When Marshall returned to the United States in 1916, countries within Europe were fighting with one another in a conflict which would later be known as World War I. The United States did not want Germany to rule over other European countries or interfere with American travel and trade across the Atlantic, even though the U.S. had declared itself a neutral country. The sinking of American ships became unacceptable. In April 1917, the United States gave up its neutrality and declared war against Germany.

Most Americans supported President Wilson's decision to send troops to Europe, but didn't realize how few trained troops were actually ready to fight. George Marshall was assigned to the 1st Division as Head of Operations. He sailed across the Atlantic with the first ship of U.S. soldiers and landed in France as second man ashore in late June. In the next year and a half, more than two million American men would also cross the ocean before the Allies could force Germany to surrender. The Great War shocked the world with the ferocity of its battles and the immensity of its death toll. In total, over eight million people died in World War I, 28,000 of them American victims both of disease and of horrific new weaponry. Marshall was focused on his task at hand; preparing American men to fight in the war, and win.

Marshall's challenge was very real and very difficult. The first American troops to arrive in France were eager to fight, but entirely unprepared. Most had just been drafted; few knew how to handle their weapons, and none had experience working as a team. During this time in his life, Marshall had a terrible temper which was easily aroused. The top U.S. General, John Pershing, came to inspect the troops Marshall and other officers had been training and was displeased by their performance. He immediately blamed Marshall's superior officer, however Marshall felt the general had not fully understood the difficulties the officers faced daily in carrying out an almost impossible task and thus Pershing was unfairly harsh in judgment. Marshall's temper flared and he boldly spoke his mind. To the surprise of all who witnessed his outburst, Marshall was only rewarded with other assignments of higher responsibility.

Like many officers, Marshall wanted combat experience. Leading troops on the battlefield offered action and rapid promotion. Marshall had neither. When other officers marched off to the front lines, Marshall was kept back. In the eyes of his commanders, Marshall's talent for organizing and supporting troops was even more valuable than leading them into battle. Those planning skills were so impressive that the Army soon ordered Marshall from the battlefield altogether and sent him to its headquarters southeast of Paris, France. His most prominent talent had become a hindering asset.

As a loyal soldier, Marshall dutifully obeyed his orders. Although he didn't fully appreciate his new position, it gave him the chance to use his problem-solving skills to plan a very important Allied attack, the St. Mehiel and Meuse-Argonne offensives. Using only horse-drawn wagons, 900 small trucks, three roads, and three rail lines, Marshall managed to move 220,000 soldiers out of the western line in northern France, replace them with 600,000 new soldiers, and accomplish the entire task within two weeks in secret, at night. By November 1918, the Allied attacks forced Germany to the peace table at Versailles, ending the horrible war.

Marshall, George C.
Memoirs of My Services in the World War, 1917-1918
Edited by James L. Collins, Fr. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin, 1976

Skutt, Mary Stutton
George C. Marshall, Reporting for Duty
Lexington, Va.: Blue Valley Books, 2001