"The Papers of George Catlett Marshall comprise the eminent soldier and statesman s most noteworthy personal and official correspondence, speeches, congressional testimonies, and statements to the press. Each volume rewards readers with insight into the life and mind of a true American hero. These highly acclaimed works provide rich resources not only for scholars and students, but also for anyone interested in twentieth century American and world history, military operations, and the inner workings of politics and diplomacy. V.1. Follows Marshall from childhood to his appointment as acting Chief of Staff of the US Army. It covers his education at the Virginia Military Institute and early service in France, China and the Philippines, as well as his experiences as aide-de-camp to General John J. Pershing and as assistant commandant of the Infantry School as Fort Benning, Georgia, where he mentored future leaders such as Omar Bradley, Matthew Ridgway, Joseph Stilwell and, Walter Bedell Smith. V.2. Details Marshall's attempts to transform the United States military from obscurity into one of the greatest military forces in the world. This volume illuminates Marshall's rise to prominence as he faced challenges from both political parties and from within the army itself. V. 3. Examines Marshall's reorganization of the War Department as the United States officially entered World War II. Among the many changes he implemented, troop training, leadership and moral remained some of Marshall's top priorities. V. 4. Highlights Marshall's unique ability to get opposing factions to work together as the war progressed and the tide began to turn towards the Allies, including the preparation and execution of Operation OVERLORD, and the invasion of Normandy on D-Day. V. 5. Highlights Marshall's unique ability to get opposing factions to work together as the war progressed and the tide began to turn towards the Allies, including the preparation and execution of Operation OVERLORD, and the invasion of Normandy on D-Day. V. 6. The penultimate volume of the Marshall Papers series, details Marshall's involvement as secretary of state with the formal separation between the United States and its Soviet wartime ally and the ensuing beginnings of the cold war; civil wars in Greece and China; decolonization and independence of India, Pakistan, and Israel; and the emergence of major US polices such as the Truman Doctrine, containment, and the Marshall Plan. During this time he played a pivotal role in the transformation of American foreign policy. Implementing the European Recovery Program and other US foreign policies required Marshall to attend numerous international conferences and Senate and House committee hearings and to cultivate broad public support for the initiatives. His close relations with legislative leaders proved to be essential for securing extraordinary bipartisan congressional approval. This volume ends with Marshall's appointment as president of the American Red Cross. This seventh and final volume of The Papers of George Catlett Marshall covers the compelling and celebratory occasions during the last ten years of Marshall's life. During this time he also served as president of the American Red Cross, which, he wrote, necessitate travel of more than 30,000 miles and it seems to me 30,000 interview with never a question about the Red Cross. Despite the Korean War, Marshall s strategic focus remained on Europe and with it the establishment of a NATO military commander under General Dwight D. Eisenhower; sending additional US divisions to that commando efforts to convince the French to accept German rearmament within NATO; obtaining congressional approval for a major US military buildup that included his long-desired universal military training program; and proposing a large military Mutual Security Program for America s allies, which involved expanded military aid to other areas of the world, such as French Indochina. Marshall remained active and honored in retirement, particularly in 1953, when he led the US delegation to the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in June and won the Nobel Peace Prize in November-the first professional soldier to receive the honor. He continued as head of the American Battle Monuments commission, traveled extensively, made numerous public addresses, maintained an extensive correspondence with national and international leaders, and participated in anniversaries marking the success of the Marshall Plan. He also agreed to the establishment of the George C. Marshall Foundation to house his papers and participated in a series of oral histories with his authorized biographer, Dr. Forrest C. Pogue. When he died on October 16, 1959, George Catlett Marshall was hailed by many as the nation's greatest soldier-statesman since George Washington."--From the George C. Marshall Foundation website.

Volume 3 illuminates Marshall's evolving relationships with President Roosevelt and his selection of such commanders.

Marshall retired at the beginning of 1949, but his respite from public service would be short-lived.

This collection offers an interesting and penetrating look at the events that transpired and the man who orchestrated them.

This fourth volume of The Papers of George Catlett Marshall covers the nineteen months that constituted the heart of American participation in WWII, a period during which Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall was operating at the peak of his abilities as a politician, strategist, and coordinator. Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall's Pentagon office was the nerve center for United States ground and air forces during World War II. This fourth volume of The Papers of George Catlett Marshall covers the nineteen months that constituted the heart of American participation in the war, a period during which Marshall was operating at the peak of his abilities as a politician, strategist, and coordinator. Marshall was undoubtedly disappointed in late 1943 not to be chosen Supreme Allied Commander in Europe—a job that would have been granted to him had he demanded it. But many people, including President Roosevelt, considered him too important to America's war effort and to the alliance to move him out of Washington, D.C. As the documents in this volume demonstrate, Marshall directed great energy at maintaining and strengthening the crucial Anglo-American alliance through his participation in the great wartime decision-making conferences at Quebec, Cairo, and Teheran, and through his perseverance over strategic direction. This volume also reveals Marshall's efforts to maintain the alliances of army and navy services, ground and air forces, regular and reserve components, home front and combat theaters, military and civilian, and Pentagon and Congress. Army personnel increased to eight million by the end of these nineteen months, and Marshall moved vigorously to complete the creation, training, and transportation of combat units. He continually faced problems of logistics and shipping, research and development, finding exceptionally able leaders, and supplying support personnel. All the while, Marshall was planning for the postwar military by advocating Universal Military Training and a unified Department of Defense. "You are doing a grand job," he told General Eisenhower at the end of 1944, "go on and give them hell." The same might have been said of Marshall himself.

The two years covered in the fifth volume of The Papers of George Catlett Marshall were among the most momentous in the life of Army Chief of Staff George C. Marshall—and in the course of the twentieth century. A year of transitions for Marshall, 1945 witnessed the final assault on Nazi Germany and the use of atomic weapons against Japan. Allied forces under the command of Marshall's protege, Dwight D. Eisenhower, had contained Hitler's Ardennes offensive at the beginning of the year and launched the final drive to smash the German regime. The war against Japan seemed far from over, however, and Marshall was deeply involved in planning for the massive and difficult redeployment of troops and materials from Europe to the Pacific. The debate with the U.S. Navy over supreme command of the invasion of Japan continued through the first six months of the year until Marshall secured Douglas A. MacArthur's appointment. In May and June, the chief of staff was involved in the decision to use the new atom bomb. Military-related political problems continued to consume much of Marshall's time as the Second World War drew to a close, although he was only peripherally involved in the Big Three conferences at Yalta and Potsdam. Instead, demobilization and readying U.S. Army ground and air forces for the postwar era were Marshall's chief concerns. He pressed for a unified military department against navy opposition and also lobbied incessantly for universal military training for all physically fit eighteen-year-old males as the key element in the nation's military readiness and deterrent value. After the fighting ceased, Marshall expected to retire, having served on active duty since 1902, but President Truman kept him in office until late November 1945. The day after his retirement, the president asked him to go to China to mediate in that country's increasingly violent civil war. Despite his initial success in negotiating a cease-fire between the Nationalists and Communists, irreconcilable differences soon led to renewed fighting. Marshall's continued hopes for achieving a political compromise, along with knowledge that his mission was the only hope for avoiding a disaster in China, kept him in the country until early 1947. He returned to the United States only when the president announced that General Marshall would join his cabinet as secretary of state. From The Papers of George Catlett Marshall "The one great element in continuing the success of an offensive is maintaining the momentum. This was lost last fall when shortages caused by the limitation of port facilities made it impossible for us to get sufficient supplies to the armies to continue their sweep into Germany when they approached the German border. Once additional ports had been captured and reopened there was a shortage of rail and transportation facilities with which to get supplies forward. Now the port facilities and the interior supply lines are adequate. Subject to the worldwide shortage of both cargo and personnel shipping, there is no foreseeable shortage which will be imposed by physical events in the field."—Speech to the Overseas Press Club, March 1, 1945 "Today we celebrate a great victory, a day of solemn thanksgiving. My admiration and gratitude go first to those who have fallen, and to the men of the American armies of the air and ground whose complete devotion to duty and indomitable courage have overcome the enemy and every conceivable obstacle in achieving this historic victory."—Marshall V-E Day Radio Address, May 8, 1945