Editing George C. Marshall (section)

===Planned invasion of Europe===
[[File:Gen. George C. Marshall, U. S. Army Chief of Staff, and Gen. Henry "Hap" Arnold, Commanding General, U. S. Army Air... - NARA - 198960.jpg|left|thumb|General George C. Marshall with Chief of the [[United States Army Air Forces|Army Air Force]] General [[Henry H. Arnold|Henry "Hap" Arnold]] at [[Franz Urbig#Villa Urbig|Villa Urbig]] on 23 July 1945 during the [[Potsdam Conference]]. The two generals return the salute of the Guard of Honor formed by a detachment of [[Scots Guards]] of the British [[Brigade of Guards]]]]

During World War II, Marshall was instrumental in preparing the U.S. Army and [[United States Army Air Forces|Army Air Forces]] for the invasion of [[Continental Europe]]. Marshall wrote the document that would become the central strategy for all Allied operations in Europe. During the [[Arcadia Conference]], he convinced the United Kingdom to accept this strategy, including the focus on defeating Germany first and the establishment of international unified commands in control of all Allied forces in a given theatre. His push for unity of command, in particular through the [[Combined Chiefs of Staff]] and the [[American-British-Dutch-Australian Command]], met with resistance from the [[British Armed Forces]] under [[Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke|Alan Brooke]] because the scheme would allow the United States to dominate the Western Allied war effort, but the British government ultimately approved.{{Sfn|Roberts|2009|p=66-81}}

He initially scheduled [[Operation Overlord]] for 1 April 1943, but met with strong opposition from Winston Churchill, who convinced Roosevelt to commit troops to [[Allied invasion of Sicily|Operation Husky]] for the invasion of [[Italy]].{{sfn|D-Day Year Too Late?|2019}} Marshall and his advisors also opposed the [[Operation Torch|Allied invasion of French North Africa]] after it became clear that [[Vichy France]] would offer resistance, concerns over an Axis intervention through [[Francoist Spain]] and [[Gibraltar]], and suspicions that the operation was intended to defend European colonial territory with little strategic value to the war.<ref>{{Harvp|Roberts|2009|p=70-84}}</ref>

[[File:Joseph Stalin & Generals, Tehran Conference.jpg|thumb|Marshall with [[Joseph Stalin]], [[Vyacheslav Molotov]], and [[Harry Hopkins]] at the [[Tehran Conference]] in Iran, December 1943]]
When rumors circulated that Marshall would become the Supreme Commander of Operation Overlord, many critics viewed the potential transfer as a demotion, since he would leave his position as Chief of Staff of the Army and lose his seat on the [[Combined Chiefs of Staff]].{{sfn|Pogue}} While Marshall enjoyed considerable success in working with Congress and Roosevelt, he refused to lobby for the position. Roosevelt selected Eisenhower, in large part because he did not want to do without Marshall in the Chief of Staff position. He told Marshall, "I didn't feel I could sleep at ease if you were out of Washington."{{sfn|Buell|John H. Bradley|p=258}}

On 16 December 1944, Marshall became the first American general to be promoted to the newly created rank of [[General of the Army (United States)#World War II era|general of the Army]], a [[five-star rank]] that placed senior American commanders on an equal footing with the [[field marshal]]s of European Allies; Marshall had objected to being awarded the title of field marshal, as it would have given him the title of "Marshal Marshall".{{sfn|Frequently Asked Questions Five-Star}}<ref>{{Cite web |last=Stilwell |first=Blake |date=2021-03-11 |title=This is why there's no Field Marshal rank in the US military |url=https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-history/why-theres-no-field-marshal-rank/ |access-date=2024-01-11 |website=We Are The Mighty |language=en}}</ref>

Throughout the remainder of World War II, Marshall coordinated Allied operations in both Europe and the Pacific. He was characterized as the organizer of Allied victory by Churchill. ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine named Marshall [[Time Magazine Person of the Year|Man of the Year]] for 1943.{{sfn|Person of Year Photo|2006}} Marshall resigned his post of chief of staff on 18 November 1945, but did not retire, as regulations stipulate that generals of the Army remain on active duty for life. He was succeeded as Army chief of staff by General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower.{{sfn|Wedemeyer}} During this time, he also received a Bronze [[oak leaf cluster]] to his Army DSM for his unprecedented work from 1939 to 1945. The medal's citation reads:

{{Blockquote|The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress 9 July 1918, takes pleasure in presenting a Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster in lieu of a Second Award of the Army Distinguished Service Medal to General of the Army George Catlett Marshall, Jr. (ASN: 0-1616), United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility during the period from September 1939 through November 1945. The singularly distinctive accomplishments of General Marshall reflect the highest credit upon himself and the United States Army.<ref name="Valor"/>}}