He expanded the military force fortyfold
An interesting fact about George Marshall is that he expanded the military force fortyfold. As Chief of Staff, Marshall oversaw the largest military expansion in US history, taking over an outmoded, poorly equipped army of 189,000 men and, in part, drawing on his experience teaching and developing modern warfare techniques as an instructor at the Army War College, coordinating the large-scale expansion and modernization of the US Army. Beginning in July 1940, he was heavily aided in this effort by Henry Stimson, the newly appointed Secretary of War. Marshall was a great organizer with a penchant for encouraging other officers, despite the fact that he had never actually led troops in combat.
Faced with the need to transform an army of former citizens into a force of more than eight million soldiers by 1942 (a fortyfold increase in three years), Marshall urged McNair, commander of Army Ground Forces, to concentrate efforts on rapidly creating enormous numbers of soldiers. With the exception of airborne troops, Marshall agreed to McNair's suggestion for a shorter training schedule for men entering Army land forces training, notably in terms of basic infantry abilities, weapon competence, and combat tactics. At the time, most lower-level US commanders had little or no combat experience. Many resorted to formulaic training methods emphasizing static defense and orderly large-scale advances by motorized convoys along improved roads in the absence of feedback from experienced British or Allied combat officers on the nature of modern warfare and enemy tactics. As a result, Army forces going to Africa as part of Operation Torch suffered significant initial reverses when they encountered German armored combat formations in the Battle of Kasserine Pass and other major battles. Even as late as 1944, American soldiers completing stateside training in preparation for deployment against German forces in Europe were not trained on the combat procedures and tactics used there.
Marshall may have facilitated the largest military extension in US history. This was a feat he accomplished in three years thanks to his involvement with the Army War College and his unique ability to persuade officials. By 1942, the United States had over 8,000,000 fighters.
