Robert Frederick
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Major General Robert Tryon Frederick (March 14, 1907 – November 29, 1970) was a senior United States Army officer who fought in World War II. During the war, he commanded the
1st Special Service Force The 1st Special Service Force was an elite American–Canadian commando unit in World War II, under the command of the United States Fifth Army. The unit was organized in 1942 and trained at Fort William Henry Harrison near Helena, Montana i ...
, the 1st Allied Airborne Task Force, and the 45th Infantry Division. He was twice awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...
and several other decorations.


Biography


Early life and military career

Frederick was born on March 14, 1907 in San Francisco, California. He attended Staunton Military Academy from 1923 to 1924 and the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point from 1924 to 1928. Upon graduation from West Point, New York, he was commissioned as a
second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...
in the Coast Artillery Corps of the United States Army. He graduated from the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas in 1939.


World War II

In 1942, after the United States entered World War II due to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, after serving as a staff officer in the War Department, then a
lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...
, Frederick was tasked with raising a new U.S.-Canadian regiment size commando force which became the
1st Special Service Force The 1st Special Service Force was an elite American–Canadian commando unit in World War II, under the command of the United States Fifth Army. The unit was organized in 1942 and trained at Fort William Henry Harrison near Helena, Montana i ...
(later called the "Devil's Brigade" by the Germans). The unit, activated on July 9, 1942 at Fort William Henry Harrison, Montana, was originally intended for commando operations in Norway, and trained extensively in winter and mountain warfare, as well as hand-to-hand combat and other infantry skills. In April 1943, the unit moved to Vermont for training, first at
Camp Bradford Camp may refer to: Outdoor accommodation and recreation * Campsite or campground, a recreational outdoor sleeping and eating site * a temporary settlement for nomads * Camp, a term used in New England, Northern Ontario and New Brunswick to descri ...
and then at
Fort Ethan Allen Fort Ethan Allen was a United States Army installation in Vermont, named for American Revolutionary War figure Ethan Allen. Established as a cavalry post in 1894 and closed in 1944, today it is the center of a designated national historic distric ...
. The Norway mission was cancelled, however, and the 1st Special Service Force was sent instead to the Aleutian Islands in July 1943. It returned to the contiguous United States in September, and then left in October for the
European Theater of Operations The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It commanded Army Ground For ...
(ETO). Frederick's men arrived in
Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
in
French Morocco The French protectorate in Morocco (french: Protectorat français au Maroc; ar, الحماية الفرنسية في المغرب), also known as French Morocco, was the period of French colonial rule in Morocco between 1912 to 1956. The prote ...
in November 1943 and quickly moved to the Italian front. Landing at Naples on November 19, 1943, the 1st Special Service Force went into the line. In December 1943 and January 1944, the 1st Special Service Force conducted a series of operations at
Monte la Difensa The Battle of Monte La Difensa took place between 3 December and 9 December 1943 during ''Operation Raincoat'', part of the Battle for the Bernhardt Line during the Italian campaign in World War II. Background Monte La Difensa (also known as H ...
, Monte la Remetanea,
Monte Sammucro Monte may refer to: Places Argentina * Argentine Monte, an ecoregion * Monte Desert * Monte Partido, a ''partido'' in Buenos Aires Province Italy * Monte Bregagno * Monte Cassino * Montecorvino (disambiguation) * Montefalcione Portugal * Mo ...
( Hill 720) and Monte Vischiataro. The 1st Special Service Force attacked and captured the enemy forces at the impregnable Monte la Difensa. On February 2, 1944, Frederick, now a full colonel, and his men landed at Anzio and went into action along the Mussolini Canal. They were the first
Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...
troops to enter the Italian capital of Rome on June 4, 1944. Frederick was decorated twice with the
Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...
, the U.S. Army's second highest award for valor in combat. The first award was for actions on January 10–13, 1944 and the second award for actions on June 4, 1944. While at Anzio he was wounded a number of times, including two separate wounds on a single day. On June 23, 1944, Frederick announced he was leaving the unit. He was promoted to the one-star
general officer A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED O ...
rank of brigadier general in July, and was given command of the 1st Allied Airborne Task Force, an ad hoc division-sized airborne formation, for the Allied invasion of Southern France; he was the youngest general to command a division-size unit in World War II. The task force consisted of the British 2nd Independent Parachute Brigade and the American 509th and
551st Parachute Infantry Battalion The 551st Parachute Infantry Battalion (551st PIB) was, for many years, a little-recognized airborne forces unit of the United States Army, raised during World War II, that fought in the Battle of the Bulge. Originally commissioned to take the F ...
s, the
517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team The 517th Parachute Regimental Combat Team (517th PRCT) was an airborne, specifically a parachute infantry, regiment of the United States Army that was formed in March 1943 during World War II, training at Camp Toccoa in the mountains of North ...
, the 550th Glider Infantry Battalion, and the 460th and 463rd Parachute Field Artillery Battalions, along with various support units. On August 15, under the code name ''Rugby Force'', the unit jumped into the Argens Valley between
Le Luc Le Luc (; Provençal: ''Lo Luc''), also known as Le Luc-en-Provence (''Lo Luc de Provença''), is a commune in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in Southeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 11,094. Le Luc is ...
and Le Muy, behind the Massif des Maures, a key piece of terrain which overlooked the Allied landing beaches near
St. Tropez , INSEE = 83119 , postal code = 83990 , image coat of arms = Blason ville fr Saint-Tropez-A (Var).svg , image flag=Flag of Saint-Tropez.svg Saint-Tropez (; oc, Sant Tropetz, ; ) is a commune in the Var department and the region of Provence-Alp ...
and St. Raphaël. Having successfully blocked German forces from reaching the invasion beaches, the 1st Airborne Task Force linked up with the
U.S. 36th Infantry Division The 36th Infantry Division ("Arrowhead"), also known as the "Panther Division", "Lone Star Division",French Riviera The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend fro ...
coastline, taking Cannes unopposed on August 24, 1944 and linking up with Frederick's old unit, the 1st Special Service Force. The 1st Special Service Force had initially been tasked to seize several small islands off the
French Riviera The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend fro ...
and then moved onshore, where it was attached to the 1st Airborne Task Force on August 22 (replacing the British 2nd Independent Parachute Brigade). The task force then fought on to the French-Italian border, where it took up defensive positions. The task force was dissolved on November 23, 1944 (and the 1st Special Service Force was disbanded on December 5). Frederick was, at the age of just 37, promoted to the two-star rank of major general and given command of the 45th Infantry Division on December 3, 1944. Along with Major General
James M. Gavin James Maurice Gavin (March 22, 1907 – February 23, 1990), sometimes called "Jumpin' Jim" and "the jumping general", was a senior United States Army officer, with the rank of lieutenant general, who was the third Commanding General (CG) of the 8 ...
, then commanding the
82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...
, this made both Frederick and Gavin (eight days younger than Frederick) the two youngest division commanders in the U.S. Army during the war. He led the 45th Division until September 10, 1945. The 45th saw heavy combat in French Alsace from December 1944 through to February 1945, and was pulled from the line to rehabilitate on February 17. In mid-March, it was assigned to
XV Corps 15th Corps, Fifteenth Corps, or XV Corps may refer to: *XV Corps (British India) *XV Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World War I *15th Army Corps (Russian Empire), a unit in World War I *XV Royal Bavar ...
for Operation Undertone, the final drive into Germany. The division crossed the Rhine and advanced to the Main. Moving along the Main into Bavaria, participating in heavy fighting in Aschaffenburg from March 28 to April 3 and then drove to Nuremberg, taken in heavy fighting from April 16–20. Moving south, the division crossed the Danube on April 26, and opened up the path for the
U.S. 20th Armored Division The 20th Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army that fought in World War II. It was activated on 15 March 1943 at Camp Campbell in Kentucky. The division had no official name although it did associate itself with t ...
to drive on Munich. Reaching Munich on April 29, the division shifted from combat to occupation. The British Prime Minister,
Sir Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...
, declared that ''Robert Frederick'' was "the greatest fighting general of all time" and "if we had had a dozen more like him we would have smashed Hitler in 1942".


Post-World War II

After a period of occupation duty, the 45th Infantry Division prepared to return to the United States and Frederick relinquished command in September 1945. From 1 November 1945 to 19 August 1947 he was commandant of the
Coast Artillery School The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in ...
, and presided over its move from Fort Monroe to Fort Winfield Scott. After a period of staff duty and recuperation (he had been wounded eight times), Major General Frederick was assigned to Allied occupation forces in Austria, commanding the U.S. Sector, of the Vienna Inter-Allied Command in 1948. From February 28, 1949 to October 10, 1950, he commanded the 4th Infantry Division, which had been reactivated as a training division at Fort Ord, California in 1947. In October 1950, the division was redesignated the
6th Infantry Division 6th Division may refer to: Infantry divisions * 6th Division (Australia) * 6th Division (Austria) *6th (United Kingdom) Division * Finnish 6th Division (Winter War) *Finnish 6th Division (Continuation War) * 6th Division (Reichswehr) * 6th Divisi ...
, and Frederick continued as its commanding general until 1951. In 1951, Frederick returned to Europe to take command of the Joint U.S. Military Aid Group, Greece (JUSMAG Greece). He retired on disability in March 1952. In the 1968 film '' The Devil's Brigade'', which chronicled the formation, training and combat in Italy of the 1st Special Service Force, Robert T. Frederick was played by actor William Holden. Frederick died on November 29, 1970 in Stanford, California.


V-42 combat knife

The
V-42 combat knife The V-42 stiletto was a fighting knife issued during World War II to the First Special Service Force (1st SSF or FSSF, also known as Devil's Brigade), a joint American/Canadian commando unit. Design and features Based on the Fairbairn–Syke ...
was designed in part by Frederick when commanding officer of the 1st Special Service Force. The V-42 was the trademark weapon of the 1st Special Service Force, and its members were trained extensively in its use. It is a short-bladed stiletto with a thumb groove on the top of the blade to promote proper hand placement when attacking an opponent. It is often confused with the longer- and thicker-bladed Fairbairn–Sykes fighting knife. The profile of the V-42 knife appears in the crests of the
U.S. Army Special Forces The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the United States Army. The Green Berets are geared towards nine doctrinal m ...
and Canada's Joint Task Force Two.


Military awards

Frederick's military decorations and awards include:


Distinguished Service Cross Citation (1st Award)

Rank: Brigadier General (then colonel)
Unit: 1st Special Service Force
Awarded on: 1944
Action: January 10 to 13, 1944
General Orders: Headquarters, Fifth U.S. Army, General Orders No. 102 (1944)


Distinguished Service Cross Citation (2nd Award)

Rank: Major General (then Brig. General)
Unit: 1st Special Service Force
Awarded on: 1944
Action: June 4, 1944
General Orders: Headquarters, Fifth U.S. Army, General Orders No. 102 (1944)


See also

*
James M. Gavin James Maurice Gavin (March 22, 1907 – February 23, 1990), sometimes called "Jumpin' Jim" and "the jumping general", was a senior United States Army officer, with the rank of lieutenant general, who was the third Commanding General (CG) of the 8 ...


References


Bibliography

* * Burhans, Robert D., ''The First Special Service Force: A Canadian/American Wartime Alliance: The Devil's Brigade'' (Washington: Infantry Journal Press Inc. 1947) *Cottingham, Peter Layton ''Once Upon a Wartime: A Canadian Who Survived the Devil's Brigade'' (P.L. Cottingham, Manitoba Canada, 1996) * * *Hicks, Anne. "''The Last Fighting General: The Biography of Robert Tryon Frederick''" (Schiffer Pub Ltd, 2006) . * Ross, Robert Todd, ''The Supercommandos First Special Service Force, 1942-1942, An Illustrated History'' (Atglen, PA: Schiffer Publishing Ltd. 2000). * Springer, Joseph, ''The Black Devil Brigade: The True Story of the First Special Service Force'', (Pacifica Military History, 2001). *Werner, Brett. "''First Special Service Force 1942 - 44''" (Osprey Publishing, 2006) . *Wickham, Kenneth. "''An Adjutant General Remembers''" (Adjutant General's Corps Regimental Association, 1991). *Wood, James. "'Matters Canadian' and the Problem with Being Special: Robert T. Frederick on the First Special Service Force." Canadian Military History 12, no. 4 (Autumn 2003): 17-33. *Wood, James A. ''We Move Only Forward: Canada, the United States, and the First Special Service Force, 1942-1944'' (St. Catharines, ON: Vanwell Publishing, 2006).
Generals of World War II
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick, Robert T. Staunton Military Academy alumni United States Military Academy alumni Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Legion of Merit Companions of the Distinguished Service Order Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Recipients of the Air Medal United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni Officiers of the Légion d'honneur Grand Officers of the Order of Saint-Charles Recipients of the King Haakon VII Freedom Medal 1907 births 1970 deaths United States Army Coast Artillery Corps personnel Military personnel from California United States Army generals of World War II United States Army generals