0
World War II in Europe is generally agreed to have begun when Nazi tanks rolled into Poland on September 1, 1939. It would be another 27 months before the US entered the war. On September 3, 1939, the US Army got a new commanding general when George C. Marshall was sworn in as the new Chief of Staff. Marshall inherited an army that was the 21st largest in the world, right behind Bulgaria. The US Army was primed and equipped to refight WWI, and Marshall had a huge task to expand and modernize, and completely reorganize the US Army. There were less than 250,000 officers and men when Marshall began his work. In 1940, Congress passed the first peacetime draft in American history, to draft one million men into the Army to serve for one year. This draft legislation came up for renewal the next year, in August 1941, and passed Congress by the margin of a single vote. The million men drafted in 1940 were not let out after a year, as they had been promised, and were generally pretty aggravated about it. By December 1941, when the US was in the war, the US Army still numbered less than two million, a smaller force by far than that which Hitler had sent against the Russians in the summer of 1941. But, by the end of the war, under Marshall's guidance, the US Army had expanded to over eight million men and was victorious around the globe. Marshall was also in charge of the Air Force, which was still the US Army Air Force until 1947, so he commanded another three million men there.
Ten per cent of the US population at the time was in the military, or sixteen million out of 160 million Americans. This was thought to be as many as could be taken in a modern, industrial economy without beginning to hurt war production. Over eight million served in the US Army and more than three million more in the US Army Air Force, over three million were in the US Navy, and there were over 700,000 Marines.
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
When was Army Times created?
Army Times was created in 1940.
What was the size of US Army during the Gulf War?
The US Army maintained a strength of nearly a million members from the 1980's though to the present.
What was the size of us army just prior to Pearl Harbor?
See website: Attack on Pearl Harbor
Does the US Army Corp of Engineers receive US government funding?
The US Army, like the US Department of Defense, is supported by the tax payer. The US Army Corp of Engineers is part of the US Army; just like the US Army Artillery, or US Army Armor, or US Army Infantry.
Us army videos?
Real Military Flix US Army Videos
Soldiers served US in 1940?
The US had a standing Army & Navy in 1940.
What year was Benjamin Oliver Davis appointed the first black general in the US Army?
1940
Who were the Soviet Army Cup winners in 1940?
There were not any Soviet Army Cup winners in 1940 due to war.
When was Army Times created?
Army Times was created in 1940.
What was the size of US Army during the Gulf War?
The US Army maintained a strength of nearly a million members from the 1980's though to the present.
When did the roman army launch?
1940
Ft benning where does it rank in size among us army bases?
First
Who was the first black to serve as a general in the us army?
Benjamin Oliver Davis, Sr. He was made general on October 25, 1940.
Who invaded France in 1940?
The German Army.
Which act was passed by the US congress that doubled the size of the army and navy?
National Defense Act
What is the size of the current US military?
Currently, there are 499,000 active duty Army troops, backed up by 700,000 National Guard and Army reservists.
When was Northern District Army - Japan - created?
Northern District Army - Japan - was created in 1940.
