Truman Smith (officer)

Truman Smith (August 25, 1893 – October 3, 1970) was a U.S. Army infantry officer, military attache, and intelligence officer. He collected valuable intelligence on German military capabilities while serving in Berlin before World War II. During the war, he was a personal advisor to General George C. Marshall. He influenced the establishment of the new Bundeswehr to play a role in the Cold War.

Early life and career
He was brought up and attended schools in Stamford, Connecticut. His father was killed in action at Cebu, Philippine Islands (February 1900). He attended Yale (1912–15) and earned a B.A., 100 years after his namesake grandfather. He was a graduate student at Columbia (1915–1916).

He married Katherine Alling Hollister in 1917.

U.S. Army
He served on the Mexican border as a lieutenant in the New York National Guard (1916), and was commissioned second lieutenant in the Regular Army November 30, 1916.

In World War I he was a company commander and battalion commander in the U.S. 4th Infantry Regiment in France during the Marne and Meuse-Argonne Campaigns. He received the Silver Star (recommended for Distinguished Service Cross) and promotion to major for leading his battalion in capture of the Bois de Foret.

He was in Coblenz during the occupation of Germany as political advisor to the officer in charge of civil affairs (January 1919 – June 1920), followed by nearly four years as assistant military attaché in Berlin (June 1920 – April 1924). In November 1922, Smith was sent to Munich to research a local political organizer, Adolf Hitler. In his report filed to Washington, he prophetically identified the young Hitler as a "marvelous demagogue," who was the dominating force in his Bavarian fascist movement and that his forceful, logical, and fanatical speaking could sway a neutral listener.

Smith returned to Berlin as military attaché from 1935 to 1939.

During the eleven years between postings in Berlin, he completed the U.S. Infantry School, Ft. Benning, Georgia (1927), attended the Command and General Staff School, Ft. Leavenworth (1928), returned to the Infantry School as an instructor (1928–32), attended the Army War College (1933), and served with the 27th infantry regiment, Schofield Barracks, Hawaii (June 1933 – April 1935).

He returned to Washington, D.C., as a specialist on Germany in the U.S. Army military intelligence division, and as a personal adviser to General George C. Marshall (1939–1945).

From Berlin in the late 1930s, he reported on German rearmament, Luftwaffe capabilities, and the increasing extent of the Germans' organization for war. He was friendly with important officers such as Werner von Blomberg (Minister of War).

He arranged (May 1936) the first of Colonel Charles Lindbergh's five inspection trips to the German aircraft industry and the Luftwaffe. Senior Luftwaffe officers discussed air tactics and operations with Lindbergh; he flew a Messerschmitt Bf 109. The trips produced valuable intelligence. Lindbergh's public opposition to Roosevelt's war policies, among other things, made him unpopular. Accepting a medal from Hermann Göring fueled suspicion that he was a Nazi sympathizer and disloyal to his country.

Smith represented that Lindbergh's visits in fact provided valuable intelligence. Smith was himself vulnerable to vilification as a defeatist or a German sympathizer, but Marshall, who had commanded him at Fort Benning, protected him.

Smith, by all accounts, served the army well during World War II, but he and his wife remained staunchly anti-Roosevelt in their outlook. Upon hearing of Roosevelt's death in April 1945, Smith and his wife burst into roars of laughter and embraced each other and a friend. <!--verbatim: As popular sentiment gradually swung in favor of the Allies, Lindbergh and Smith were denounced in the press as fascists and henchmen of the Third Reich. The accuracy of the Lindbergh- Smith reports were questioned and dismissed as defeatist propaganda. A       recent assessment, by intelligence specialist Col. Ivan D. Yeaton, holds that they were "The finest example of intelligence reporting that I have       ever seen". In 1953, Army intelligence asked Smith to prepare an account of his activities in Berlin and an assessment of the assistance he had received from Lindbergh. Smith was given special access to G-2 files and several typescript and carbon copies of his carefully researched monograph, Air Intelligence Activities. . . Berlin, 1939, were prepared. The ribbon copy and literary properties were presented to the Yale University Library. Smith retained several carbon copies of the document for distri- bution to his friends and the appropriate governmental agencies. One copy and two drafts containing corrections and comments in Lindbergh's hand were included with the gift of Smith's personal papers to the Hoover Presidential Library. Evidence of a third draft can be found in a nine page holograph letter from Lindbergh dated May 31, 1955. As might be expected, Col. Lindbergh's visits to Germany provided the basis for a friendship which lasted for many years. The warmth of       that relationship may be sensed from the letters exchanged by the Smiths and Lindberghs between 1936 and 1964. Students of the interwar years will also be delighted to find that this collection contains not one, but three eyewitness accounts of life in Germany in the 1930's. In addition to Air Intelligence Activities, Smith also prepared an autobiography, Facts of Life, which contains additional comments on his service in Berlin and the aftermath of the Lindbergh-Smith reports. The third eyewitness account is that of Mrs. Smith, which she subsequently compiled from her diaries. Aside from its comments on his association with Lindbergh and the methods they employed, Facts of Life is probably most notable for its perspectives on the career and character of George C. Marshall. Smith served under Marshall from 1928 to 1932 as an instructor of military history and tactics at the famous infantry school at Ft. Benning. Later it was Marshall who helped engineer his assignment to Berlin; and Marshall who not only protected Smith and convinced the White House to call off the press barrage, but insisted on retaining Smith as his principal advisor on        Germany. Of particular note in this regard is a carbon copy of extracts from Smith's memorandum of November 1, 1937 concerning the development of        German airpower. Across the top of the sheet is Marshall's notation: "Secretary of War: This was Col. Truman Smith's report from Berlin about        a year before 'Munich'." By June 1945 Smith had become convinced of the necessity of eventually rearming Get-many as a counterbalance to Soviet power. The opportunity to        play a role in the rebuilding of the Wehrmacht finally came in the middle 1950's. He corresponded with Generals Blummentritt, von Schwerin, and Speidel and visited Germany several times. In 1960 he hosted Speidel, who had recently been selected to command the Wehrmacht, during an official visit. Smith's evaluation of the new German army was recorded in a 1963 memorandum, "Estimate of the Combat Value of the German Army". A great deal of Smith's success as a military attache was due to        disciplined professionalism and foresight. During his service with the American occupation forces after World War I and as our attache in Berlin from 1920-24, Smith met many German officers and took advantage of every opportunity to cultivate and enlarge this circle of friendships. Later, when he was on the faculty at Ft. Benning, he convinced Marshall to invite several of them to attend the school. Thus he was able to form some very valuable friendships with such highly placed officers as Adolf von Schell and Defense Minister von Blomberg; and, in return, he and his assistant attaches were invited to attend German officer schools. A considerable share of the credit must also go to Mrs. Smith who not only understood and supported her husband's efforts, but entered into them wholeheartedly. In her account of life in Berlin in the 1930's she describes her efforts to get the other service wives to become proficient in German so that they would know what was going on around them. The Smith's       entertained frequently because she understood the value of the tidbits that could be gleaned from otherwise casual conversations. Surviving from Col. Smith's earlier years of service are typescript copies of Smith's letters to his wife from the Mexican border (1917), from France and Germany (1918-19), and typescript copies of his notes concerning a visit to Munich during the week of November 15-22, 1922, including a personal interview with Hitler and a report concerning the trip. In addition to the materials mentioned previously, the collection also includes copies of many of Smith's reports to G-2 (1935-45), and several articles and speeches (1917-67). Of particular note is a series of articles on military developments which Smith prepared for syndication in 1941-42 under the nom de plume, "Strategicus". -->

Retirement
He sought the Republican nomination for Connecticut's 4th congressional district in 1946, but lost to Hon. John Davis Lodge in 1946. He advised the Eberstadt (Armed Forces) Committee, part of the first Hoover Commission on Organization of the Executive Branch (1945–1946, or 1948). He was military aide to the governor of Connecticut. He translated, edited, and wrote the preface for Invasion, 1944: Rommel and the Normandy Campaign, by Lieutenant General Hans Speidel, Rommel's chief of staff.

In 1958, General Albert Wedemeyer published an autobiographic book about WW II. In this book, he praised Smith for his achievements during his time in Berlin and the quality of the reports he delivered, i.e. about the German re-armament. Wedemeyer pointed out that Smith (and Charles Lindbergh) earned gratefulness of the United States but were criticized by a clique of politicians that wanted to ignore the war preparations of the Nazi regime.

Awards

 * Distinguished Service Medal
 * Silver Star
 * World War I Victory Medal
 * American Defense Service Medal
 * American Campaign Medal
 * World War II Victory Medal
 * Army of Occupation Medal with "Germany" clasp

Distinguished Service Medal citation
The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918, takes pleasure in presenting the Army Distinguished Service Medal to Colonel (General Staff Corps) Truman Smith (ASN: 0-4619), United States Army, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services to the Government of the United States, in a duty of great responsibility, during the period from August 1935 to March 1938, and from 23 February 1942 through 19 January 1945.

General Orders: War Department, General Orders No. 8 (February 7, 1945)

Action Date: August 1935 – March 1938 & February 23, 1942 – January 19, 1945

Silver Star citation
''By direction of the President, under the provisions of the act of Congress approved July 9, 1918 (Bul. No. 43, W.D., 1918), Captain (Infantry) Truman Smith, United States Army, is cited by the Commanding General, American Expeditionary Forces, for gallantry in action and a silver star may be placed upon the ribbon of the Victory Medals awarded him. Captain Smith distinguished himself by gallantry in action while serving with the 4th Infantry Regiment, 3d Division, American Expeditionary Forces, in action in the Bois de Foret, France, 22 October 1918, and by his brilliant leadership of his battalion.''

General Orders: GHQ, American Expeditionary Forces, Citation Orders No. 4 (June 3, 1919)

Action Date: October 22, 1918

Dates of rank

 * 2nd lieutenant, NYNG – 28 March 1916
 * 1st lieutenant, NYNG – 11 November 1916
 * 1st lieutenant, Regular Army – 6 December 1916
 * Captain – 14 July 1917
 * Major – 7 April 1919
 * Reverted to rank of captain – 16 March 1920
 * Major – 16 March 1928
 * Lieutenant colonel – 1 July 1938
 * Retired and called to active duty temporary rank of colonel – 1 February 1942
 * Released from active duty – 13 June 1946

Publications

 * 1946   German General Staff Abdicates. Infantry Journal. 58: 22–7.  Jan., 1946.
 * 1946   Stalingrad or Bust. Infantry Journal. 59:14-19. Aug., 1946.
 * 1956   Lindbergh and the Luftwaffe. American Mercury. 82:93.  April, 1956.
 * 1960   Infamous- Record of Soviet Espionage. Reader's Digest.  77:36-42. Aug., 1960.
 * (unpublished)
 * 1946   Stalingrad or Bust. Infantry Journal. 59:14-19. Aug., 1946.
 * 1956   Lindbergh and the Luftwaffe. American Mercury. 82:93.  April, 1956.
 * 1960   Infamous- Record of Soviet Espionage. Reader's Digest.  77:36-42. Aug., 1960.
 * (unpublished)
 * (unpublished)
 * (unpublished)