Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Manton Sprague Eddy (May 16, 1892 – April 10, 1962) was a senior

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

officer who served in both

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 ...

and

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 ...

. During the latter conflict he served with distinction, commanding the 9th Infantry Division and later the XII Corps in the campaign in Western Europe, playing a large part in the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Die Wacht am Rhein, Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German Offensive (military), offensive Military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western ...

in late December 1944, leading the corps until April 20, 1945, when health problems forced him to turn over command.

Early life and military career

Eddy graduated from Shattuck Military School in Faribault,

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

, in 1913. He enlisted in the Infantry Branch of the

in 1916 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant of infantry in early 1918, a few months after the American entry into World War I the previous April. With the rank of captain, he was a company commander in the 11th Machine Gun Battalion, part of the 4th Division of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF). He was sent to the Western Front with his division in May 1918 but was wounded in the leg in August, when the tide of the war had turned against the

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

. He recovered soon after and commanded a machine gun battalion until the end of the war on November 11, 1918.

Between the wars

Promoted to the wartime rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

, Eddy served in

Allied-occupied Germany The entirety of Germany was occupied and administered by the Allies of World War II, from the Berlin Declaration on 5 June 1945 to the establishment of West Germany on 23 May 1949. Unlike occupied Japan, Nazi Germany was stripped of its sov ...

until 1919 when he returned to the United States. Relegated to the rank of captain in the

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a ...

in 1920, Eddy married Mamie Peabody Buttolph in 1921. During the period between the wars, he was a member of the Infantry Board and was a student, later an instructor, at both the

United States Army Infantry School The United States Army Infantry School is a school located at Fort Benning, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia that is dedicated to training Infantry Branch (United States), infantrymen for service in the United States Army. Organization The school ...

and the United States Army Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth,

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. He also served as Professor of Military Science and Tactics at Riverdale Military Academy. While at the Infantry School, he met George C. Marshall, the future Army Chief of Staff, who was impressed with Eddy. By 1940, Eddy was an

intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. It can be described as t ...

officer with III Corps. In 1941 Eddy assumed command of the 114th Infantry Regiment, part of the 44th Infantry Division, a

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

formation.

World War II

In March 1942, three months after the Japanese

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

and the subsequent American entry into

, Eddy was promoted to the one-star

general officer A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

rank of brigadier general on March 24, 1942, and became the assistant division commander (ADC) of the 9th Infantry Division. On August 8, he was promoted to the two-star rank of major general and succeeded Major General Rene Edward De Russy Hoyle as Commanding General of the 9th Infantry Division, a

formation, while Brigadier General Donald A. Stroh succeeded Eddy as the 9th's ADC. After training in the United States for several months Eddy led the division overseas, landing in French North Africa on November 8, 1942, as part of

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8–16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of securing victory in North Africa whil ...

. The 9th Division fought in the subsequent Allied campaign in North Africa, and played a large role in the

Battle of Kasserine Pass The Battle of Kasserine Pass took place from 19-24 February 1943 at Kasserine Pass, a gap in the Grand Dorsal chain of the Atlas Mountains in west central Tunisia. It was a part of the Tunisian campaign of World War II. The Axis forces, led b ...

in February 1943. The campaign came to an end in May 1943, with the surrender of almost 250,000 Axis soldiers. Eddy later led the 9th Division in Operation Husky, codename for the Allied invasion of Sicily, in August 1943. In November the 9th Division was sent to England in preparation for the Allied invasion of Northern France, scheduled for the spring of 1944. Eddy led the 9th Division in the early stages of

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The ope ...

, codename for the Battle of Normandy, landing on Utah Beach four days after the D-Day landings of June 6, 1944. For his role in the capture of the French port of

Cherbourg Cherbourg is a former Communes of France, commune and Subprefectures in France, subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French departments of France, department of Manche. It was merged into the com ...

, which much impressed his superiors, Eddy was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. In the opinion of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Eddy had outperformed all the other American divisional commanders in Normandy, and he had slated Eddy to take over the next available corps. In August he became Commanding General of XII Corps, which was often the spearhead of Lieutenant General George S. Patton's Third Army. Eddy led XII Corps in the Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine and in the subsequent fighting on the Western Front. During the

, Eddy's XII Corps successfully held the southern shoulder of the German salient. In April 1945, after taking part in the

Western Allied invasion of Germany The Western Allied invasion of Germany was coordinated by the Allies of World War II, Western Allies during the final months of hostilities in the European theatre of World War II, European theatre of World War II. In preparation for the Allied ...

, shortly before the

end of World War II in Europe The end of World War II in Europe occurred in May 1945. Following the Death of Adolf Hitler, suicide of Adolf Hitler on 30 April, leadership of Nazi Germany passed to Grand Admiral Karl Dönitz and the Flensburg Government. Soviet Union, Soviet t ...

, Eddy returned to the United States due to a severe illness (extreme

hypertension Hypertension, also known as high blood pressure, is a Chronic condition, long-term Disease, medical condition in which the blood pressure in the artery, arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms i ...

, from which he eventually recovered) and was replaced in command of XII Corps by Major General Stafford LeRoy Irwin.

Postwar

In the postwar period, Eddy served again at Fort Leavenworth,

, this time as Commandant of the United States Army Command and General Staff College, from January 1948 to July 1950. He was president of a review board that made a thorough examination of officer education and established the progressive branch, staff, and senior service levels of officer schooling. As commander of the Seventh Army, he presided over its transformation from an army of occupation to one of deterrence. Eddy retired from the army with the rank of lieutenant general. Eddy died in

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee ...

on April 10, 1962, at the age of 69. Eddy is buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

.Burial Detail: Eddy, Manton S
– ANC Explorer

Awards and decorations

* Distinguished Service Cross * Army Distinguished Service Medal (2) * Silver Star * Legion of Merit (2) * Bronze Star (2) * Air Medal * Purple Heart * Honorary Companion of the Order of the Bath (United Kingdom) *

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

(France) * Croix de Guerre (France) * Order of the Patriotic War First Class (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) * Bravery Medal (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) * Commander of the Order of Leopold (Belgium)

Bibliography

* * "Manton Sprague Eddy" in Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement 7: 19611965. American Council of Learned Societies, 1981 * *

References

External links

Army.mil: Manton S. Eddy
, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Eddy, Manton S. 1892 births 1962 deaths Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Commandants of the United States Army Command and General Staff College Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Air Medal Honorary companions of the Order of the Bath United States Army Infantry Branch personnel American recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) American recipients of the Legion of Honour Recipients of the Medal "For Courage" (Russia) United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army generals of World War II United States Army generals Military personnel from Chicago United States Army Command and General Staff College faculty United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni