Quote:
Originally Posted by Amnorix
The main one is Dwight Eisenhower, who was finally made a Lt. Col. in 1936 after 16 years as a Major, was given his first star on October 3, 1941, and had never held active commadn above the battallion level. By December of '43 he was given command of Operation Overlord. While Ike had an impressive background, there's no doubt that Marshall reached down into the ranks and elevated some guys far more quickly than would have been the case in the "old" army, pissing off some senior guys in the process.
I would need to check my book on Marshall to find too many other names. I'm pretty sure Clark (commander in Italy and then in Operation Dragoon (Southern France) was one, as was Freydenhall (sp?) who initially commanded in the Tunisian campaign, but was relieved when it turned out that he was a disaster.
Remind me, if I don't post anything further on this, and I"ll check my biography on Marshall.
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I thought he might have meant Dwight (that much was on wikipedia)... but i hadn't considered someone born in 1890, to be young, up and coming 50 years later, but i suppose 50 isn't all that old after all...