{"id":11588,"date":"2016-02-06T01:00:53","date_gmt":"2016-02-06T07:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hcstx.org\/?p=11588"},"modified":"2016-02-06T01:00:53","modified_gmt":"2016-02-06T07:00:53","slug":"military-history-junior-generalissimos-9-of-historys-youngest-commanders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/2016\/02\/06\/military-history-junior-generalissimos-9-of-historys-youngest-commanders\/","title":{"rendered":"Military History: Junior Generalissimos – 9 of History’s Youngest Commanders"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"JoanBattle\"<\/h3>\n

\u201cWhile a 30-something three-star is certainly a rarity in the annals of military history, a number of other legendary leaders assumed the mantle of command at far younger ages. Consider these.”<\/em><\/h3>\n

\"JamesGavin\"<\/p>\n

IT\u2019S BEEN SAID THAT WAR IS A YOUNG MAN\u2019S GAME<\/strong>. Need proof? Look no further than James M. Gavin<\/a>.<\/p>\n

James Gavin, pictured here before his promotion to three-star general at 37 \u2014 a veritable \u2018old man\u2019 when compared to some \u00a0history\u2019s other junior generals.<\/p>\n

In 1944, the 37-year-old New York City native rose to the rank of lieutenant general and was placed in command of the entire 82nd<\/sup> Airborne Division<\/a>. AWest Point<\/a> grad and pioneer of the burgeoning\u00a0field of airborne warfare, Gavin became famous among the grunts for his habit of carrying a bulky infantryman\u2019s M-1 rifle<\/a>, rather than a lighter carbine or officer\u2019s pistol. His preference for\u00a0leading from the front also won him the praise\u00a0of the rank and file. In fact, his troops nicknamed him the \u201cJumping General\u201d because of his penchant for being the first to hit the silk during airdrops.<\/p>\n

A veteran of the landings in Sicily<\/a>, Normandy<\/a> andHolland<\/a>, Gavin won two Distinguished Service Crosses<\/a>, the Silver Star<\/a> and the British Distinguished Service Order<\/a>. After the war, he headed up the army\u2019s R&D division, overseeing the design of the ubiquitous M-113 armoured personnel carrier<\/a>. President Kennedy appointed\u00a0Gavin to be the\u00a0American ambassador to France in 1961 largely on account of the former general\u2019s personal friendship with Charles De Gaulle<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Despite his myriad accomplishments, James M. Gavin is perhaps best remembered for being one of the youngest generals of the Second World War. And while a 30-something three-star is certainly a rarity in the annals of military history, a number of other legendary leaders assumed the mantle of command at far younger ages.<\/p>\n

Read the Remainder at Military History Now<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhile a 30-something three-star is certainly a rarity in the annals of military history, a number of other legendary leaders assumed the mantle of command at far younger ages. Consider these.” IT\u2019S BEEN SAID THAT WAR IS A YOUNG MAN\u2019S GAME. Need proof? Look no further than James M. Gavin. James Gavin, pictured here before…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[475,1286,4418,1898],"tags":[4419,3823,4420,4421,4422,4423],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11588"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11588"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11588\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thetacticalhermit.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}