Part of a series of articles titled Eisenhower in World War II.
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Eisenhower in 1942
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What was a pivotal year in your life?
For Dwight D. Eisenhower, very few of his 78 years were more pivotal in shaping the leader he would become than the year 1942.
Eisenhower began the year as a newly appointed planner for the Philippines and the Far East in the War Department. He had only been a temporary Brigadier General for three months and was little known outside of military circles. By the end of 1942, Ike was practically a household name in the United States. 1942 was the year of Eisenhower’s extraordinary development and growth as a senior officer in a fluid and chaotic environment. During the year, Ike brought stability to the fluidity and organization to the chaos. Before there was the seasoned and confident Eisenhower of 1944, there had to be Eisenhower in 1942.
For Eisenhower, as for so many around the world, the events of 1942 really began on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. At that time, Eisenhower was the Chief of Staff of the Third Army, based in San Antonio, Texas. On December 12, Ike received a phone call from Colonel Bedell Smith at the War Department. He was being summoned to the War Department in Washington D.C. to meet with the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, General George C. Marshall. Ike immediately packed a suitcase and located transportation to the War Department. Eisenhower arrived in Washington D.C. on December 14, 1941. Ike was led to the office of General Marshall.
There were two primary reasons why Marshall wanted to talk to Ike. First, Eisenhower had performed superbly in the Louisiana Maneuvers in August and September. The maneuvers were designed to see which senior officers could perform in the newly expanded and complicated U.S. Army. Ike, as the Chief of Staff of the Third Army, proved his superior strategic thinking, organization, and planning skills. The Third Army was victorious against the Second Army in two military exercises. Ike’s reputation in the U.S. Army had increased dramatically.
Second, The American Commonwealth of the Philippines was still under attack starting eight hours after the sneak attack at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. The Japanese attack and invasion of the Philippines was unfortunately several years of infamy. The situation in the Philippines was dire and critical, and General Marshall wanted Ike’s informed opinion on the subject.
Eisenhower had spent four years and two months, from October 1935 to December 1939, in the Philippines under General Douglas MacArthur. The general was the Military Advisor to the newly created Philippine Commonwealth. The goal of the advisor was to build a Philippine military that could deter a foreign invasion after independence was granted in 1946. Ike was MacArthur’s personal assistant. From the beginning, Eisenhower was serving more as the advisor than as the assistant. Ike was the officer dealing with President Quezon of the Philippines and senior U.S. Army and Navy officers in the Philippines. Ike had also contributed to the war planning for the islands.
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Once Ike entered General Marshall’s office, the Chief told Ike that the Far East was critical and gave Ike an updated intelligence briefing. He then asked Ike for his plan of action. Eisenhower had the confidence to ask for a few hours to prepare his plan. From a desk in the War Department, Ike drafted his succinct plan.
When Eisenhower met with Marshall a few hours later, he told the Chief the truth. The US cannot abandon the American and Filipino soldiers in the Philippines, but we cannot save them. All the war planning was contingent upon Pearl Harbor providing reinforcements and resupply to the Philippines. Pearl Harbor was devastated. Also, even if Pearl Harbor had never been attacked, the Japanese Imperial Navy controlled the sea lanes from Hawaii to Manila.
For the first time, Eisenhower proposed the use and buildup of Australia. The seas lanes from Hawaii to Australia could be controlled by the allies. The resupply of airplanes and equipment to the Philippines could be transported via Australia initially. Eisenhower’s Australia proposal on December 14, 1941, became the core strategy in the Pacific Theater.
Following Ike’s presentation to General Marshall, the Chief told Ike that there were many good officers in the War Department, but they keep coming to him for permission to do something. Marshall said that essentially his plate was too full and that he needed an officer to make his own decisions. At the end of the day, General Marshall promoted Ike to the Head of the War Planning Department for the Philippine and Far East.
Ike’s initiation to the War Department was disappointing. All he heard was talk but no action. He encountered Prima Donnas everywhere. There were not strategic objectives and common concepts. He witnessed senior officers chasing small things instead of pushing those decisions down the chain of command.
From the beginning, Ike was impressing the Chief. He worked until 10PM every day and suppressed illnesses. He was thinking big and not chasing small fires. In addition to his regular job, he took on extra tasks like contributing to a major reorganization of the War Planning Department. The Chief also liked that Ike stood up to his former boss, General Douglass MacArthur, who oversaw American and Filipino forces in the Philippines.
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Ike was working day and night to get aircraft, supplies, and equipment to the Philippines via submarines and transports from Australia. It was the US and British Navies that refused to commit its carriers and other vessels to the Philippines since the Imperial Japanese Navy’s dominance of the sea lanes to Bataan and Corregidor. When President Roosevelt ordered MacArthur to be evacuated from the Philippines, Ike thought that General Wainwright was the better general, and he should be the one evacuated.
During the difficult and challenging times in the War Department, Eisenhower also had to deal with sad family issues. His father, David Eisenhower, died on March 9, 1942. He comforted his mother, Ada, by telephone, but he told her that war was not soft. He did take thirty minutes of silence during the time of his father’s burial to reflected on his father’s life. On June 17, 1942, his brother, Roy, died unexpectedly. Ike provided financial support for his sister-in-law. Once again, Ike could not make the trip to Kansas for the funeral.
On February 16, 1942, after only two months at the War Department, Eisenhower was promoted to the Head of the War Planning Department. He now had the responsibility for the whole world. Immediately, Ike formalized global strategy for the department. He made the department proactive not reactive. The reorganization of the department that Ike had contributed was now designated the Operations Division (OPD) which included planning and operations.
General Marshall grew more and more impressed with Ike’s development. After a confrontation between Marshall and Ike on who should be promoted during World War II, Marshall promoted Ike to Major General on March 27, 1942. In the paperwork, Ike was listed as an operations officer and a deputy to Marshall. Ike said that he got Marshall’s “stamp of approval.”
After General Marshall made a trip to the U.K. in April 1942, he was very upset that the allies were not on the same page and that planning for a cross channel operation was not progressing. Marshall was also disappointed with the American command in the U.K. General Marshall wanted Ike to travel to the U.K for a second opinion.
Eisenhower confirmed Marshall’s observation and recommended that there should be a change in the American command. He said that new people would give “…punch behind the job…” Ike was especially appalled by the carefree attitudes of the American officers regarding five o’clock quitting time and taking weekends. Most of the Americans did not know their British counterparts.
When Ike returned to the War Department, he presented a memo to Marshall entitled “Command in England.” Ike recommended that the new commander should be a Lt. General that way the British would take him seriously. He also said that the new leader should understand British organization. Marshall told Ike to study it carefully because “You may be the man who executes it.” The Chief then asked Ike “When can you leave?’
Eisenhower arrived in the U.K. on June 24, 1942. He was promoted to Lt General on July 7, 1942. Before departing the War Department, Ike gave credit to his staff for his success. He also sent a letter to his mentor, retired General Fox Connor. Ike thanked him for imparting knowledge and education to him.
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Shortly after Eisenhower’s arrival in the U.K., Marshall and he accepted the reality that there would not be a cross channel operation in 1942. There was a lack of landing craft, and there was normally bad weather in the English Channel. The British feared a disaster if a crossing was launched in the fall of 1942. At that time, the U.K. was the major supplier of equipment and manpower. This was not 1944. Eisenhower learned to compromise with his allies.
During Ike’s arrival in England, a special relationship was started for him. John Moaney was assigned as Ike’s valet. John was an African American in a segregated U.S. Army. John had been doing vehicle maintenance when he interviewed for the job. John and Ike had many things in common, and a thirty-year relationship commenced. Ike ultimately called John “The Indispensable Man.”
Both the U.S. and the U.K. knew the urgency of keeping the Soviet Union in the war. They came up with a realistic alternative offensive for the Fall 1942. War planners thought that there would be only token resistance in North Africa. Ike was placed in charge of planning for Operation Torch in North Africa. On August 6, 1942, Ike was designated the Supreme Commander for the Allied Expeditionary Force.
As Eisenhower planned for the commencement of Operation Torch on November 8, 1942, there were several complications that had to be rectified. First, would the Vichy French military officers not oppose the operation, and would they join the U.S. and U.K.? The last thing that Ike wanted was French soldiers and sailors firing at the U.S. and U.K. forces. Second, would Spain’s General Franco be neutral during the offensive? Franco had accepted Nazi Germany’s support during its civil war. Also, the British possession of Gibraltar (just off the Spanish coast) would be an integral part of Operation Torch.
The objectives of the operation were to capture the North Africa Mediterranean Shores, then Tunisia and Tripoli, and continuing the push to the East. The Western Task Force, under Major General Patton, landed at Casablanca. The Center Task Force, under Major General Fredendall, landed at Oran, Algeria. The Eastern Task Force, under Major General Ryder, landed at Algiers, Algeria.
Eisenhower learned to be pragmatic when dealing with the French. He said that his position required him to be a soldier, statesman, politician, and a diplomat. He was self-taught since he had never learned the advance skills at Command and General Staff School and the Army War College. Ike decided to use Admiral Darlan, a fascist, to secure an armistice with all French forces in North Africa. The decision worked, but Ike was widely condemned for the Darlan Deal.
The offensive to the east was delayed several times. Eisenhower chose to wait for a logistical build up. The long-wet winter in North Africa had set in. The Nazi Germans were also having logistical problems.
By the end of 1942, Ike oversaw all Allied ground, naval, and air forces. He was learning the skills of command at the highest level. His decision-making skills had developed greatly. The stage was set for success in 1943.
Last updated: October 17, 2023