Jacob Loucks Devers (; 8 September 1887 – 15 October 1979) was a United States Army general who commanded the 6th Army Group in the European Theater of World War II. He was involved in the development and adoption of numerous weapons, including the M4 Sherman and M26 Pershing tanks, the DUKW amphibious truck, the Bell H-13 Sioux helicopter, and the M16 rifle.
A graduate of the United States Military Academy, Devers was commissioned in the field artillery in 1909. During World War I, he was an instructor at the School of Fire at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and the November 11 armistice ended the fighting before he received orders to go to France. He traveled to France soon afterwards, where he attended the French artillery school at Treves. Between the world wars, he was a staunch advocate of mechanization when the idea of phasing out horses met strong resistance from conservative gunners.
When World War II broke out in Europe, Devers was stationed in Panama. He was promoted to major general in October 1940 and took command of the newly formed 9th Infantry Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, a base whose construction he oversaw. Appointed Chief of the Armored Force in August 1941, he supervised its expansion from four armored divisions to sixteen. He was an articulate proponent of the emerging tactical doctrine of combined arms and rejected the American doctrine that held that tanks were for exploitation, not for fighting other tanks. He pressed American industry to produce more powerful engines and, often against the views of his superiors, pushed the development of the M4 Sherman, a medium tank with a 75 mm gun. Not satisfied with the Sherman, he called for still more heavily armed and -armored tanks. He wanted 250 of the new M26 Pershing tanks for Operation Overlord but was overruled.
In May 1943, Devers became European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) commander. His principal tasks were overseeing preparation of detailed plans and the buildup of men and materiel for Overlord, and supporting the Combined Bomber Offensive. He clashed with General Dwight D. Eisenhower over the diversion of ETOUSA resources to Eisenhower's North African Theater of Operations. Eisenhower succeeded him at ETOUSA in January 1944, and Devers went to the Mediterranean as Commander North African Theater of Operations, United States Army (NATOUSA), and Deputy Supreme Allied Commander, Mediterranean Theater, to British General Sir Henry Maitland Wilson. Devers was involved in the organization, planning and leadership of Operation Dragoon, the invasion of southern France in August 1944. He led the 6th Army Group in France and Germany through the advance to the Rhine, the German counterattack in Operation Northwind, the operations to reduce the Colmar Pocket and the Western Allied invasion of Germany. After the war, he commanded the Army Ground Forces.
Early life and education Jacob Loucks Devers was born in York, Pennsylvania, on 8 September 1887. His parents were Philip Devers, a watchmaker and partner in a jewelry store, and Ella Kate Loucks, a homemaker. He had two younger brothers, Frank and Phillip, and a younger sister, Catherine, known as Kitts. The Devers, of Irish and Alsatian ancestry, were strict, hardworking, and religious. The family belonged to the Evangelical Lutheran Church, which did not believe in smoking or drinking. While providing a comfortable middle-class life for their children, the couple taught them to value dependability, integrity, and industriousness.
Growing up in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, the young Jamie Devers, as he was called by his family, enjoyed the outdoors: camping, fishing, and hunting. He played all the usual boyhood sports and made friends easily with his engaging smile and cheerful personality. In addition to his household chores, he did odd jobs around the neighborhood and worked on the farm of his maternal grandfather, Jacob Loucks. Initially, he was educated at Garfield Elementary School in York. He entered York High School in September 1901. A popular student, he was elected class president. He had an excellent academic record and earned high marks in mathematics and science. Always competitive despite being slightly built, the Devers captained the basketball team, played defensive quarterback in football, and starred in baseball.
Devers graduated from York High School in May 1905. He was accepted to Lehigh University, where he intended to study engineering, but U.S. Representative Daniel F. Lafean offered him an appointment to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He entered in June with the class of 1909. Among his classmates were George S. Patton, William Hood Simpson, and Robert L. Eichelberger, who would also become four-star generals in World War II, and John C. H. Lee, who became a three-star general. Devers's classmates considered him a "puritanical" man with "a countercultural aversion to alcohol and tobacco". He did well in his studies and excelled in sports by playing shortstop on the Army baseball team and guard on the Army Black Knights' basketball squad. He also played polo. He graduated from West Point on 11 June 1909, ranking 39th in his class of 103, and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in his chosen branch, the field artillery. There were only nine positions available, but enough of the higher-ranking cadets chose other branches that Devers secured his first preference.
World War I Devers's first posting was the 1st Battalion, 4th Mountain Artillery, based at Vancouver Barracks, Washington. That was a pack artillery unit, with its howitzers, ammunition, and equipment carried by mules. It was equipped with the obsolescent QF 2.95-inch mountain gun. Three months after Devers joined, the unit moved to Fort David A. Russell, Wyoming, where it rejoined the 2nd Battalion, which was returning from the Philippines. Devers was assigned to Battery C. Soon afterwards, First Lieutenant Lesley J. McNair became the battery commander. On 11 October 1911, Devers married Georgie Hayes Lyon of Arlington, Virginia, daughter of Frank Lyon and niece of Major LeRoy S. Lyon, his battalion commander, in a ceremony at her parents' home in Arlington, Virginia. They had met when she visited her uncle at Fort Russell.
For his next assignment in December 1912, Devers was sent back to West Point to teach mathematics. He also managed the baseball program and coached the Cadet basketball team. His players included Dwight D. Eisenhower and Omar Bradley. On 1 April 1916, he was promoted to first lieutenant. That August, he was transferred to the newly activated 9th Field Artillery at Schofield Barracks, in what was then the Territory of Hawaii. His only child Frances Lyon, was born there on 20 July 1917. The 9th Field Artillery had a battalion of 4.7-inch guns and one of 155 mm guns. Medium artillery was new in the United States Army, and the 9th was its first artillery tractor-drawn regiment. Devers was given command of Battery F.
The United States entered World War I against Germany on 6 April 1917. Devers was promoted to captain on 15 May and major on 5 August. He was posted to the School of Fire at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, on 10 December as an instructor. He received promotions to lieutenant colonel on 30 July 1918 and colonel on 24 October 1918. He became executive officer of the 9th Field Artillery Regiment, his former unit from Hawaii now at Fort Sill, on 15 October 1918. In September, he was nominated to command the 60th Field Artillery, which was ordered to move to the Western Front in France, but he never took up the post. The Armistice of 11 November 1918 ended the fighting, and the orders were canceled. A disappointed Devers instead became commanding officer of the 1st Field Artillery at Fort Sill on 5 March 1919.
In May 1919, Devers was sent on a three-month temporary duty assignment to Europe with the American Army of Occupation. He attended the French artillery school at Trèves to study guns, ammunition, equipment, and tactics used by the Allies and the Germans during the war.
Interwar Period
Returning to the United States, Devers began a second tour of duty at West Point by serving as Senior Field Artillery Instructor and Commander, Field Artillery Detachment. He reverted from colonel to his substantive rank of captain on taking up the appointment on 20 August 1919. He was promoted to major again on 1 July 1920. The superintendent was Brigadier General Douglas MacArthur. MacArthur fought an uphill and unpopular battle to bring the curriculum up to date, and Devers defended MacArthur and his methods although his own department was unaffected.
After five years at West Point, Devers was selected to attend the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He began his studies there on 3 September 1924 and finished as a Distinguished Graduate on 28 June 1925. He was ranked 42nd in the class of 258. He was then posted once again to Fort Sill, this time as the director the Field Artillery School's Gunnery Department until 31 August 1929. He worked with officers such as Captain Edward H. Brooks. During his tour, Devers was credited with making a number of innovative artillery tactical and technical improvements, including advanced fire-support techniques, which was later used successfully during World War II. He remained a staunch advocate of mechanization throughout the interwar period. The idea of phasing out horses met strong resistance from conservative gunners.
In September 1929, Devers was ordered to Washington, DC, to serve on the staff of the Chief of Field Artillery. Chosen to attend the Army War College in Washington, he began his studies there on 15 August 1932 and graduated on 29 June 1933. That was followed by a one-year assignment to Fort Hoyle, Maryland, as executive officer of the 1st Field Artillery Brigade, and then as commander of the 2nd Battalion, 6th Field Artillery. After 14 years as a major, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel again on 26 February 1934. On 15 June, he was sent to Fort Myer, Virginia, near the District of Columbia, as commander of the 1st Battalion, 16th Field Artillery. The battalion was supposed to be a demonstration unit for parades and other public events, and was short of personnel because many were assigned to duty with the Civilian Conservation Corps. As a result, young regimental officers like Second Lieutenant Alexander Graham, who later married Devers's daughter Frances, were surprised when Devers had them conduct training in the field and fire their 75 mm guns at every opportunity.
In 1936, Devers returned to the Military Academy for the third time, now as graduate manager of athletics. The superintendent was now Major General William Durward Connor, an officer renowned for his sharp tongue. Devers later recalled, "A lot of people were afraid of General Connor. He called me a moron once a week". The responsibility had grown considerably since the days when Devers was a cadet. Then, there were only six varsity team sports; by 1936, there were eighteen. Despite the Great Depression, the Athletic Boards, which Devers ran, had accumulated considerable funds. His major task was the construction of new playing fields where there did not appear to be any available land. He came up with a plan to move the right of way of the West Shore Railroad. He found the railroad welcoming of the plan, as a shorter and straighter route saved them money. The new fields were completed in December 1936. He was promoted to full colonel on 1 July 1938.
World War II Emergency