Returning to America at the end of 1939, Lieutenant Colonel Eisenhower was situated in unfamiliar waters. As a main assistant to General Douglas MacArthur, he understood the hostile tensions and expansionist goals of the Japanese within Asia and the Pacific Ocean. Eisenhower also kept a watchful eye on Hitler’s drive to take territories in the late 1930s, and like many older officers, he believed that war was inevitable for America. But he was not confident that the Army had a place for him under the new leadership of Chief of Staff George C. Marshall.
During the next three years, through a series of positions, Eisenhower received his chance to lead as Marshall and President Franklin D. Roosevelt pushed for military preparation. After Eisenhower left Fort Ord, California, for Fort Lewis, Washington, he was the chief of staff for General Thompson, the commander of the Third Division. Around this time, Eisenhower watched as the German Wehrmacht turned against the French after the “Phony War” to quickly defeat France’s large army, which lacked the will to fight another brutal war. American military leaders were astonished at the quick French surrender and the superiority of the German forces. From 1939 to 1941, American trade and foreign policy concerns gravitated toward the British, who fought for survival under Prime Minister Winston Churchill as they sought to hold out against the Third Reich.
Eisenhower had not originally known Marshall, who was in the midst of rebuilding the United States military. When the war began, the American Army was the seventeenth-largest in the world, behind Romania, with 190,000 soldiers. Like at the start of World War I, Marshall endured the problem of American forces being grossly unprepared for war, with older officers, poor equipment, and a lack of modern military thinking. As the United States initiated the Selective Service draft to increase the strength and training capabilities of the Army, there were only 14,000 officers. Many of these officers ranged from captain to lieutenant colonel and averaged forty-eight years old. Although there were numerous outstanding officers who later held many responsible positions in Europe and the Pacific during World War II, none of them, at this point in 1940, had ever commanded large columns of soldiers, outside of MacArthur.
From the disastrous Neutrality Acts, the American military lacked modern weapons, did not have enough anti-aircraft guns to defend a single American city, and was vulnerable as the Germans conducted a masterful blitzkrieg. Marshall was concerned that there were too many older officers who were beyond their prime to command against the tenacity of the Japanese and Germans. Even General George S. Patton feared that he would be forced to retire through Marshall’s youth movement, which sought to retire older officers and replace them with younger ones. While Patton was an armor specialist, there were only 464 tanks in the Army, with older officers still advocating for the cavalry at the same time that Germany and Japan seemed invincible.
Eisenhower desperately wanted to serve with the troops, believing that this was the best way to stay in the Army. He was assigned to Lieutenant General John L. DeWitt’s Fourth Army as a staff officer, a position he reluctantly accepted. When Eisenhower planned maneuvers for this Army, he came across Marshall, who was present to observe the forces, and Marshall asked him how he was adapting to life away from the Philippines. Shortly later, Eisenhower was ordered to command the 15th Infantry at Fort Lewis, Washington, where the future five-star general desired to command an infantry battalion. Eisenhower always feared that he would be left out of the coming war and believed that his best way to avoid the purge of older officers was to be in the field leading soldiers.
At Fort Lewis, Eisenhower easily made friends and was accepted into a weekly poker game, where he showcased his ability to defeat the opposition. Writing to Colonel Omar Bradley, Eisenhower was pleased to be with the soldiers and stated, “…. I could not conceive of a better job; except, of course, having one’s own regiment, which is out of the question because of rank…” Eisenhower was never sure of his placement in the Army, as he fully believed that Patton would be quickly promoted into a leadership position. Patton informed Eisenhower that he would request him as a chief of staff or as a regimental commander. Responding to Patton, Eisenhower wrote that he would “….do a damn good job of commanding a regiment…” Years later, when Eisenhower had difficulty with Patton, he admitted that it had once been his goal to serve under his leadership.
Again, Eisenhower did not serve with the troops but was ordered to work on the General Staff’s War Plans Operations. Eisenhower was not pleased with this position, but over the next year he was promoted to colonel and was requested by Lieutenant General Walter Krueger to become his chief of staff. Moving up the ranks and into new assignments, Eisenhower was sent to Fort Sam Houston and prepared for the massive Louisiana Maneuvers. Now commanding an Army of about 1.5 million soldiers, Marshall observed the skills of officers, how they handled adverse combat operations, their ability to attack, and how they cared for their soldiers. Even with strong isolationist feelings in the nation, both Marshall and President Franklin D. Roosevelt felt that America continually had to train for war.
Americans read newspaper accounts of the fighting that developed between the “Red” and “Blue” forces that opposed each other in Louisiana. Eisenhower provided masterful planning, observed that many officers were not ready for modern warfare, and was considered a rising star. His tent became a main thoroughfare for officers and reporters alike to discuss military matters, as one writer claimed that a “certain Colonel Eisenhower makes more sense than any of the rest of them.” Eisenhower was known for having a short temper, but he was highly regarded for his ability to understand the larger military picture and communicate those views to other officers.
These domestic war games created and destroyed careers through Marshall’s observations and his willingness to promote younger officers to key positions. Marshall enjoyed watching Patton’s 2nd Armored Division outflank the enemy by moving 350 miles to assault and capture the Red Force. Marshall weeded out officers, some of whom were his friends, with thirty-one out of forty-two Army corps and division commanders being replaced, demoted, or retired. Eisenhower survived this command onslaught and was increasingly brought to Marshall’s attention, leading to his promotion to brigadier general. There were moments when Marshall made so many changes that damaged the careers of older friends that he asked Roosevelt to accept his resignation, but the President refused.
Respect for Eisenhower continued to grow as Marshall was advised that he was capable of leading a division. During the Carolina Maneuvers, Marshall spoke to General Mark Clark and asked him to name ten officers to head the War Plans Operations Division. Clark responded with one name — Eisenhower. Several days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Colonel Walter Bedell Smith called Eisenhower and, at Marshall’s direction, ordered him directly to Washington, D.C. Eisenhower was promoted and gained respect, but he feared becoming only a planner instead of a combat leader. He told his wife, Mamie, “I will be home in a couple of days.” After she responded that he could be gone longer, Eisenhower erupted, “That would be just my luck to sit out this war too!”
Next week: Command stories of Eisenhower in Europe during the war.