George Fielding Eliot (22 June 1894 – 21 April 1971) was a second lieutenant in the Australian army in
World War I
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
. He became a member of the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...
and later a major in the Military Intelligence Reserve of the United States Army. He was the author of 15 books on military and political matters in the 1930s through the 1960s, wrote a syndicated column on military affairs and was the military analyst on radio and on television for
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of the American television and radio broadcaster CBS. It is headquartered in New York City. CBS News television programs include ''CBS Evening News'', ''CBS Mornings'', news magazine programs ''CBS News Sunday Morn ...
during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
.
Early life
George Fielding Eliot was born in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
. His parents moved with him to Australia when he was eight years old.
He attended the
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...
in Australia, where he joined the school's cadet corps and rose to its highest rank.
George Fielding Eliot dies." Associated Press obituary. "The Day," New London Connecticut, 22 April 1971. Retrieved 24 February 2010
Military career
When World War I began, Fielding became a second lieutenant in the Australian infantry, and fought in the
Gallipoli Campaign from May to August 1915. In 1916 he was transferred to the European theatre, and fought at the battles of the Somme, Passchendaele, Arras, and Amiens.
[ He was wounded twice and was an acting major at war's end.][
After the war, he moved to Canada and became a member of the ]Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP; , GRC) is the Law enforcement in Canada, national police service of Canada. The RCMP is an agency of the Government of Canada; it also provides police services under contract to 11 Provinces and terri ...
.
Hobson, Marian "Pure but proud heroine, active hero and happy ending are requisites of 'thriller' story, says successful Sarasota author." '' Sarasota Herald'', 19 August 1934. Retrieved 24 February 2010 He returned to the United States and served as a reserve officer in the U.S. Army reserve, in military intelligence, from 1922 to 1933, where he rose to the rank of major. He resigned so he would have greater freedom to write and speak about military affairs and the coming war.
"Radio: casualties, replacements." '' Time (magazine), Time'' 18 September 1939. retrieved 24 February 2010
Author, commentator, military analyst
While working as an accountant and auditor in Kansas, Missouri and Oklahoma in the 1920s, he started writing articles and stories. He wrote pulp fiction
''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American independent crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino from a story he conceived with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; It tells four intertwining tales of crime and violence ...
starting in 1926 as well as crime novels.[ The movie '' Federal Bullets'' (1937) was based on his novels of the same name. In 1937 he wrote (with R. Ernest Dupuy) the widely cited ''If War Comes''. In 1938 he wrote ''The Ramparts We Watch'', a widely cited book which made predictions of the coming war and made recommendations for strengthening national defence.][ In 1938 he wrote an article for '']The American Mercury
''The American Mercury'' was an American magazine published from 1924Staff (Dec. 31, 1923)"Bichloride of Mercury."''Time''. to 1981. It was founded as the brainchild of H. L. Mencken and drama critic George Jean Nathan. The magazine featured w ...
'' titled "The impossible war with Japan", in which he said "a Japanese attack upon Hawaii is a strategic impossibility" for which he was much ridiculed after the 1941 Pearl Harbor attack. The article did accurately note that the capture of Hawaii would have required greater naval resources than Japan possessed, but that they could launch air raids against coastal cities, and could easily capture the Philippine Islands, with the defeated U.S. forces having to retreat to the fortress of Corregidor before help could arrive, and that years of island hopping would be required to capture island bases before an ultimate defeat of Japan.
During World War II, he wrote books and articles on the war and military strategy, which were featured in such publications as ''Life
Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...
''. He also wrote for ''Harper's Magazine
''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...
'', ''Current History
''Current History'' is the oldest extant United States–based publication devoted exclusively to contemporary world affairs. The magazine was founded in 1914 by George Washington Ochs Oakes, brother of ''The New York Times'' publisher Adolph ...
'', and ''The American Mercury
''The American Mercury'' was an American magazine published from 1924Staff (Dec. 31, 1923)"Bichloride of Mercury."''Time''. to 1981. It was founded as the brainchild of H. L. Mencken and drama critic George Jean Nathan. The magazine featured w ...
''. Another nonfiction military book he wrote was ''Bombs Bursting in Air''.[ In this book Fielding outlines the likelihood of German bombing raids on London which would be made possible from bases in Belgium and the Netherlands. Additionally, he laid out the defence needs for projecting American air power into the Atlantic, which would later be realized with the ]Destroyers for Bases Agreement
The destroyers-for-bases deal was an agreement between the United States and the United Kingdom on 2 September 1940, according to which 50 , , and -class US Navy destroyers were transferred to the Royal Navy from the US Navy in exchange for lan ...
in September 1940.
He broadcast coverage of the Second World War from London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
along with Edward R. Murrow
Edward Roscoe Murrow (born Egbert Roscoe Murrow; April 25, 1908 – April 27, 1965) was an American Broadcast journalism, broadcast journalist and war correspondent. He first gained prominence during World War II with a series of live radio broa ...
and H. V. Kaltenborn in 1939. He continued as commentator on war strategy on CBS radio after the entry of the United States into the war.
On 7 December 1941, when U.S. forces at Pearl Harbor
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Reci ...
were attacked by Japanese airplanes, Eliot not only broadcast on radio, but on the 10 hours of CBS television coverage of the attack and the war to follow. This was the first extended television coverage of a breaking major news event. Eliot was a staff writer for the ''New York Herald Tribune
The ''New York Herald Tribune'' was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when Ogden Mills Reid of the '' New York Tribune'' acquired the '' New York Herald''. It was regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and compet ...
'' for many years. He continued to write books and articles about military strategy and world politics into the 1960s, for the popular press as well as the scholarly journal ''Foreign Affairs
''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit organization, nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership or ...
''.
Later life
According to Clark Eichelberger, in 1948 director of the American Association for the United Nations, Eliot at that time "enjoyed the confidence of Secretary of State George Marshall
George Catlett Marshall Jr. (31 December 1880 – 16 October 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army under pres ...
", and his writings were considered to represent the viewpoint of the U.S. State Department, including support for Zionism
Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...
. He was a target in the early 1950s of columnist Westbrook Pegler for his association with what Pegler considered leftist organizations.
Personal life
Eliot resided in New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
during much of his writing and broadcasting career. He married Sara Elaine Hodges in 1933, and they divorced in 1942. He married June Cawley Hynd in 1943. They resided in Litchfield, Connecticut
Litchfield is a town in and former county seat of Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 8,192 at the 2020 census. The town is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Region. The boroughs of Bantam and Litchfield are ...
. He died in Torrington, Connecticut
Torrington is the most populated municipality and largest city in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States, and the Northwest Hills Planning Region, Connecticut, Northwest Hills Planning Region. It is also the core city of Greater Torringto ...
, on 21 April 1971 after a lengthy illness.[ His wife June died in 1973.
]
Selective bibliography
Fiction
* "The Copper Bowl" (1928); short horror story; ''Weird Tales
''Weird Tales'' is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine founded by J. C. Henneberger and J. M. Lansinger in late 1922. The first issue, dated March 1923, appeared on newsstands February 18. The first editor, Edwin Baird, printe ...
'', December 1928, widely reprinted.
* "The Justice of the Czar" (1928); short fiction; ''Weird Tales'', August 1928
* "His Brother's Keeper" (1931); short fiction; ''Weird Tales'', September 1931
* ''The Eagles of Death'' (1930); book (crime).
* ''Federal Bullets: a Mystery Story'' (1936); book (crime).
* ''The Purple Legion: a G-man Thriller'' (1936); book (crime)
* ''The Navy Spy Murders'' (1937); book (crime)
* ''Caleb Pettengill, U.S.N.'' (1956); book (military)
* "The Peacemakers" (1960); short science fiction; ''Fantastic Universe
''Fantastic Universe'' was a U.S. science fiction magazine which began publishing in the 1950s. It ran for 69 issues, from June 1953 to March 1960, under two different publishers. It was part of the explosion of science fiction magazine publishi ...
'', January 1960.
* ''Bring 'Em Back Dead'' (2012); book (crime). Reprinted by Black Dog Books, Normal, Il.
Non-fiction
* ''If War Comes'', by R Ernest Dupuy & George Fielding Eliot (1937)
* ''The Ramparts We Watch – a Study of the Problems of American National Defense'' (1938).
* ''The Military Consequences of Munich'' (1938).
* ''Bombs Bursting in Air: The Influence of Air Power On International Relations'' (1939).
* ''Defending America'' (1939) (pamphlet).
* ''Hour of Triumph'' (1944).
* ''The Strength We Need, a Military Program for America Pending Peace'' (1946).
* ''Hate, Hope and High Explosives, a Report on the Middle East'' (1948).
* ''If Russia Strikes'' (1949).
* ''The H-Bomb'' (1950).
* ''Decision in Korea'' (1954).
* Introduction for ''Mr. Lincoln's Admirals'' by Clarence E. Macartney (1956).
* ''Victory Without War 1958–1961'' (1958).
* ''Soldiers and Governments: Nine Studies in Civil-Military Relations'', by George Fielding Eliot & Michael Howard (1959).
* ''Sylvanus Thayer
Sylvanus Thayer (June 9, 1785 – September 7, 1872) was an United States, American military officer, engineer and educator who served as the fifth superintendent of the United States Military Academy, superintendent of the United States Militar ...
of West Point'' (1959).
* ''Reserve forces and the Kennedy Strategy'' (1962).
* ''Daring Sea Warrior, Franklin Buchanan'' (1962).Full text at Internet Archive
/ref>
* ''A Concise History of World War I'' (1964).
References
Listen to
Recording of Major George Fielding Eliot, CBS News Analysis, 14 January 1942
History Happens Here – Missouri History Museum. Retrieved 24 February 2010.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eliot, George Fielding
1894 births
1971 deaths
Australian military personnel of World War I
American people of World War II
Novelists from New York (state)
American science fiction writers
20th-century American novelists
American horror writers
Pulp fiction writers
American radio reporters and correspondents
American male journalists
American broadcast news analysts
American naval historians
American military writers
Military theorists
American expatriates in Australia
American expatriates in Canada
American male novelists
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American non-fiction writers
Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers