Investigation into the Reliefs of Generals Orlando Ward and Terry Allen
Abstract
Between April and August 1943, the U.S. Army's II Corps saw two of its division commanders relieved of their commands. Each relief appeared tied to battlefield setbacks. MG Orlando Ward of the 1st Armored Division was relieved after his division failed to seize a narrow mountain pass near the town of Maknassy, in Tunisia. Ward's superiors labeled him too cautious, unwilling, or unable to motivate his soldiers to take their objective. Months later on the island of Sicily, MG Terry Allen was relieved of command of the 1st Infantry Division. His relief followed the failure to seize the Sicilian town of Troina. Allen's superiors accused him of being too hesitant in committing his entire force to the attack. He was branded an insubordinate rebel who cared only for his own troops. In both cases, a standard history of the events emerged that ascribed each relief to flaws in Ward and Allen's leadership ability. However, some accounts point to alternate reasons behind the reliefs. When these alternative accounts are considered along with a comprehensive examination of primary source material, a new argument emerges: Ward and Allen were removed from command for political and military reasons of expediency. For MG Orlando Ward, it is evident that the 1st Armored Division's difficulties at Maknassy stemmed primarily from confused orders passed down from the Allied Army Group commander, British General Harold Alexander. This proposition finds reinforcement in the correspondence of the Supreme Commander of Allied Forces, General Dwight Eisenhower, who agreed to the relief based on an expressed need to appease the British allies in general, and Alexander specifically. For MG Terry Allen, one primary source proves conclusively that the difficulties at Troina could not have led to his removal. According to Eisenhower, Allen was relieved because his commanders simply perceived a need to change leadership of the Army's oldest division in preparation for the invasion of France.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA505159
Entities
People
- Richard H. Johnson Jr.
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College