Lloyd Fredendall: Difference between revisions

 

==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]]. Marshall was especially fond of the youthful-looking, cocky Fredendall, describing him as "one of the best" and remarking in a staff meeting when his name was mentioned, "I like that man; you can see determination all over his face." Fredendall himself was convinced that neither Eisenhower nor his deputy, Major General [[Mark W. Clark|Mark Clark]], wanted him in Africa since he was above both in pre-war rank. However, with such glowing testimonials from senior commanders, Eisenhower chose Fredendall to command the 39,000-man Central Task Force (the largest of three) in Operation Torch. Eisenhower cabled Marshall on November 12, 1942, four days after the invasion, "I bless the day you urged Fredendall upon me and cheerfully acknowledge that my earlier doubts of him were completely unfounded." Eisenhower, in notes dictated to [[Harry C. Butcher]] on December 12, 1942, said, "…[[George S. Patton|Patton]] I think comes closest to meeting every requirement made on a commander. Just after him I would, at present, rate Fredendall, although I do not believe the latter has the imagination in foreseeing and preparing for possible jobs of the future that Patton possesses." Eisenhower later came to regret both this assessment and his selection of Fredendall for the command.<ref name="ossad"/>