Marshall's Great Captain: Lieutenant General Frank M. Andrews and Air Power in the World Wars

by Kathy Wilson

Overview

On May 3, 1943, dozens of airplanes could be seen flying in and out of Royal Air Force Bovingdon Airfield near London, England. Among the aircraft seen that day was a B-24D bomber named Hot Stuff, which carried the Commanding General of US Forces in Europe, Lieutenant General Frank M. Andrews—the officer charged with formulating a plan to invade the European continent. Speculation was that General George C. Marshall had called Andrews back to Washington, DC, leading many to believe that Marshall had another promotion in store for Andrews. Tragically, Andrews would never arrive. While attempting to land in Iceland, the bomber crashed into the side of a mountain, with no survivors other than the tail gunner; Andrews's personal papers were also destroyed.

In Marshall's Great Captain: Lieutenant General Frank M. Andrews, author Kathy Wilson details Andrews's extraordinary life and career. The first biography dedicated to the namesake of Joint Base Andrews, this book sheds a light on Andrews's crucial role in orchestrating US involvement in World War II, as well as the professional relationship and rapport that Andrews and Marshall shared. Drawing on extensive research, Wilson raises Andrews's legacy to its legitimate place within the annals of both air power and World War II history and posits that there is a high probability that Andrews, rather than Dwight D. Eisenhower, was Marshall's first choice for the office of Supreme Allied Commander. Marshall recounted that Andrews was the only one he had a chance to prepare for such a command.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813199184
Publisher:	University Press of Kentucky
Publication date:	04/23/2024
Series:	Aviation & Air Power
Pages:	302
Sales rank:	265,120
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Kathy Wilson is an independent scholar and Writing Fellow for Norwich University. She holds a BS from the US Air Force Academy and an MA in military history from Norwich University. Her work has been published in US Military History Review, Army History, Air & Space Power Journal, and Air Power History.

Table of Contents

Introduction
Prologue: "Continuing..."
1. Johnnie and Her Cavalryman
2. America's Fledgling Eagles, 1917-1934
3. GHQ Air Force, 1934 -1939
4. The Long-Range Bomber: Fight for the B-17
5. A Higher Calling (G-3, Operations)
6. American Lake: Andrews Takes Command in the Caribbean
7. Cairo and the ETO
8. The Final Flight
Epilogue: What Might Have Been
Acknowledgements
Appendix
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

This book, a comprehensive biography of to a little recognized and long forgotten Airmen, Lt General Frank Andrews, is long overdue. The author introduces readers to the man who, very likely, would have been the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, if he had not been killed in a plane crash the late Spring of 1943. Andrews is generally remembered as an airman who Commanded the GHQ Air Force and an advocate for the B-17 during the late 1930s. What has been overlooked, one suspects due to his untimely death, is the totality of his personal and professional life. Starting with ties to his wife's "Old Army" family, West Point classmates, eleven years in the Cavalry before transferring to the Air Service and particularly his relationship with General George Marshall, Andrews was destined to greatness. When Marshall was the Vice Chief of Staff, Andrews and Marshall had formed a professional bond based on time Andrews spent giving Marshall a tour of Air Corps bases and educating him on the potential of airpower in the coming war. When Marshall became the Chief of Staff of the Army, he selected Andrews to serve as the G-3 of the General Staff, an airman, in charge of operations and training for the entire Army in 1939 and 1940 as the Army began to expand in the face of the realization that the United States was going to be engaged in a war in Europe. In November 1940, Andrews left the G-3 position and began to rise through important command positions requiring diplomatic skills, inter-service cooperation as well as strategic thinking and relationships with Allied leaders. The first was Command of the Caribbean Command, a joint command with the responsibility for protecting the Panama Canal. Following that assignment, in 1942, he was given command of all US troops in the Middle East, before being assigned in February 1943 as the Commander of all US Forces in Europe. By the spring of 1943, Andrews had more joint and unified command time than any other general or admiral in the United States military with the possible exception of MacArthur. The author explores the possibility that Andrews was on his way to Washington and a meeting with Marshall to discuss his next assignment when he was killed. In his eulogy of Andrews, General Marshall referred to him as one of the rare "Great Captains" to serve in the United States Military. The full breadth of Andrew's accomplishments and potential has here to fore been overlooked by military historians. This book corrects that oversighta must read for anyone who wants to understand the role played by a "Great Captain".who happened to be an airman.

Ron Fogleman

Kathy Wilson has produced a ground-breaking piece of historical writing about one of America's great leaders of World War II. While many are familiar with General of the Army George C. Marshall, not so many are familiar with his own declared, "Great Captain" of airpower, Lt Gen Frank M. Andrews. Andrews made several unique contributions to the Army Air Corps, Army Air Forces, the Air Force, and the greater Army as the U.S. prepared for, entered, and fought World War II. Wilson does a masterful job in explaining them all in this "must read" for those interested in U.S. military history.

Dave Deptula

Lieutenant General Frank M. Andrews was a man destined for greatness, until his untimely death cut his ascension short. In another reality, he might have been in Eisenhower's seat, as commander in Europe. Kathy Wilson has provided us with a long-needed biography of Andrews, demonstrating how accomplished he was, how experienced he was, and how good he could have been. This is an important story, told extremely well.

Richard Wolf