Nonfiction Book Review: The Rise of the G.I. Army, 1940–1941 by Paul Dickson

By Jonathan Newman | Avondale Regional Branch Library

Many thousands of books have been written about World War II and most aspects of the war have been covered at length. The same could be said for the pre-war causes and major characters. Paul Dickson's book The Rise of the G.I. Army, 1940–1941: The Forgotten Story of How America Forged a Powerful Army Before Pearl Harbor focuses instead on the peacetime efforts to build up the Army (with a brief mention of the Navy and other services) before the outbreak of war. What happened after Germany invaded Poland in September 1939 was a wake-up call for those in the government and military command. America at that time had a small standing Army of 189,000 men and a decaying National Guard that was almost useless.

Dickson shows how the Army had almost died as a viable force during the 1930s. Budget cutbacks and lack of investment in new technology had reduced the Army from one of the largest in the world at the end of World War I to the 17th largest by 1939. It was also woefully armed with most men still using the bolt-action 1903 Springfield rifle, few machine guns, mortars, artillery, and tanks. General George C. Marshall realized that Germany was leading the way towards the battlefield of the future.

One factor which is surprising is how the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was a major source of men for the Army during the buildup. Known as “Roosevelt’s Tree Army,” the young men who worked together were eventually to bring the discipline and skills acquired during the construction of roads, buildings, bridges, and other infrastructure and put them to good use in the military. The CCC actually paid its workers more than the regular soldiers in the Army—$30 per month versus $21.75 for Army privates. But the CCC required the men it employed to send most of their pay home to their families. The Army did not and this was used by canny recruiters to encourage selected applicants to join the Army

The role of General George C. Marshall is also highlighted. Appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt as chief of staff for the Army, Marshall began to immediately lobby for more money, work towards weeding out old and inferior officers, and lay the groundwork for the draft. Marshall knew that the United States was in no way prepared to fight a war against Germany or Japan. By setting up maneuvers in 1940 that showed the weakness and lack of weapons and transport, Marshall revealed to the press and the Congress that the United States was in danger.

Officials in the army and the government who wanted to enlarge and improve the Army faced a largely uncaring Congress and public. Many people embraced the isolationist creed and felt that even the United States involvement in World War I had been a mistake. Some members of Congress were determined to oppose a draft or any other moves towards funding the military due to the economic struggles still plaguing the country. Others were “non-interventionists” even after the outbreak of war in Europe (Japan had invaded China in 1931) and felt the U.S. had no business preparing for war. President Roosevelt, Secretary of War Henry Stimson, and General Marshall worked tirelessly to overcome this attitude. They had help from voices in the media who recognized the danger Adolf Hitler posed.

One of the major improvements initiated by General Marshall was better conditions for the men, promoting junior officers like then Colonel Dwight D. Eisenhower and George S. Patton and creating schools to train non-commissioned officers drawn from the enlisted men. This improved morale and gave the new recruits and junior officers an incentive to work hard and be agents for change.

One of the areas that is addressed by this work is that of segregation in the military at the time. Both the Navy and the Army Air Corps were almost 100% white. Leaders of the civil rights movement such as A. Phillip Randolph and others petitioned Roosevelt for integration and promotion for black officers. But unfortunately, many black men were relegated to supply and maintenance and denied promotions. Marshall was not a progressive on this front and only after several years were all-black units formed to go into combat. The 761st Tank Destroyer Battalion was one that acquitted itself well, and the all-black 93rd Division fought in the Pacific. Unfortunately, it would remain for President Harry Truman to issue an ordered for full integration of the armed forces in 1948.

As the war approached, several large scale maneuvers were carried out, in some cases using almost all of the Regular Army and many national guardsmen. Trucks carrying signs saying “tank” and soldiers using broomsticks for machine guns created a sense in the general public that the United States had to improve. Congress got on board by barely passing a law for the universal conscription of all able-bodied men aged 18–25, and by passing a law extending the terms of service for the existing troops. Coupled with extremely large spending bills for new materials and base construction and improvements, these moves enabled General Marshall and his staff to begin to catch up to the Axis powers.

When war was declared on December 8, 1941, many men had just been sent home on furloughs for Christmas. In a preview of the next 4 years, many returned and immediately began preparations for the defense of the Continental United States. Soon enough, even greater sacrifices would be required of both the military and civilian population. Within one year, these preparations would bear fruit as Eisenhower and Patton oversaw the invasion of North Africa and the relatively quick defeat of German forces there. But without an army 10 times as large as it was in 1939, this would not have been possible. In fact, the reverse may have been true. If Hitler had struck first in the United States, we might have had to sue for peace.

Thanks to the behind-the-scenes work of General Marshall and other staff officers and the political force of President Roosevelt’s administration and a newly united Congress, that didn’t happen. Paul Dickson does a superb job of covering all these points and others affecting the Army in this extremely critical period. The Rise of the G.I. Army is very well documented, with over 30 pages of footnotes and a 10-plus page bibliography. The maps and illustration provide a snapshot of this time period at a turning point in our history and society. Readers with an interest in the training and development of the force that won the war would do well to read this engaging but not overwhelming account of the army of the “Greatest Generation.”