Term Paper on George C. Marshall

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George Catlett Marshall (December 31, 1880-October 16, 1959) was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. After graduation from Virginia Military Institute in 1901, he was commissioned in the US army as a second lieutenant and was sent to the Philippines. He resumed his education in 1906 and qualified for the Army Staff College. After completing his course, he served as an instructor for two years. During the World War I, Marshall served on the Western front and was among the planners of the Meuse-Argonne offensive in 1918. As a colonel, he served as aide to General John Pershing from 1919-24. He also spent some time on duty in China from 1924-27 and as an instructor at Fort Benning from 1927-33. Soon after this assigned, he was handed over the command of the 8th infantry and was made the commandant of 34 Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camps in Georgia, Florida and South Carolina. Marshall was promoted as brigadier general in October 1936, and was given command of the 5th Brigade at Vancouver Barracks in Washington. Soon after this, he got seriously ill and was operated to remove his thyroid gland. “In July, 1938, Marshall accepted a post with the General Staff in Washington, D. C., and in September, 1939, was named chief of staff, with the rank of general, by President Roosevelt. He became general of the army in 1944, the year in which Congress created that five-star rank.” During the World War II, Marshall served as chief of staff from 1939 to 1945. He proved to be and extraordinary efficient and strong military commander and proved his skills at every front. His services during the war period were recognized and appreciated, among others, by Sir Winston Churchill. Marshall resigned as Chief of Staff on 21st November 1945 but started a career as a diplomat and served as Secretary of State from 1947 to 1949. As one of principal advisers on strategy to President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Marshall participated in the Allied conferences at Casablanca, Quebec, Tehran (Teheran), Yalta, and Potsdam. He acted as a Secretary of Defense for one year during the Korean War. He is well known for his efforts in the post war economic rehabilitation of Europe. In 1953 Marshall was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace for his contribution to the recovery of Europe after the Second World War. George Marshall died in Washington on 16th October 1959.

Marshall Plan
During his tenure as a Secretary of State, he initiated his famous European Recovery Program (ERP) and commonly known as the Marshall Plan. Under the program, the United States government provided financial aid to Europe to support the economic recovery process. The six long devastating years of war had literally crippled the economy of Europe. The industries stopped functioning and people were threatened with starvation. The winter of 1946-47 was the worst year of the century for the region. In almost all the western European countries the situation was more or less the same
 

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