Editing George C. Marshall (section)

==Between the wars==
[[File:Gen. J. J. Pershing and Staff. Group showing Gen. J. J. Pershing and Staff standing on State, War, and Navy Building steps. Washington, D.C - DPLA - 1c56a88aeb0697950857227de7c3def9 (cropped) (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|General of the Armies John J. Pershing and members of his staff standing outside the [[Eisenhower Executive Office Building|State, War, and Navy Building]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], 23 September 1919. Pershing is second from left in front row. Marshall is behind Pershing]]

After the war, Marshall reverted to his permanent rank of captain.{{sfn|Tucker|Roberts|2006|p=1186}} In 1919, he became an [[aide-de-camp]] to [[General (United States)|General]] Pershing.{{sfn|George Catlett Marshall Timeline}} Between 1920 and 1924, while Pershing was [[Chief of Staff of the United States Army|Army chief of staff]], Marshall worked on a number of projects that focused on training and teaching modern, mechanized warfare. He taught at the [[United States Army War College|Army War College]] and was a key planner in the [[United States Department of War|War Department]].{{sfn|George Catlett Marshall Timeline}} He then served as executive officer of the [[15th Infantry Regiment (United States)|15th Infantry Regiment]] in the [[Republic of China (1912–1949)|Republic of China]], where he remained for three years and learned to speak basic Mandarin.{{sfn|George Catlett Marshall Timeline}} In 1927, as a [[Lieutenant colonel (United States)|lieutenant colonel]], he was appointed assistant commandant of the [[United States Army Infantry School|Infantry School]] at [[Fort Benning]], where he initiated major changes to modernize command and staff processes, which proved to be of major benefit during [[World War II]].{{sfn|George Catlett Marshall Timeline}} Marshall placed [[Edwin F. Harding]] in charge of the Infantry School's publications, and Harding became editor{{sfn|Campbell|2008|pp=41, 400}} of ''Infantry in Battle'', a book that codified the lessons of World War I. ''Infantry in Battle'' is still used as an officer's training manual in the Infantry Officer's Course and was the training manual for most of the infantry officers and leaders of World War II.

Marshall's first wife died in 1927. The following year, while stationed at Fort Benning, Marshall met [[Katherine Tupper Marshall|Katherine Tupper Brown]] at a dinner party.{{sfn|Early Career}} They married on 15 October 1930, at Emmanuel Episcopal Church in [[Baltimore|Baltimore, Maryland]].{{sfn|Santoro|1999|p=49}} The wedding made headlines as General Pershing served as Marshall's best man.<ref>{{cite news |date=16 October 1930 |title=Col. Geo. C. Marshall, Jr. Weds Mrs. Brown in Baltimore, Md. |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/86391040/marshall-weds/ |work=[[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution|The Constitution]] |location=Atlanta, GA |page=20 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref>

From June 1932 to June 1933, Marshall was the commanding officer of the [[8th Infantry Regiment (United States)|8th Infantry Regiment]] at [[Tybee Island, Georgia|Fort Screven]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]].{{sfn|George Catlett Marshall Timeline}} From July 1933 to October 1933 he was commander of [[Fort Moultrie]], South Carolina, and District I of the [[Civilian Conservation Corps]]. He was promoted colonel in September 1933.{{sfn|George Catlett Marshall Timeline}}

During the [[Great Depression in the United States|Great Depression]], Marshall became a strong supporter of President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] and the [[New Deal]].<ref name=":0">{{Harvp|Roberts|2009|p=25-28}}</ref> Army chief of staff [[Douglas MacArthur]], who was a Republican and with whom Marshall had a contentious relationship, did not appreciate Marshall's views. After only a few months at Ft. Moultrie, MacArthur engineered Marshall's abrupt transfer to Chicago, where he served as senior instructor and chief of staff for the Illinois National Guard's [[33rd Infantry Division (United States)|33rd Division]] from November 1933 to August 1936.{{sfn|George Catlett Marshall Timeline}}{{sfn|Cray|1990|pp=116–117}}<ref>{{Cite news |date=1 October 2018 |title=MARSHALL & MACARTHUR: THE TORTOISE AND THE HARE |work=[[History Net]]|url=https://www.historynet.com/marshall-macarthur-tortoise-hare/}}</ref>

[[File:George C. Marshall cph.3a44773.jpg|thumb|upright|Brigadier General Marshall in 1938]]
Marshall was assigned to command the 5th Brigade of the [[3rd Infantry Division (United States)|3rd Infantry Division]] and [[Vancouver Barracks]] in [[Vancouver, Washington]], from 1936 to 1938, and was promoted to brigadier general in October 1936.{{sfn|George Catlett Marshall Timeline}} In addition to obtaining a long-sought and significant troop command, traditionally viewed as an indispensable step to the pinnacle of the US Army, Marshall was also responsible for 35 Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camps in Oregon and southern Washington.{{sfn|George Catlett Marshall Timeline}} As post commander Marshall made a concerted effort to cultivate relations with the city of Portland and to enhance the image of the US Army in the region. With the CCC, he initiated a series of measures to improve the morale of the participants and to make the experience beneficial in their later life. He started a newspaper for the CCC region that provided a vehicle to promote CCC successes, and he initiated a variety of programs that developed participants' skills and improved their health. Marshall's inspections of the CCC camps gave him and his wife Katherine the chance to enjoy the beauty of the American [[Pacific Northwest]] and made that assignment what he called "the most instructive service I ever had, and the most interesting."{{sfn|Home}}

In July 1938, Marshall was assigned to the War Plans Division in [[Washington, D.C.]], and subsequently reassigned as Deputy Chief of Staff. In that capacity, then-Brigadier General Marshall attended a White House conference at which President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] proposed a plan to expand the [[United States Army Air Corps]] by 15,000 aircraft per year in preparation for World War II. With all other attendees voicing support, Marshall was the only one to disagree, pointing out the lack of consideration for logistical support or training. Marshall also spoke in favor of a large ground army although Roosevelt had said a large air force would be a greater deterrent to enemies, pointing out that the [[United States Army]] did not yet have a single division at full operational strength.<ref name=":0" /> Despite others' belief then that Marshall had ended his career, his willingness to express disagreement resulted in Roosevelt nominating Marshall to be the Army Chief of Staff.

Upon the retirement of General [[Malin Craig]] on 1 July 1939, Marshall became acting chief of staff.{{sfn|Liebling|1940}} Several generals were candidates to succeed Craig, including [[Hugh Aloysius Drum]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Frye |first=William |date=2005 |title=Marshall: Citizen Soldier |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8y5BDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT341 |location=Whitefish, Montana |publisher=Kessinger Publishing, LLC  |pages=341–343 |isbn=978-1-4179-9503-5}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.historynet.com/relax-its-only-a-maneuver.htm |title=Relax—It's Only a Maneuver |last=Holt |first=Thaddeus |date=1 December 1992 |website=HistoryNet |publisher=World History Group |location=Leesburg, Virginia}}</ref> Roosevelt favored Marshall because he was more supportive of [[New Deal liberalism]] than the [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] and still-influential [[Douglas MacArthur]], who had been chief of staff from 1930 to 1935, and because of the recommendations of Pershing, Craig, [[Louis A. Johnson]], and Roosevelt's close advisor [[Harry Hopkins]].<ref name=":0" /> Marshall was sworn in as chief of staff on 1 September 1939, just hours after the [[Wehrmacht]] launched its [[invasion of Poland]].<ref name=":0" /><ref>[http://www.georgecmarshall.org/Meet-General-Marshall/Early-Career George C. Marshall's Early Career] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924021751/http://www.georgecmarshall.org/Meet-General-Marshall/Early-Career |date=24 September 2015 }}. georgecmarshall.org</ref> He held this post until retiring in November 1945.{{sfn|General of the Army George}} At the time of the appointment, Marshall was 34th in seniority, outranked by 21 major generals and 11 brigadier generals, but he was fifth under an unwritten rule that the chief of staff should be able to serve a four-year term before reaching the mandatory retirement age of 64.{{sfn|Roberts|2008|p=27}}

On 11 May 1940, the [[United States Congress]] cut $10 million from a $28 million appropriation budget for equipment to detect [[Imperial Japanese Armed Forces]] aircraft off the [[West Coast of the United States]]. Marshall met with [[United States Secretary of the Treasury|Secretary of the Treasury]] [[Henry Morgenthau Jr.]] and they went to see Roosevelt; Marshall emphasized the supreme importance of getting the full amount and told Roosevelt "you have got to do something and you've got to do it today". Marshall's advocacy worked and he got "all he wanted and more".{{sfn|Roberts|2008|pp=32,33}}

In 1941, Marshall became a [[Freemasonry|Freemason]], raised "at sight" by the [[Grand Master (Freemasonry)|grand master]] of the Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia.{{sfn|Stewart|2011}} ("At sight" is the procedure by which a grand master confers on a candidate all three Masonic degrees – Apprentice, Fellowcraft, and Master – at one time.){{sfn|Stewart|2011}}