which has been a real comfort to your fellow-toilers, of whom I hope it will always be recorded that I was one.” (Churchill to Marshall, May 17, 1945)

Wasn’t this the same man who instigated the Marshall Plan after the war that helped to rebuild Western Europe? The Russians refused to have anything to do with it as they wanted to control anything that went on in Eastern Europe.
 
That's a great post. He's condemned to have his name known to posterity without the man himself being recognised as he should.

Yeah. I can think of maybe three or four appearances in Hollywood films where he's a background character. But among American military officers he's a near god. There's a story that after a tour of duty in the Philippines, his commanding officer said he would like to serve with him again, provided Marshall was HIS commanding officer. The way a lot of former American military personnel see our European WWII theater of operations; "Patton was a great ass kicker but he was an egomaniac" and "Bradley was quiet but extremely dependable and loyal" and "Ike was the political guy who was always made sure his assignment performances were noted by higher command." But Marshall is always talked about in these hush tones of reverence among even enlisted men nowadays. I take it that he must have been quite an officer.
 
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He'll likely remain far better-known for his post-war role as Secretary of State in the Truman administration and the eponymous plan that saw much of Western Europe rebuilt.

Yep. That's what I mean - most have heard of the Marshall Plan, ask them about the man though...
 
Yeah. I can think of maybe three or four appearances in Hollywood films where he's a background character. But among American military officers he's a near god. There's a story that after a tour of duty in the Philippines, his commanding officer said he would like to service with him again, provided Marshall was HIS commanding officer. The way a lot of American military officers see the WWII theater of operations; "Patton was a great ass kicker but he was an egomaniac" and "Bradley was quiet but extremely dependable and loyal" and Ike "was the political guy who was always made his assignment duties was noted by higher command." But Marhsall is always talked about in these hush tones of reverence among even enlisted men nowadays. I take it that he must have been quite an officer.

It's quite often not the ones the public know that are held in the greatest esteem. I had a conversation with an American friend who idly wondered why there were so few great British generals. There are plenty of course, but I gently reminded him that a naval power with (usually) a small army was bound to have many more famous admirals than generals for one thing, but also pointed out that as far as the second World war went, Field Marshal Slim was perhaps the greatest British Army commander, adored by his troops because he cared about them, and a superb strategist. I believe his Defeat Into Victory is still compulsory reading in US officer training colleges as well as here.

But barely anyone in the public has heard of him - the Forgotten (far east) War indeed.
 
Wasn’t this the same man who instigated the Marshall Plan after the war that helped to rebuild Western Europe? The Russians refused to have anything to do with it as they wanted to control anything that went on in Eastern Europe.

Yes. He also won the Nobel Prize and became Secretary of State and Defense later. He had his later mistakes, of course. But then again, who doesn't?
 
It's quite often not the ones the public know that are held in the greatest esteem. I had a conversation with an American friend who idly wondered why there were so few great British generals. There are plenty of course, but I gently reminded him that a naval power with (usually) a small army was bound to have many more famous admirals than generals for one thing, but also pointed out that as far as the second World war went, Field Marshal Slim was perhaps the greatest British Army commander, adored by his troops because he cared about them, and a superb strategist. I believe his Defeat Into Victory is still compulsory reading in US officer training colleges as well as here.

But barely anyone in the public has heard of him - the Forgotten (far east) War indeed.

I believe Zhukov and Slim were probably the two greatest commanders in WWII. I know Eisenhower said that Zhukov was. But Slim's ability to motivate his troops was legendary. As far as Slims later life, an Aussie friend told me there was a scandal or something.
 
Yes. He also won the Nobel Prize and became Secretary of State and Defense later. He had his later mistakes, of course. But then again, who doesn't?

At this point, it's customary to highlight a British officer who has the greatest biographical entry in Wikipedia, bar none:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_Carton_de_Wiart

Lieutenant General Sir Adrian Paul Ghislain Carton de Wiart[1] VC, KBE, CB, CMG, DSO (5 May 1880 – 5 June 1963) was a British Army officer born of Belgian and Irish parents. He was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" in various Commonwealth countries.[2] He served in the Boer War, First World War, and Second World War. He was shot in the face, head, stomach, ankle, leg, hip, and ear; survived two plane crashes; tunnelled out of a prisoner-of-war camp; and tore off his own fingers when a doctor refused to amputate them. Describing his experiences in the First World War, he wrote, "Frankly I had enjoyed the war."[3]:89

I mean, fucking lol
 

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