Russell Lamonte Maxwell (28 December 1890 – 24 November 1968) was an officer in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

Military career

Born in Oakdale, Illinois, and raised in Modesto, California, Maxwell graduated from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

in June 1912 where he was classmates with several men who later reached the rank of general officer, such as Walter M. Robertson,

Walton Walker Walton Harris Walker (December 3, 1889 – December 23, 1950) was a United States Army four-star general who served with distinction in World War I, World War II, and the Korean War, where he commanded the Eighth United States Army before dying ...

, Wade H. Haislip,

John Shirley Wood Major General John Shirley Wood (January 11, 1888 – July 2, 1966) was a United States Army officer who served in World War I and World War II. He is most notable for training and commanding the 4th Armored Division, which spearheaded General G ...

Robert McGowan Littlejohn Robert McGowan Littlejohn (23 October 1890 – 6 May 1982) was a major general in the United States Army who graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1912. He served with the Pancho Villa Expedition and ...

, Gilbert R. Cook, Raymond O. Barton,

Millard Harmon Millard Fillmore Harmon Jr. (January 19, 1888 – February 26, 1945) was a lieutenant general in the United States Army Air Forces during the Pacific campaign in World War II. He was presumed to have perished in February 1945 on a flight when th ...

, Harry J. Malony,

Stephen J. Chamberlin Stephen Jones Chamberlin (23 December 1889 – 23 October 1971) was a lieutenant general in the United States Army who served during World War II as General of the Army Douglas MacArthur's Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3, the staff officer in ch ...

Franklin C. Sibert Major General Franklin Cummings Sibert (January 3, 1891 – June 24, 1980) was a United States Army officer. During World War II, Sibert was originally the commander of the 6th Infantry Division but was promoted to command the X Corps of General ...

Albert E. Brown Major General Albert Eger Brown (June 13, 1889 – October 12, 1984) was a decorated officer in the United States Army. A graduate of West Point, he was a veteran of Pancho Villa Expedition and both World Wars and is most noted for his service as ...

Archibald Vincent Arnold Major General Archibald Vincent Arnold (February 24, 1889 – January 4, 1973) was a United States Army officer who served during World War II. Early life and career Arnold was born in Collinsville, Connecticut on February 24, 1889. He attende ...

and William H. Wilbur. Commissioned as a field artillery officer, Maxwell transferred to the Ordnance Department and became an expert on military explosives. He graduated from the

Command and General Staff School The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

in 1924, the

Army Industrial College The Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy (Eisenhower School), formerly known as the Industrial College of the Armed Forces (ICAF), is a part of the National Defense University. It was renamed on September 6, 20 ...

in 1925 and the Army War College in 1934. By February 1941, Colonel Maxwell was the Administrator of Export Control. Shortly before United States entry into World War II, Maxwell was promoted to brigadier general and sent to North Africa as head of the US Military North African Mission. He was the

Lend Lease Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...

coordinator in the area. Maxwell became the Commanding General

U.S. Army Forces in the Middle East United States Army Forces in the Middle East (USAFIME) was a unified United States Army command during World War II established in August, 1942 by order of General George C. Marshall, the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, to oversee th ...

(USAFIME) which consisted largely of Army Air Forces units. On 4 November 1942, Lieutenant General

Frank M. Andrews Lieutenant General Frank Maxwell Andrews (February 3, 1884 – May 3, 1943) was a senior officer of the United States Army and one of the founders of the United States Army Air Forces, which was later to become the United States Air Force. ...

replaced Maxwell as commander of USAFIME. A German merchant ship, the

Liebenfels Liebenfels ( sl, Lepo Polje) is a market town in the district of Sankt Veit an der Glan in the Austrian state of Carinthia. Geography The municipal area is situated on the southern slopes of the Gurktal Alps. It lies about west of the district ...

, salvaged at

Massawa Massawa ( ; ti, ምጽዋዕ, məṣṣəwaʿ; gez, ምጽዋ; ar, مصوع; it, Massaua; pt, Maçuá) is a port city in the Northern Red Sea region of Eritrea, located on the Red Sea at the northern end of the Gulf of Zula beside the Dahl ...

Italian Eritrea Italian Eritrea ( it, Colonia Eritrea, "Colony of Eritrea") was a colony of the Kingdom of Italy in the territory of present-day Eritrea. The first Italian establishment in the area was the purchase of Assab by the Rubattino Shipping Company in 1 ...

by Navy Commander

Edward Ellsberg Edward Ellsberg, OBE (November 21, 1891 – January 24, 1983) was an officer in the United States Navy and a popular author. He was widely known as "Commander Ellsberg". Early years Ellsberg was born in New Haven, Connecticut, and grew up in Colo ...

working under Maxwell's direction was named for General Maxwell. The General Maxwell was later renamed Empire Nile by the British. From 30 September 1943 to 14 March 1946, Maxwell served as the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-4, in the

War Department War Department may refer to: * War Department (United Kingdom) * United States Department of War (1789–1947) See also * War Office, a former department of the British Government * Ministry of defence * Ministry of War * Ministry of Defence * De ...

General Staff. He served as a major general from 9 March 1942 to 30 September 1946. Maxwell died at his home in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and was buried at the

West Point Cemetery West Point Cemetery is a historic cemetery in the eastern United States, on the grounds of the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York. It overlooks the Hudson River, and served as a burial ground for Revolutionary War soldiers and earl ...

on 27 November 1968.

References

1890 births 1968 deaths People from Washington County, Illinois People from Modesto, California United States Military Academy alumni United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni Dwight D. Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy alumni United States Army War College alumni United States Army generals of World War II Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) United States Army generals Military personnel from Washington, D.C. Burials at West Point Cemetery {{US-army-bio-stub