Lloyd Fredendall: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|American general during World War II}}

{{Infobox military person

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[[Lieutenant general (United States)|Lieutenant General]] '''Lloyd Ralston Fredendall''' (December 28, 1883 – October 4, 1963) was a general [[Officer (armed forces)|officer]] of the [[United States Army]] who served during [[World War II]]. He is best known for his leadership failure during the [[Battle of Kasserine Pass]], leading to one of America's worst defeats of [[World War II]], for which he was relieved of his command.<ref>{{cite news |last=Brimelow |first=Benjamin |date=February 22, 2022 |title=What the US's first humiliating encounter with the Nazis taught the Allies about how to win World War II |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/what-allied-defeat-at-kasserine-pass-taught-about-fighting-nazis-2022-2 |work=[[Business Insider]] |location=New York, NY |quote="Decades after the battle, Gen. Omar Bradley described it as a "complete disaster." "Even these many years later, it pains me to reflect on that disaster," Bradley said in an autobiography published in the 1980s. "It was probably the worst performance of U.S. Army troops in their whole proud history.""}}</ref>

 

As a result of his father's connections in the service and with local and state politicians, Fredendall secured an appointment from [[Wyoming]] [[United States Senator|Senator]] [[Francis E. Warren]] to enter the class of 1905 at the [[United States Military Academy]] (USMA). Described by a classmate as "a very soldierly little fellow, but extremely goaty in [[mathematics]]," Fredendall performed poorly in math as well as in general deportment, and was dismissed after just one semester.<ref name="ossad">{{cite news |first=Ossad |last=Steven L. |title=Command Failures: Lessons Learned from Lloyd R. Fredendall |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3723/is_200303/ai_n9222724 |work=Army Magazine |date=March 2003 |accessdate=November 20, 2008 }}</ref>{{efn|For West Point underclassmen, the [[United States Military Academy#Goat-Engineer game|"goats"]] are those ranked in the bottom half of the class. For seniors, the "goat" is the cadet ranked last in the graduating class.<ref>{{cite news |date=May 29, 2014 |title=The Curious Tradition of the West Point Goat |url=http://www.wnyc.org/story/cult-goat-west-point-tradition/ |newspaper=WNYC Radio |location=New York, NY}}</ref>}}

 

 

After service in the [[Philippines]] and other overseas and stateside assignments, Fredendall shipped out to the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]] with the [[28th Infantry Regiment (United States)|28th Infantry Regiment]] in August 1917, four months after the [[American entry into World War I]]. He held a succession of instructor assignments in the army's schools in France, and commanded one of its training centers.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Tucker |editor1-first=Spencer C. |date=2016|title=World War II: The Definitive Encyclopedia and Document Collection |volume=I |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wm_YDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA651 |location=Santa Barbara, CA |publisher=ABC-CLIO |page=651 |isbn=978-1-8510-9969-6 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> He built a record as an excellent teacher, trainer, and administrator, and ended the war as a temporary [[Lieutenant colonel (United States)|lieutenant colonel]].<ref name="ossad"/>

 

==Between the wars==

 

In December 1939, during World War II (although the United States was still neutral at this stage), Fredendall was promoted to the [[one-star rank]] of [[Brigadier general (United States)|brigadier general]], serving with the [[5th Infantry Division (United States)|5th Infantry Division]]. In October 1940, he was promoted to the [[two-star rank]] of [[Major general (United States)|major general]], and given command of the [[4th Infantry Division (United States)|4th Infantry Division]] until July 1941.

 

==World War II==

Fredendall's rise to military command in World War II was facilitated by [[General (United States)|General]] [[George Marshall]], the [[Chief of Staff of the United States Army|U.S. Army Chief of Staff]]; and [[Lieutenant general (United States)|Lieutenant General]] [[Lesley J. McNair]], the commander of [[Army Ground Forces]], a friend and colleague. McNair had included Fredendall on a list of the top three generals he believed capable of commanding all U.S. Army forces being sent to [[United Kingdom|Great Britain]]. Marshall, in turn, had recommended the swaggering Fredendall to Lieutenant General [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]] for a major command in the [[Allies of World War II|Allied]] invasion of North Africa, codenamed [[Operation Torch]].

 

 

===Tunisia, Oran, and Kasserine Pass===

 

After the Torch landings, Fredendall became the ''de facto'' military governor in [[Oran]]. Orders from his headquarters in the Grand Hotel of Oran were headed with "II Corps – In the Field," which prompted derision from his troops, who were living in spartan conditions.<ref>{{cite book |last=Atkinson |first=Rick |date=2002 |title=An Army at Dawn: The War in North Africa, 1942-1943 |url=https://archive.org/details/armyatdawnwarinn00atki |url-access=registration |location=New York |publisher=Henry Holt |page=[https://archive.org/details/armyatdawnwarinn00atki/page/273 273] |isbn=0-8050-8724-9}}</ref>

 

 

During the advance into Tunisia, Fredendall used an [[Military engineer|engineer]] [[Company (military unit)|company]] of the [[19th Engineer Regiment]] to build a large, dug-in [[corps]] headquarters [[bunker]] {{convert|70|mi}} behind the front in a place called Speedy Valley (nine miles southeast of [[Tébessa]]). Blasted and drilled out of solid rock, the bunker (actually two U-shaped complexes running {{convert|160|ft}} into the hillside) took three weeks to construct.<ref>Andrews, Peter, ''A Place to be Lousy In'', ''[[American Heritage Magazine]]'' (December 1991), Volume 42, Issue 8, pp. 100–109.</ref> An anti-aircraft battalion was emplaced to protect the headquarters. Fredendall also ordered a bulletproof [[Cadillac]] similar to Eisenhower's, and regularly phoned Oran to find out why it was not being delivered faster. Then-[[Brigadier general (United States)|Brigadier General]] [[Omar Bradley]] called the headquarters "an embarrassment to every American soldier," and General Eisenhower, the [[Supreme Allied Commander]] in North Africa, after viewing the elaborate structure, reminded his senior commanders that even generals must assume personal risk in combat.<ref>[[Stephen E. Ambrose|Ambrose, Stephen E.]], ''D-Day, June 6, 1944: The Climactic Battle of World War II'', Simon and Schuster (1994), {{ISBN|0-671-67334-3}}, {{ISBN|978-0-671-67334-5}}, p. 361: After observing Fredendall's huge underground HQ bunker located 70 miles behind the lines, Eisenhower had reminded his senior commanders that "Generals are expendable just as is any other item in an army."</ref> Fredendall rarely visited the front lines, and had a habit of disregarding advice from commanders who had been farther forward and had actually reconnoitered the terrain.<ref>MacDonald, Charles B., ''The Mighty Endeavor: The American War in Europe'', Da Capo Press (1992), {{ISBN|0-306-80486-7}}, {{ISBN|978-0-306-80486-1}}, pp. 125–126.</ref> He split up units and scattered them widely,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20101102191921/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,790808-1,00.html "Man Under A Star"], ''Time'' Magazine, March 29, 1943.</ref> and at critical defense points had positioned U.S. forces (against advice) too far apart for mutual support or effective employment of [[artillery]], the strongest American arm.<ref>Andrews, Peter, ''A Place to be Lousy In'', ''[[American Heritage (magazine)|American Heritage]]'' Magazine (December 1991), Volume 42, Issue 8, pp. 100–109.</ref><ref>MacDonald, pp. 125–126.</ref><ref>Carr, pp. 20–21.</ref>

Allied forces were bereft of [[air support]] during critical attacks, and were frequently positioned by the senior command in positions where they could not support each other. Subordinates later recalled their utter confusion at being handed conflicting orders, not knowing which general to obey—Anderson or Fredendall. While interviewing field commanders, Harmon heard much criticism over what many Allied officers viewed as a [[coward]]ly, confused, and out-of-touch command. Noting that Fredendall seemed out of touch (and at one point, intoxicated), he requested and received permission to go to the front and intervene where necessary to shore up Allied defenses.<ref>[[Carlo D'Este|D'Este, Carlo]], ''Eisenhower: A Soldier's Life'', Orion Publishing Group Ltd. (2003), {{ISBN|0-304-36658-7}}, {{ISBN|0-304-36658-7}}</ref>

 

 

On March 5, 1943, after the American [[Battle of Kasserine Pass|rout at Kasserine Pass]], Eisenhower visited II Corps headquarters and conferred with Brigadier General Bradley. Eisenhower asked "What do you think of the command here?" Bradley's response was "It's pretty bad. I've talked to all the [[Division (military)|division]] commanders. To a man they've lost confidence in Fredendall as the corps commander." British [[General (United Kingdom)|General]] [[Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis|Sir Harold Alexander]], the [[18th Army Group]] commander, informed Eisenhower that he would welcome a replacement for Fredendall.<ref>[[Martin Blumenson|Blumenson, Martin]], ''Masters of the Art of Command,'' Da Capo Press (1990), {{ISBN|0-306-80403-4}}, {{ISBN|978-0-306-80403-8}}, p. 284.</ref> Eisenhower offered the II Corps command to Harmon, who declined on the grounds that it would be unethical to appear to personally benefit from his negative assessment of Fredendall.

 

 

 

===Reassignment and stateside duty===

 

While commanding the [[Central Defense Command]] and the [[Second United States Army|U.S. Second Army]] at [[Memphis, Tennessee]], Fredendall supervised training and field maneuvers, gave away brides,<ref>"Captain and Army Nurse Wed", ''[[The New York Times]]'', December 10, 1944.</ref> and at first even granted interviews to members of the press. However, after a sarcastic comment on his generalship by a ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine reporter, Fredendall changed his mind, and largely blocked further press coverage of his command.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20081214173018/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,802667,00.html "Fredendall For Lear"], ''Time'' magazine, April 12, 1943.</ref> The widespread custom of [[Theater (warfare)|theater]] commanders to transfer senior commanders who had failed in battlefield assignments to stateside training commands did not in any way improve the reputation or [[morale]] of the latter, who were now saddled with the difficult job of convincing a disgraced commander to take the lead in advocating radical improvements in existing army training programs—programs which, like Fredendall himself, had contributed to the embarrassing U.S. Army reverses in [[North Africa]].<ref name="ossad"/>

 

 

Fredendall served through the end of the war in 1945, and retired on March 31, 1946.

 

==References==

 

==Additional sources==

 

==Further reading==

 

==External links==

*[http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3723/is_200303/ai_n9222724 ''Command Failures''], Steven L. Ossad (from findarticles.com)

*[https://generals.dk/general/Fredendall/Lloyd_Ralston/USA.html Generals of World War II]