Product Description

Volume 3 illuminates Marshall's evolving relationships with President Roosevelt and his selection of such commanders as Dwight Eisenhower and Joseph Stilwell.

Customer Reviews (6)

An Important Comment On The Cold War
This basis for Senator Joe McCarthy's June 14, 1951, speech on the Senate floor which questioned the work of General George C. Marshall, Jr. And the aftermath found a growing divide on party lines concerning the motives of Sen. McCarthy and his work in unraveling the past and present Communist infiltration in the U.S. government.

Drafted by journalist Forrest Davis and given to Sen. McCarthy, the thesis of the 70,000 word work surrounds the policy choices of General Marshall, Jr., in World War II and in its immediate aftermath as Secretary of State & Secretary of Defense, which were ultimately the strategic goals of Moscow, with particular focus on the policies concerning the loss of China to the forces supporting Mao Zedong.

The questions brought forth by Sen. McCarthy played a role in the 1952 presidential campaign. Dwight Eisenhower, the Republican nominee,campaigned alongside McCarthy, and refused to defend the policies of Marshall, Jr.

This salvo had ramifications that continue to be debated today by historians. It remains as important piece in the Cold War puzzle that needs to be read.

The controversial Senator's take on an establishment "saint".
In 1951,Senator Joseph R. McCarthy made a lengthy speech(constantly interrupted)in the Senate,highly critical of the military and diplomatic career of General George C. Marshall(and other "public servants")during the Roosevelt and Truman administrations.The reaction from many quarters to this speech was one of indignant outrage.
In questioning the wisdom-indeed the very loyalty to the US-of Marshall,revered andsanctified as the "Organizer of victory" during World War 2,even Senator McCarthy's allies(such as Republican party chief Robert Taft),felt Joe may have gone too far.
To this day,it is McCarthy's "attack" on Marshall-Army chief,roving diplomat for Truman,Secretary of State and Defence Secretary-which is pointed to as being the "red-hunting" Senator's greatest political crime.This book,published in 1951,is basically a condensed version of McCarthy's speech,with some additional material.
Whether McCarthy was wholly responsible for writing the speech/book-or if,as some believe,it is largely the work of one of his more academic assistants,such as J.B. Matthews,is debatable.
Be that as it may,whoever has(like me)been informed by our "media" for decades that McCarthy's public attack on Marshall was a prime example of Joe's unholy wickedness,may have to revise their opinion after reading this book.The case made against Marshall,his proteges and advisors,is carefully argued,well supported by evidence-and devastating!Drawing on published memoirs by the politicians,military figures and such who were involved in the momentous events in which Marshall played a leading part,one is staggered by the scope of the indictment against him,and sobered by the thought of the other horrors which would have occured if Marshall(and others discussed here)had managed to get their way all the time(instead of just a lot of the time!).
Here we see Marshall's murky role in the Japan/Pearl harbour debacle,his monomania about opening a "Second front"-at a time when neither the US or the Britain could have mounted an assault on Nazi held Western Europe without colossal casualties and inevitable failure,solely to take the pressure off Stalin's forces in Russia(Stalin having been until very recently Hitler's ally and fellow plunderer of Europe);his sabotaging of the efforts of Churchill and others who were trying to prevent Russia occupying swathes of eastern europe and taking Berlin;his moves to see that Russia was brought into the war in the east(a strengthening of Stalin's hand quite unnecessary to the Allied war on Japan);his insistence on there being a land invasion of Japan(then defeated militarily,without supplies-as its Navy had gone-and suing for peace with the Allies)which would have seen massive needless loss of life among Allied servicemen;his role in ensuring Stalin got the territory he craved during behind the scenes manoevering at the big conferences like Tehran and Yalta;his willingness to forward the cause of Mao and his communist rebels at the expense of the Nationalist regime which led to decades of the Chairman's gory incompetent rule over China(turning it into an impoverished charnel house).
Anyone reading the indictment here will probably begin to wonder how on earth Marshall gained such a reputation as a sagacious guardian of the US and the free world's interests,and why he was thought of so highly by clever political operators like FDR,Truman and Eisenhower.Is this the story of a naive serial blunderer,whose errors were somehow turned into epics of reasoned statesmanship by a fawning gullible left/liberal media and political establishment-or were all these activities(which promoted the aims and ends of Stalin)coldly calculated and deliberate.We have the evidence from the previously secret US and Soviet intelligence archives that the infiltration into the power structure of the US by Soviet agents and fellow travelling allies was on a quite breathtaking scale in the 30's and 40's.Much more still remains locked in the archives of the Soviet intelligence services.There is uncontrovertable evidence that many of those previously declared by the "liberal consensus" to have been innocent victims of unscrupulous political witch hunters like McCarthy and the Un-American Activities Committee-from Alger Hiss and Harry Dexter White to the Rosenbergs-were in fact guilty as charged all along.Joe McCarthy came close to calling Marshall a traitor.Dwight Eisenhower,who coasted to prominence on Marshall's coat-tails,never forgave McCarthy for attacking his old mentor-it was one of the reasons why,as President,Ike finally joined the pack who were out to get the Junior Senator from Wisconsin,and helped destroy him politically during the 1954 Army Hearings and their aftermath.
Reading this book will help any impartial reader decide who was right about George Catlett Marshall.

Explains a great deal
In evaluating Senator McCarthy's book, I will compare the situation he analyzed with another more well-known situation.

From reading William Shirer's book "Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" I became aware that Neville Chamberlain helped precipitate World War 2 when he went to Munich.There, he appeased Hitler by allowing him to take chunks of Czechoslovakia and incorporate them into Germany, without a fight.Czechoslovakia was not even invited to these "negotiations."The situation was hopeless for that country; although it was well-armed and could have fought back Germany, the citizens capitulated and within a few weeks the entire country became engulfed by Germany.But that is all that Chamberlain did to encourage Germany into invading Czechoslovakia.To think that Chamberlain was a Nazi or a Nazi sympathizer might be overreacting.

Now, imagine that prior to Chamberlain coming to Munich, Germany was already invading Czechoslovakia by force.Not only that, but the Czechoslovak forces were steadily beating back the German army from the Sudeten regions.Suppose now, at the urging of Hitler, Chamberlain was to demand that the Czechoslovak forces cease-fire before taking back their lost territory, in the interests of "peace."Suppose that while assuring the British people, who wanted arms to be brought to Czechoslovakia, the arms were mysteriously sabotaged while being transported to Czechoslovakia in the care of Chamberlain.Suppose further that Chamberlain demanded that Czechoslovakia "reform" their government and hold elections, and allow the Nazis to be elected into their government positions, in the interest of "democracy."And that if they refused to comply, Chamberlain was going to withdraw British troops from, and discontinue aid to Czechoslovakia.Suppose that the Czechoslovaks conceded and ceased-fire but still this was not good enough for Chamberlain, who before returning to Britain, withdrew aid and troops, and made the statement, "With a stroke of the pen, I now disarm 39 divisions of the Czechoslovak army."Would you think that Chamberlain was a Nazi, had he committed these actions?Even if the man was considered by most of your countrymen to be a "war hero?"

In the previous paragraph, replace "Chamberlain" with "George Marshall," "Hitler" with "Chou En-Lai," "Munich" with "Yenan," "Germany" with "Russia and Red China," "Nazi" with "Communist" "Czechoslovakia" with "Free China," "Sudeten" with "Manchuria" and "British" with "American," and you get the idea, of what happened to China prior to it's fall to the Communists shortly after world war 2.Now we are faced with another question.

If you are yet undecided as to the answer of that question, then I suggest you read McCarthy's book, which is actually a transcription of a speech he made in the Senate.In spite of the media reaction to McCarthy and his speech, in the speech, and hence this book, much evidence is provided, and conclusions presented in a calm, objective manner.

A special section at the end of the book documents media reaction to the speech.Much vitriol was flung at McCarthy by editors of various newspapers.Much of the commentary demonstrated a complete lack of understanding of what McCarthy said, or worse.

It is a great injustice that Marshall is still considered to be a "war hero," when it is quite apparent that he committed numerous "errors," even prior to his shenanigans in China.The systematic nature of his errors, always in favor of the reds, explains a great deal why China is still communist today, and unlike Japan, has a government which is hostile to the US and may become increasingly so in the next several years.

McCarthy Is Correct
This small tome, expanding upon his speech in the Senate, provides a wealth of documented information regarding General Marshall and the deleterious effects his mistaken eforts have wrought on the US and the enslaved citizens of China.

A modern history of this subject with all the released information from the Venona files and the Soviet Union folded in would only enhance McCarthy's prescience in writing this book.

This book does not charge Marshall with being a spy, nor a Soviet agent, nor a communist, nor a fellow traveler, but whatever leanings Marshall had and how he was influenced by the Communists and American Traitors that were in charge of formulating and influencing the US's foreign policies, especially in the far east, are strongly inferred in this book.

This is a well written, well argued, and well documented book, that almost turns into a page turner and a one night read.

Fascinating Book By the Famous Senator
Senator Joseph McCarthy was a contemporary of General George Marshall (the WWII U.S. military officer who worked closely with President Roosevelt), both having lived through the events that are described in this book, so this is a fascinating, absorbing first-person account of that history and those times.Senator McCarthy certainly lives up to his "no holds barred" reputation for directness and controversy in this book.Highly recommended!

CHAPTERS:

Background Leading Up to the Marshall Speech

Marshall and the Second Front

The Struggle for Eastern Europe

The Yalta Sellout

Marshall and Stilwell

The Marshall Policy for China

The Marshall Mission

The Marshall Plan

The Marshall-Acheson Strategy for the Future

Appendix A:Source Material

Appendix B:Press Reaction to the Speech ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Unbelievable!
George Marshall, a name well known in the annals of American history, and is generally held in high esteem. Unfortunately, in this book, he is exposed as undermining American interests in post-WWII reconstruction. In fact McCarthy outright labels him a traitor. If that turns you away from this book because it sounds unbelievable, I caution you to not be so hasty. The reason being is that McCarthy uses numerous references from other authors, including Marshall's own words to convict him. This gave me tremendous insight into understanding the reason for the Korean conflict, MacArthur's dismissal, and the Cold War. ... Read more

Product Description

Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall's Pentagon office was the nerve center for United States ground and air forces during World War II. This fourth volume of The Papers of George Catlett Marshall covers the nineteen months that constituted the heart of American participation in the war, a period during which Marshall was operating at the peak of his abilities as a politician, strategist, and coordinator.

Marshall was undoubtedly disappointed in late 1943 not to be chosen Supreme Allied Commander in Europe -- a job that would have been granted to him had he demanded it. But many people, including President Roosevelt, considered him too important to America's war effort and to the alliance to move him out of Washington, D.C. As the documents in this volume demonstrate, Marshall directed great energy at maintaining and strengthening the crucial Anglo-American alliance through his participation in the great wartime decision-making conferences at Quebec, Cairo, and Teheran, and through his perseverance over strategic direction.

This volume also reveals Marshall's efforts to maintain the alliances of army and navy services, ground and air forces, regular and reserve components, home front and combat theaters, military and civilian, and Pentagon and Congress. Army personnel increased to eight million by the end of these nineteen months, and Marshall moved vigorously to complete the creation, training, and transportation of combat units. He continually faced problems of logistics and shipping, research and development, finding exceptionally able leaders, and supplying support personnel. All the while, Marshall was planning for the postwar military by advocating Universal Military Training and a unified Department of Defense. "You are doing a grand job," he told General Eisenhower at the end of 1944, "go on and give them hell." The same might have been said of Marshall himself.

Product Description

Volume 3 illuminates Marshall's evolving relationships with President Roosevelt and his selection of such commanders.

Product Description
The two years covered in the fifth volume of The Papers of George CatlettMarshall were among the most momentous in the life of Army Chief of Staff George C.Marshall—and in the course of the twentieth century. A year of transitions for Marshall, 1945witnessed the final assault on Nazi Germany and the use of atomic weapons against Japan. Alliedforces under the command of Marshall's protege, Dwight D. Eisenhower, had contained Hitler'sArdennes offensive at the beginning of the year and launched the final drive to smash theGerman regime.

The war against Japan seemed far from over, however, and Marshall was deeply involved inplanning for the massive and difficult redeployment of troops and materials from Europe to thePacific. The debate with the U.S. Navy over supreme command of the invasion of Japancontinued through the first six months of the year until Marshall secured Douglas A. MacArthur'sappointment. In May and June, the chief of staff was involved in the decision to use the newatom bomb.

Military-related political problems continued to consume much of Marshall's time as the SecondWorld War drew to a close, although he was only peripherally involved in the Big Threeconferences at Yalta and Potsdam. Instead, demobilization and readying U.S. Army ground andair forces for the postwar era were Marshall's chief concerns. He pressed for a unified militarydepartment against navy opposition and also lobbied incessantly for universal military trainingfor all physically fit eighteen-year-old males as the key element in the nation's military readinessand deterrent value.

After the fighting ceased, Marshall expected to retire, having served on active duty since 1902,but President Truman kept him in office until late November 1945. The day after his retirement,the president asked him to go to China to mediate in that country's increasingly violent civil war.Despite his initial success in negotiating a cease-fire between the Nationalists and Communists,irreconcilable differences soon led to renewed fighting. Marshall's continued hopes for achievinga political compromise, along with knowledge that his mission was the only hope for avoiding adisaster in China, kept him in the country until early 1947. He returned to the United States onlywhen the president announced that General Marshall would join his cabinet as secretary ofstate.From The Papers of George Catlett Marshall

"The one great element in continuing the success of an offensive is maintaining the momentum.This was lost last fall when shortages caused by the limitation of port facilities made itimpossible for us to get sufficient supplies to the armies to continue their sweep into Germanywhen they approached the German border. Once additional ports had been captured and reopenedthere was a shortage of rail and transportation facilities with which to get supplies forward. Nowthe port facilities and the interior supply lines are adequate. Subject to the worldwide shortage ofboth cargo and personnel shipping, there is no foreseeable shortage which will be imposed byphysical events in the field."—Speech to the Overseas Press Club, March 1, 1945

"Today we celebrate a great victory, a day of solemn thanksgiving. My admiration and gratitudego first to those who have fallen, and to the men of the American armies of the air and groundwhose complete devotion to duty and indomitable courage have overcome the enemy and everyconceivable obstacle in achieving this historic victory."—Marshall V-E Day Radio Address, May8, 1945

"Just a few months ago the world was completely convinced of the strength and courage of theUnited States. Now they see us falling back into our familiar peacetime habits. They witness thetremendous enthusiasm with which we mount demobilization and reconversion, but they see asyet no concrete evidence that we are determined to hold what we have won--permanently. Are wealready at this early date inviting that same international disrespect that prevailed before thiswar? Are we throwing away today what a million Americans died or were mutilated to achieve?Are we already shirking the responsibility of the victory?"—Speech to the New York HeraldTribune Forum, October 29, 1945 ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Dictionary of American History, brought to you by Gale®, a part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishing for libraries, schools and businesses.The length of the article is 2292 words.The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase.You can view it with any web browser.Focuses on cultures and countries around the world, specifically what is and is not shared culturally by the people who live in a particular country. Entries contain descriptive summaries of the country in question, including demographic, historical, cultural, economic, religious, and political information. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Air & Space Power Journal, published by U.S. Air Force on June 22, 2005. The length of the article is 1288 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: The Papers of George Catlett Marshall, vol. 5, "The Finest Soldier," January 1, 1945-January 7, 1947.(Book Review)
Author: Harold R. Winton
Publication: Air & Space Power Journal (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 22, 2005
Publisher: U.S. Air Force
Volume: 19Issue: 2Page: 111(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more