Hi Indy and team,
Not sure if this is an out of the foxholes question or an Eisenhower specific one. I am confused over Dwight D Eisenhower’s rank. He was general of the Army, but Pershing was general of the Armies (in theory a 6 star general). Pershing commanded all American forces in Europe, as did Eisenhower. Why was Eisenhower never promoted to that rank?
Sorry, I had to reenter the post and fix two minor errors.
The United States Congress gave the honorific title of General of the Armies to General John J. Pershing on September 3, 1919 as a lifetime appointment for his successful service as commander of the American Expeditionary Force in World War 1. There was no insignia created for the rank. So General of the Armies John J. Pershing will hold the rank from September 3, 1919 to his death on July 15, 1948.
During World War 2, legislation will be entered into Congress to create the ranks of General of the Army and Fleet Admiral so senior American Generals and Admirals will have equal rank to those of other Allied Nations. This legislation gets bogged down in Congress and will only pass on December 14, 1944. Public Law 482 authorized the temporary establishment of a 5-star rank of General of the Army and Fleet Admiral to match the rank of American commanders with the ranks of other Allied Nations during wartime. The ranks will be a lifetime appointment with the President having the ability to recall the appointees back to active duty if needed. General of the Armies Pershing was still alive when the Public Law was passed but he was suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease. Secretary of War Henry Stimson decided that it would be an insult to promote men to be equal in rank to Pershing which is why they held the title of General of the Army. Secretary of the Navy Frank Knox and all the men appointed to the ranks of General of the Army and Fleet Admiral agreed with Secretary Stimson’s decision.
Here is the lifetime appointment dates of the men given the title of General of the Army and Fleet Admiral:
Fleet Admiral William D. Leahy – December 15, 1944 to July 20, 1959
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, President Roosevelt’s Personal Chief of Staff (JCS)
General of the Army George C. Marshall – December 16, 1944 to October 16, 1959
Chief of Staff of the United States Army (JCS)
Fleet Admiral Ernest J. King – December 17, 1944 to June 25, 1956
Commander in Chief, United States Fleet (COMINCH), Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) (JCS)
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur – December 18, 1944 to April 5, 1964
Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces in the Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA)
Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz – December 19, 1944 to February 20, 1966
Commander in Chief, Pacific Ocean Areas (POA)
General of the Army Dwight D. Eisenhower – December 20, 1944 to March 28, 1969
Commander, Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF)
General of the Army Henry H. Arnold – December 21, 1944 to July 15, 1950
Commanding General of the United States Army Air Force (JCS)
The title will change to General of the Air Force Henry H. Arnold on September 18, 1947 with the creation of the United States Air Force
Fleet Admiral William F. Halsey Jr. – December 11, 1945 to August 16, 1959
Commander, South Pacific Area; Commander, United States Third Fleet
General of the Army Omar N. Bradley – September 20, 1950 to April 8, 1981
12th Army Group, United States Army – Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Korean War
The appointments alternated between the United States Navy and United States Army with the Joint Chiefs of Staff being appointed first and then the Theatre commanders based on time of service. The reason that General of the Army/Air Force Henry H. Arnold was apointed after the theatre commanders was that h was a subordinate of General of the Army George C. Marshall. The United States Army was divided into three separates forces in World War 2: United States Army Air Forces, United States Army Ground Forces, and United States Army Support Forces.
Even though South Pacific Area was subordinate command of the Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz Pacific Ocean Areas, Admiral William F. Halsey Jr. was appointed to the rank of Fleet Admiral because he did command American, British, French, Australian, and New Zealand forces in the South Pacific area. As commander of Third Fleet, Fleet Admiral Halsey successfully commanded operations against Imperial Japanese forces in the Central Pacific in the later stages of the war. So he was given the rank of Fleet Admiral for his services.
General Omar Bradley’s appointment to the rank of General of the Army was a political decision done by President Harry S. Truman to have a counterweight and someone of equal rank to counteract any decisions made by General of the Army Douglas MacArthur since General Braadley was chief of staff of the United States Army and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. During World War 2, General of the Army Bradley commanded the largest concentration of the United States Army in its history with 12th Army Group in charge of over 1,300,000 men in the 1st Army, 3rd Army, 9th Army, and 15th Army at the end of the war so he was qualified for the rank.