Fort Knox Army 250th history — who was Jacob L. Devers?

FORT KNOX, Ky. — Some of America’s most legendary service members and leaders made their marks on history during World War II. The war also forged leaders who didn’t receive as much notoriety but may have had an even greater influence.

Take, for instance, Jacob Devers.

“He is the most influential war commander that is relatively unknown to this day,” said Ty Reid, director of the General George S. Patton Museum of Leadership. “He’s not a household name, and even people who study World War II casually don’t know who he is.”

Devers graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, New York in 1909 – in the same class as George W. Patton Jr.

Unlike his legendary classmate, Devers received his commission in field artillery and didn’t see any battlefield action during World War I. Instead, by the war’s end he became an instructor at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

Reid said what Devers possessed as an Army officer was something that would set him apart during and after World War II.

“He didn’t come out of first world war with the combat accolades of other people,” said Reid, “but he was a brilliant organizer and strategist – a people person who worked well with others.”

Then in the 1930s, as Germany begins to rise from the ashes of World War I and talk of a new effort at German world domination reaches the shores of America, Army leaders conjure an idea to prepare for future combat – tanks. Fort Knox became the home for this burgeoning idea.

Under the leadership of mechanized giants Maj. Gen. Adna Chaffee – a cavalry officer – and Lt. Gen. Daniel Van Voorhis, the Armored Force concept took shape. The concept included the idea that armor would not become a branch like many other combat forces.

Did you know: Unimpressed with American tank concepts many manufacturers had proposed, Devers lobbied for production of the M4 Sherman Tank to battle German Panzers.

“It was actually a multifunctional command that was meant to pull in all branches of the service for mechanization,” said Reid. “Chaffee was a cavalryman, but he was big on coordination across branches of the Army as his armored force was being built.”

So powerful was the concept, then Camp Knox was granted permanent status and renamed Fort Knox.

All the planning and developing of the Armored Force threatened to stifle at the brink of war in 1941 when Chaffee died of cancer. Before he died, however, he selected Devers to take over.

“The officer that he hand-picked to succeed him was an artilleryman,” said Reid. “That’s kind of mind-blowing for some of the people who are like, “Armor branch – cavalry! Armor!

“He picked Devers because he was a brilliant organizer and a people-person who didn’t have that mentality of ‘I’m an artilleryman; I only do artillery stuff.’”

Reid said it was Devers’ ability to work well with others from across the Army that made him a perfect pick for Chaffee.

Did you know: The insignia for the Armored Force reflects three main branches of the Army – the tracks, the cannon barrel and lightning bolt on a triangle background of yellow for cavalry, red for field artillery, and blue for infantry.

The insignia adopted to identify the Armored Force highlighted this belief in a multifunctional command.

At that time, the Army was unsure about a sustaining future for tanks, said Reid.

“They called tanks in Army studies the pseudo-arms because the Army wasn’t sure if they were going to stick around,” said Reid. “They were building doctrine to confront emerging battlefield problems.”

Into all this uncertainty stepped Devers.

“Devers was the man for the job,” said Reid. “Until 1943, he was here at Knox. He really is the guy that is the orchestra conductor during those very formative years.”

Reid said about four divisions had been activated by the time of Chaffee’s death. By the time of Devers’ exit from Fort Knox a couple of years later, that number increased to 14 active divisions with as many as two or three more that were in the process of standing up.

Did you know: As commander of the Armored School and Fort Knox, Devers regularly had Margaret “Ma” Collier over to discuss and resolve issues in the African American service member community. He publicly celebrated Collier as a special friend long after his time at Fort Knox.

Another big issue threatened to derail all-hands-on-deck efforts during Devers’ time at Fort Knox: race relations. According to Reid, Devers’ personality proved perfect in stamping out any distractions and keeping all the troops focused on preparing for war.

With help from another Fort Knox legend – Margaret “Ma” Collier – Devers kept the peace while demonstrating his belief in the honor and worth of all Soldiers.

“Fort Knox did a better job of enforcing the separate-but-equal policy of that time than other posts because of people like Margaret Collier,” said Reid. “Margaret Collier also had a direct line to the general because she was there for the African American servicemen and could walk into Devers’ office at any time and say, ‘Hey, sir, can you take care of this; can you help us out with this?’

"Again, he was a people person who was right for his time.”

Did you know: Among Devers’ World War II campaign successes were the Battle of Monte Cassino, Operation Dragoon, Operation Nordwin during the Battle of the Bulge, Colmar Pocket and Operation Undertone in the Western Allied invasion of Germany. He earned three Army Distinguished Service Medals, a Navy Distinguished Service Medal and a Bronze Star.

Devers earned his third star and left Fort Knox at the height of the war to take command of various units in Europe. His combat experience started as commander of European Theater Headquarters, where he sometimes clashed with Dwight D. Eisenhower.

As history shone brightly on the seasoned combat warrior Eisenhower, who was transferred to England to take over at Supreme Allied Command headquarters, the Army chief of staff sent Devers to lesser-known conflicts in the Mediterranean. Devers enjoyed several victories during the war that were overshadowed by more publicized operations.

After the war, Devers commanded the Army Ground Forces for a few years. Reid said that unit was the ancestor of today’s U.S. Forces Command.

On Sept. 30, 1949, Devers was mandatorily retired on his 62nd birthday. He and his wife, Georgie, quietly moved to West Virginia, and lived out their remaining days. Not much has been written about him.

“I don’t think he ever published a memoir,” said Reid. “But that’s why he remains an interesting man who is very worthy of study.”

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