During World War II, whether it was Britain, Germany or France, there were marshal ranks, except for the United States, the highest rank in the history of the United States is a six-star general, and to this day, it has only been awarded to Washington and Pershing.
So the question is, why doesn't the United States have the rank of field marshal?
In fact, during World War II, there was an American general who was nominated as a marshal and was unanimously recognized by everyone, that is, George Marshall.
Speaking of Marshall, everyone is most familiar with the "Marshall Plan" of the United States to support Europe after the war, although it is highly respected, marshall in order to show respect for the living General Pershing, resolutely refused to be promoted to marshal, not even a six-star general. There was no way, the U.S. Military Department could only award him a five-star general in the end.
However, the Americans considered that since even a brilliant general like Marshall could not be a marshal, who could do it? As a result, the rank of marshal was simply abolished.
So, what kind of outstanding achievements did Marshall make, surpassing the father of the nation Washington and the genius General Pershing, and receiving the honor of "Marshal"? Let's take a look at Marshall's extraordinary life.
In fact, Marshall's military career is not what we imagine, debut is the peak, invincible to win hundreds of battles, on the contrary, marshall in the early years of embarrassment to no.
During Marshall's school days, the grades were often counted down, he was looked down upon by his father and brother every day at home, and when he was admitted to the military school, he was sent to wash the toilet because of his broken accent, and he was mixed in the army for 14 years, and he only became a small lieutenant... The list of "tragic experiences" is simply impossible to connect with the future general Marshall.
However, the world is so impermanent, and the good drama of grassroots counterattack has really been staged.
During World War I, Marshall's steady and down-to-earth style won the admiration of General Pershing, who promoted him to wartime lieutenant colonel and later became the director of the Fort Benning Infantry Academy.
This was just the beginning, but when World War II broke out, Marshall completely turned on rampage mode and became chief of staff of the U.S. Army in 1939. It is no exaggeration to say that Marshall played a pivotal role throughout World War II, and he had a profound impact on the military development of the United States during and after the war.
After Pearl Harbor, Marshall understood great pressure to carry out drastic military reforms, abandoning many World War I veterans and giving many up-and-coming stars more opportunities. Even as a sign of determination, he petitioned President Roosevelt to resign in order to give way to meritocracy.
It was precisely because of Marshall's determination that President Roosevelt gave him the highest power to select talents. As a result, the later five-star general and US President Eisenhower was promoted to major general; Patton, who was still working at the bottom, was directly promoted to the supreme commander of the armored forces; and the later "paratrooper fighting vehicle" General Bradley was also excavated.
It can be said that almost half of the top backbone personnel of the US military during World War II came from Marshall's direct or indirect promotion and recommendation.
In addition to selecting the best and the brightest, Marshall also laid out the grand strategy of "first Europe and then Asia" with his excellent strategic vision, in short, that is, after the United States entered the war, the combat focus was first on Europe, but then on the Asian battlefield.
Because he clearly realized that the strength of the Germans was far greater than that of the Japanese, only by killing Germany first could there be any hope of victory. Therefore, although the United States and Japan had a "Pearl Harbor feud" at that time, Marshall was still rational and did not choose to entangle too much with Japan.
This proved to be an extremely wise strategic choice. It was with the strong support of the United States that the Soviet Union was able to revive the dead in the endangered situation and eventually turn the tide of the war, laying the groundwork for the defeat of Germany.
Finally, it is worth mentioning the noble character of General Marshall, and even Zhou Enlai personally praised his upright style.
After World War II, Marshall came to China to handle the peace talks between the Kuomintang and the Republic. Once, Zhou Enlai fell asleep because he was too tired in his travels with Marshall, and the notebook he was carrying accidentally fell out.
You must know that this can record the specific information of Xiong Xianghui, a spy installed by our side inside the Kuomintang, which is very confidential, and at that time, the United States vigorously supported the Kuomintang. However, Marshall had no intention of peeping at all, he woke up Zhou Enlai, and personally returned it, without reading a word.
Later, every time Zhou Enlai recalled this incident, he called Marshall a gentleman and admired him very much.
Such a meritorious and good character person is not at all excessively awarded the rank of marshal.
History Inn Author: Mizuki