Jacob L. Devers
Jacob Loucks Devers (/ˈdɛvərz/; 8 September 1887 – 15 October 1979) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the 6th Army Group in the European Theater of World War II. He was involved in the development and adoption of numerous weapons, including the M4 Sherman and M26 Pershing tanks, the DUKW amphibious truck, the Bell H-13 Sioux helicopter, and the M16 rifle.
Jacob L. Devers
"Jamie", "Jake"
8 September 1887
York, Pennsylvania, United States
15 October 1979 (aged 92)
Washington, D.C., United States
United States
1909–1949
0-2599[1]
Business executive
Chairman, American Battle Monuments Commission
A graduate of the United States Military Academy, Devers was commissioned in the field artillery in 1909. During World War I, he was an instructor at the School of Fire at Fort Sill, Oklahoma and the November 11 armistice ended the fighting before he received orders to go to France. He traveled to France soon afterwards, where he attended the French artillery school at Treves. Between the world wars, he was a staunch advocate of mechanization when the idea of phasing out horses met strong resistance from conservative gunners.
When World War II broke out in Europe, Devers was stationed in Panama. He was promoted to major general in October 1940 and took command of the newly-formed 9th Infantry Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, a base whose construction he oversaw. Appointed Chief of the Armored Force in August 1941, he supervised its expansion from four armored divisions to sixteen. He was an articulate proponent of the emerging tactical doctrine of combined arms and rejected the American doctrine that held that tanks were for exploitation, not for fighting other tanks. He pressed American industry to produce more powerful engines and, often against the views of his superiors, pushed the development of the M4 Sherman, a medium tank with a 75 mm gun. Not satisfied with the Sherman, he called for still more heavily-armed and -armored tanks. He wanted 250 of the new M26 Pershing tanks for Operation Overlord but was overruled.
In May 1943, Devers became European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) commander. His principal tasks were overseeing preparation of detailed plans and the buildup of men and materiel for Overlord, and supporting the Combined Bomber Offensive. He clashed with General Dwight D. Eisenhower over the diversion of ETOUSA resources to Eisenhower's North African Theater of Operations. Eisenhower succeeded him at ETOUSA in January 1944, and Devers went to the Mediterranean as Commander North African Theater of Operations, United States Army (NATOUSA), and Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, Mediterranean Theater, to British General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson. Devers was involved in the organization, planning and leadership of Operation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France in August 1944. He led the 6th Army Group in France and Germany through the advance to the Rhine, the German counterattack in Operation Northwind, the operations to reduce the Colmar Pocket and the Western Allied invasion of Germany. After the war, he commanded the Army Ground Forces.
Early life and education[edit]
Jacob Loucks Devers was born in York, Pennsylvania on 8 September 1887.[2] His parents were Philip Devers, a watchmaker and partner in a jewelry store, and Ella Kate Loucks, a homemaker. He had two younger brothers, Frank and Phillip, and a younger sister, Catherine, known as Kitts.[3] The Devers, of Irish and Alsatian ancestry, were strict, hardworking, and religious. The family belonged to the Evangelical Lutheran Church, which did not believe in smoking or drinking. While providing a comfortable middle-class life for their children, the couple taught them to value dependability, integrity, and industriousness.[4]
Growing up in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, the young Jamie Devers, as he was called by his family, enjoyed the outdoors: camping, fishing, and hunting. He played all the usual boyhood sports and made friends easily with his engaging smile and cheerful personality. In addition to his household chores, he did odd jobs around the neighborhood and worked on the farm of his maternal grandfather, Jacob Loucks.[5] Initially, he was educated at Garfield Elementary School in York. He entered York High School in September 1901. A popular student, he was elected class president. He had an excellent academic record and earned high marks in mathematics and science. Always competitive despite being slightly built, the 120-pound (54 kg) 5-foot-10-inch (178 cm) Devers captained the basketball team, played defensive quarterback in football, and starred in baseball.[6]
Devers graduated from York High School in May 1905. He was accepted to Lehigh University, where he intended to study engineering,[7] but U.S. Representative Daniel F. Lafean offered him an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.[8] He entered in June with the class of 1909. Among his classmates were George S. Patton, William Hood Simpson, and Robert L. Eichelberger, who would also become four-star generals in World War II, and John C. H. Lee, who became a three-star general.[9] He did well in his studies and excelled in sports by playing shortstop on the Army baseball team and guard on the Army Black Knights' basketball squad.[10] He also played polo.[11] He graduated from West Point on 11 June 1909, ranking 39th in his class of 103, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in his chosen branch, the field artillery.[2] There were only nine positions available, but enough of the higher-ranking cadets chose other branches that Devers secured his first preference.[12]
World War II[edit]
Emergency[edit]
In August 1939, Devers and his wife, Georgie, boarded the Army transport Leonard Wood, bound for the Panama Canal Zone. There was at the time a genuine fear that a hostile nation might strike at the United States with an attack on the Panama Canal and prevent the movement of ships between the Pacific and the Atlantic. The outbreak of World War II in Europe in September 1939 led to an escalation of fears. Reinforcements including the 5th and 13th Infantry were sent to Panama. Devers became Chief of Staff to Major General David L. Stone, and then to Daniel Van Voorhis, who replaced Stone in December. He supervised construction projects and other improvements to the Panama Canal Zone defenses.[36]
On the recommendation of the new Chief of Staff of the Army, General George C. Marshall, and with the approval of Secretary of War Henry H. Woodring,[37] Devers was promoted over 474 other colonels to brigadier general on 1 May 1940,[38] becoming, at age 52, the youngest brigadier general in the army.[37][39] In July he was recalled to Washington from the Panama Canal Zone to assume command of the Provisional Brigade in the District of Columbia area. In September, Marshall, with the approval of new Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson, named Devers Senior U.S. Army representative to the Presidential Board tasked with surveying bases in the Caribbean and Newfoundland to be leased from the British under the Destroyers for Bases Agreement. When Devers said that he could use an Air Corps officer, Marshall told him to take the one outside his door, who happened to be Lieutenant Colonel Townsend E. Griffiss.[40]
Devers was promoted to major general on 1 October 1940 and was sent to command the newly-formed 9th Infantry Division at Fort Bragg (now Fort Liberty), North Carolina, to succeed Brigadier General Francis W. Honeycutt, who had been killed in an air crash. Devers supervised training of the 9th and managed Bragg's huge base expansion program. Devers directed basic and advanced infantry training at Bragg for the thousands of troops under his command: regular army, national guard, reservists, and draftees. Among his colonels was Alexander M. (Sandy) Patch, the commander of the 47th Infantry. During Devers's tour, Fort Bragg's strength grew from 5,400 to 67,000 soldiers. Meanwhile, he pushed forward immense construction projects for base housing, training facilities and roads on the overcrowded post. By working closely and co-operatively with engineers, local contractors, quartermasters and staff and by cutting through red tape, Devers oversaw completion of 2,500 buildings and 93 miles (150 km) of roads in six months.[40][41][42]
Armored Force[edit]
On 1 August 1941, General Marshall named Devers Chief of the Armored Force,[38][29] headquartered at Fort Knox, Kentucky, replacing the terminally-ill Major General Adna R. Chaffee, Jr.[29] Devers reported directly to Marshall. He was responsible for inspecting, organizing and training the army's armored divisions and separate non-divisional tank battalions, including all non-tank personnel assigned. McNair's Army General Headquarters (GHQ) was in tactical charge of all U.S. ground forces, but GHQ specifically did not control the semi-autonomous Armored Force,[43] which was considered a "quasi-arm."[44] The Armored Force had complete control of its own training, doctrine, and organization.[45] In a major reorganization of the War Department in March 1942, McNair was named Commander of a new component, Army Ground Forces (AGF), which replaced GHQ.[46] Relations between GHQ/AGF and the Armored Force were distant, and lines of authority and responsibility were often unclear. McNair seemed to prefer leaving Devers alone.[47]