Reorganizing for Global War: General Malin Craig and the Triangular Infantry Division, 1935-1939
Abstract
The United States Army infantry division became one of the keys to Allied victory in the Second World War, the first truly global conflict for American land forces. Officially adopted in 1939, the triangular infantry division model was the product of many years of hard work, testing, and persuasion by senior leaders of the United States Army. General Malin Craig, Chief of Staff of the Army from 1935 to 1939 was one of the most powerful advocates for transformation of the infantry division table of organization. Inheriting an army with very little combat capability in 1935, General Craig took on the task of modernizing the Regular Army after years of downsizing and neglect. He saw an opportunity in the expanding federal budgets and threats of renewed global conflict that characterized the late 1930s. His strategic vision, which linked national military priorities to tactical capabilities, became the centerpiece of a program to modernize army plans, equipment and organizations for forward defense of the United States. Developed over a career that spanned the Spanish-American and First World Wars, and included command and staff assignments from platoon to corps levels, General Craig's strategic vision featured streamlined, strategically mobile and tactically maneuverable infantry divisions with modern equipment as part of the nation's first line of defense. During his tenure as Chief of Staff, he faced resistance to change from within and outside the Army. Despite these obstacles, General Craig was able to set the conditions for the Army to adopt a more strategically mobile and tactically maneuverable infantry division organization just prior to the United States' entry into the Second World War.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 22, 2014
- Accession Number
- ADA612129
Entities
People
- John A. Womack
Organizations
- United States Army Command and General Staff College