George Marshall: biography and interesting facts

George Catlett Marshall-Jr. - What comes to mind when you hear this name? Who is presented to you: a ruthless military man who attacked defenseless people with atomic bombardment, or the benevolent benefactor of Europe who received the Nobel Prize for his project?

It is noteworthy that Marshall's life and activities are full of mysteries and contradictions. Let's get to know him more closely and find out who he is, how he lived and how he became famous.

Childhood

Future General George Marshall was born in the distant 1880, in the small American town of Uniontown, located in the state of Pennsylvania.

The family lived on a broad foot, in prosperity and honor. My father sold coal and wood, my mother brought up three children.

Little George Catlett Marshall was no different from his peers. He was a bit too fat and lazy, he treated superficially for his studies. At the same time stood out a serious thoughtful character, was a little secretive and a bit arrogant.

Youth

Parents prepared their son for their successors, they wanted to see him as a calculating successful businessman. However, the young man did not want to go into the traders and chose a different kind of activity - the profession of the military.

Of course, my father was against it. But was it possible to stop this restrained, purposeful boy, secretly dreaming of conquering the whole world ?!

At the age of seventeen, George Marshall enrolled in the military institute of Virginia, where he drew attention with his rare restraint and poise.

Four years of training passed quickly and unnoticed, and now the biography of George Marshall begins to be full of the first military victories.

Start of activity

In the rank of junior lieutenant, a young enthusiastic military man falls into the distribution of infantry troops and leaves for the Philippines. After a year and a half of selfless service, he decides to raise his military qualification and receives the rank of captain.

At the age of thirty-seven, George Marshall goes to the front. The First World War was in full swing, the allies then won brilliant victories, then experienced terrible defeats. Europe is mired in blood, fear and murder.

Cold-blooded and unruffled, Marshall served as a communications officer at headquarters, carefully performing his immediate duties and genuinely surprised at how poorly prepared his countrymen were and how strange and inconsistently the allied forces acted.

He knew that it was impossible, he knew that he would have done differently. But nothing could be done to change something.

Stand out against the background of the commanders of the ambitious captain did not work, but there was a chance - a senior officer was ill who was in charge of an important military operation. Marshall defiantly and boldly took command of himself.

He quickly developed a battle plan, cleverly using all the necessary resources: human forces, maps and other documents.

Operation under the leadership of Mashall was successful. The content management appropriated to the brave and wise captain the rank of colonel.

After that there were other bright, brilliantly planned battles, for which George Cattletta was promised to give the general, but the war was already ending, and this promise vanished into obscurity.

After the war, he was even lowered in rank (which corresponded to the order of peacetime), but this did not cool the service ardor of an experienced military man.

After the war

Beginning in 1919, George Marshall received an honorary appointment under General Pershing, then served for three years in China, and later engaged in teaching at the infantry school of the State of Georgia. Such a multifaceted service brought the valiant military benefit: he gained influential patrons, learned the Chinese language, perfectly established himself among colleagues who respected him as an honest and professional person.

It is noteworthy that Marshall was one of the few who warned the leadership of the United States that the US army was not ready for war. He advocated the strengthening of troops and equipping with new equipment.

It is interesting that military activities did not prevent George Catlett from actively engaging in public affairs. For example, in the mid-1930s he was developing a large-scale program for the employment of young people (within the framework of Roosevelt's policy).

The Second World War

The events of 1939-1945 became an important milestone in the biography of George Marshall.

A year before the outbreak of hostilities, he moved to Washington, where he was appointed to the position of Assistant Chief of Military Planning (at the General Staff). Immediately after the declaration of war, a sensible leader was given the rank of general and entrusted with the management of the army's general staff.

Being in his responsible post, the newly-made general advocated selective military service and the creation of the national guard, managed to reorganize the military ministry and regularly engaged in strengthening the armed forces. With sufficient information, he repeatedly warned the government about the danger of an attack by Japan.

While planning many military operations that ended successfully for the US military, Marshall again attracted the attention of the president. He becomes Roosevelt's adviser on the conduct of hostilities, accompanies the head of state during various congresses and conferences, and supervises the work on creating an atomic bomb.

What heights did George Catlett achieve in his work? A second front was opened, supplies of arms and foodstuffs were supplied to the Soviet Union, a war with Italy was over and troops were sacked in Normandy for the occupation of fascist Germany.

It was not uncommon for the chief of staff to demand that he stay in the shadows and not claim his authorship of certain military operations.

A dark spot on the military biography

Is the general responsible for the use of atomic weapons against Hiroshima and Nagasaki? According to some sources, Marshall personally advised the president to apply radical measures. However, there is other information, according to which George Catlett believed that there was no need for an atomic bombing and regretted that during the operation many civilians were killed.

Later, commenting on this incident, the American general stated that nuclear weapons had to be used to end the war, but at the same time he admitted that the price of victory was too high.

Whatever it was, after the surrender of the Japanese, Marshall completed his military career and moved to the diplomatic service.

The post-war period

The first task of the fearless general was to fix the situation in China, protecting the country from the civil war. However, the good mission failed, and George Catlett returned to his homeland.

Then President Truman offered him the place of Secretary of State, which entailed serious responsibility. The new task of the aging Marshall was the improvement of foreign policy, that is, the restoration of international relations.

The enterprising American has reacted to his duties, as always, thoroughly and assiduously.

Marshall Plan

In those years, Europe was in ruins. Destroyed production buildings, starving people, a collapsed economy and horrendous inflation. All this against the background of terrible bloody memories depressed and overwhelmed the civilian population.

And the wise and prudent George Catlett offers his program to solve the international situation.

What was George Marshall's plan? For four years, America gratuitously handed over to the authorities of the sixteen states with which the treaty was signed, twelve billion dollars, which needed to be used only for the restoration of enterprises (or the formation of new ones), as well as for creating jobs.

Countries that received assistance under the Marshall program: England, France, West Germany, Holland, Austria, Belgium and others. Later on, Japan and other East Asian states were included in this list.

The USSR and Finland refused to help.

One of the conditions of the "Marshall Plan" was the requirement to remove Communist parties from governments.

The states that were assisted in accordance with this program, in twenty years could take a worthy place among the world's leading countries.

It is not surprising that for the creation of his Plan, Marshall received the Nobel Prize. In addition to the Nobel Prize, George Marshall is noted by other honorary titles, awarded with many orders and medals. His name is educational institutions and avenues.

George Marshall: filmography

The image of the illustrious Marshall is reflected in the military drama of Steven Spielberg "Saving Private Ryan", where the American general appears in front of the audience as his colleagues knew: fearless, honest, reasonable and virtuous.

George Catlett Marshall died at the age of seventy-eight.