General James Gavin (#257)
This year, I am doing a series on leaders and leadership in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) in World War II. This is 9th in the series.
Since tomorrow would be his 116th birthday, I am featuring the leadership of General James M. Gavin — the Assistant Division Commander of the 82nd Airborne Division during D-Day.
General Jim Gavin
General James Gavin was born on March 22, 1907, in New York City. He was an orphan but was adopted by Martin and Mary Gavin and raised in Mount Carmel, Pennsylvania. Gavin enlisted in the Army in 1924, served in Panama, and then accepted an appointment to the West Point class of 1929. He graduated 185th out of 299 and was commissioned as an infantry lieutenant. Before the war, he served in Arizona, Fort Benning, Fort Sill, the Philippines, Vancouver Barracks (Washington State - he commanded Company K, 7th Infantry Regiment), and West Point.
Tall, lean, smart, and ambitious, Gavin was a 34-year-old captain in August 1941 when he volunteered for paratrooper training at Fort Benning, Georgia. Just over a year later, he was promoted to colonel and given command of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment (PIR) with the mission to prepare it for combat. The 505th PIR was assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division (known as the All Americans) along with the 504th PIR and the 325th Glider Infantry Regiment.
After training in North Carolina and North Africa, Gavin led the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment during its night parachute assault into Sicily in July 1943. During the battle of Biazza Ridge, he led from the front, inspiring his band of 250 paratroopers to stop a German armored counterattack. For his actions, he received the Distinguished Service Cross. Gavin also led the 505th PIR during its parachute assault into Salerno Bay, Italy in September 1943. Most of the 82nd Airborne Division was pulled out of the line in October 1943 to begin preparations for D-Day. Gavin was promoted to brigadier general (1-star) and temporarily assigned as the airborne advisor to General Eisenhower. After 4 months of planning, he returned to the 82nd Airborne Division as its Assistant Division Commander as it trained in England.
On D-Day, Brigadier General Gavin jumped with the 507th and 508th PIR. Landing west of the Merderet River, he quickly assembled a group of paratroopers and set out to seize the bridge near the town of La Fiere. He sent another group to seize the bridge at Chef-du-Pont. Then-Major General Matthew Ridgway, the commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, established his headquarters in Ste. Mere Eglise, while Gavin supervised the tenuous bridgeheads at La Fiere and Chef-du-Pont. The 82nd linked up with elements from Utah Beach on D+1 and eventually passed the 90th and 9th Divisions through it to clear the Cherbourg Peninsula. As the Allies struggled to build combat power, the paratroopers were pressed into the attack into the hedgerows, helping to secure the liberation of Cherbourg. Throughout the battle for Normandy, General Gavin led from the front by visiting “each Battalion Command Post daily, and whenever circumstances permitted, visited the Company Command Posts.”
The 82nd Airborne Division was pulled out of combat on July 11, 1944, and shipped back to England to rest, refit, and train. In the Division’s 35 days of combat in Normandy, 46 percent of the unit was killed, wounded, or went missing in action. The 82nd Airborne Division’s leaders led from the front — out of 4 regimental and 16 battalion commanders, 15 of the commanders had been killed, wounded, or were missing in action in the month’s worth of combat.
In England, Ridgway was promoted to Lieutenant General and given command of the XVIII Airborne Corps. Gavin was promoted to Major General and given command of the 82nd Airborne Division. General Gavin led the “All Americans” during Operation Market-Garden, the Battle of the Bulge, and the occupation of Berlin. He was also one of 23 paratroopers out of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment to make all four combat jumps — Sicily, Salerno, Normandy, and Market-Garden. Airborne!
Throughout his military career, General Gavin was known for leading from the front, his courage, and his dedication to his troops. He was awarded numerous honors and decorations for his service, including the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, and the Purple Heart. He passed away on February 23, 1990, and was buried at West Point.
Gavin At War: The World War II Diary of Lieutenant General James M. Gavin
Recently, Casemate published Gavin at War: The World War II Diary of Lieutenant General James M. Gavin. My friends Keith Nightingale and Lewis Sorely edited and annotated the book. It is a fantastic book for seeing what a regimental and then division commander was thinking about during the war. The book is better if the reader has read one of the histories of the airborne in World War II like Airborne: A Combat History of American Airborne Forces by Fly Flanagan.
Gavin At War
Eleven Leadership Quotes from General Gavin:
“The regiment (505th Parachute Infantry Regiment) is going to do well. All it needs is opportunity. If they fight as well in Africa as they fight in Fayetteville, we have nothing to worry about.”
“The best we can hope for is to have a good percentage (of paratroopers delivered to the drop zone). No one is perfect, and anyone who insists on being perfect does nothing so that he will not make any mistakes.”
“Optimism is a characteristic of any commander worth a damn.”
“I wind up this year’s training convinced of the merits of tests. Competitions bring out the best in a unit and an individual. Mortar tests are very important. Sniper tests also. Be ruthless in weeding out misfit “leaders,” commissioned and enlisted. Be realistic and practical in night training. Property responsibility must be cultivated.”
“Quiet confidence, deliberate orders, and quick decisions are necessary, even in situations where defeat is apparently certain. Troops respond and reflect it in their behavior. An officer can show caution, but not fear.”
“There is only one way to fight a battle or war, I am more than ever convinced. Fight intensely, smartly, and tough. Take chances personally and in matters of decision. Nothing ventured, nothing gained…”
“We learned from the Sicilian show that you can do many things on the ground immediately after jumping that we did not think possible. The defenders are twice as scared as the jumpers…”
“As we go along in this war a bit longer, we will probably appreciate the fact that everything does not automatically go perfectly in every engagement, regardless of the excellent planning and leadership given it by the Commanding General (CG). Mistakes will be made. Only this way do we learn. We will never progress in the tactical evolution that must be taking place without making mistakes. Mistakes are part and parcel of the progress.
“Non-parachute troops are not as keen, nor as responsive, as paratroopers.”
“I am no doubt making many enemies in this army by refusing to retain or condoning the retention of inefficient unit commanders… If a unit commander does not have it, I do not see how in the world I can keep him.”
“…two things that are outstanding in war for an officer: fear and anxiety. Of the two, fear is least bothersome and the easiest to overcome.”
Conclusion
The last five blog posts on leaders and leadership from the World War II European Theater of Operations are:
Liberty Ships, LVCPs, Shermans, and Mustangs
Ike’s 8 Characteristics of Leadership
Like this post? Want to enhance your leadership skills? Then contact TFCG about seeing if an executive coach is a good fit for you. Want to improve your team’s leadership? Then contact TFCG about scheduling a keynote speech for your next retreat or off-site.
In the meantime, go on the offensive and use the quotes to inspire you to lead your organization like General Gavin led the 82nd Airborne Division during World War II.