Editing George C. Marshall (section)

===Expands military force fortyfold===
[[File:Infantry in battle cover.gif|thumb|upright|Cover to the book ''Infantry in Battle'', the World War II officer's guide to infantry combat operations. Marshall directed production of the book, which is still used as a reference today]]
Faced with the necessity of turning former civilians into an army of over eight million soldiers by 1942 (a fortyfold increase within three years), Marshall directed McNair as commander of [[Army Ground Forces]] to focus efforts on rapidly producing large numbers of soldiers. With the exception of airborne forces, Marshall approved McNair's concept of an abbreviated training schedule for men entering Army land forces training, particularly in regard to basic infantry skills, weapons proficiency, and combat tactics.{{sfn|Ambrose|1997|pp=271–84}}{{sfn|Keast|1945}} At the time, most U.S. commanders at lower levels had little or no combat experience of any kind. Without the input of experienced British or Allied combat officers on the nature of modern warfare and enemy tactics, many resorted to formulaic training methods emphasizing static defense and orderly large-scale advances by motorized convoys over improved roads.{{sfn|George|1981|pp= 13–21}} In consequence, Army forces deploying to Africa in [[Operation Torch]] suffered serious initial reverses when they encountered German armored units in Africa in the [[Battle of Kasserine Pass]] and other major battles.{{sfn|Keast|1945}} Even as late as 1944, American soldiers undergoing stateside training in preparation for deployment against German forces in Europe were not being trained in combat procedures and tactics in use there.{{sfn| Hanford| 2008|p= viii}}