Tuesday, 10 November 2020 with Deutsch’s boss William Donovan, whose 34:04 Volume 34 Number 4 with Franklin Roosevelt Published by WWII History Round Table proved troublesome for the military. Smith Written by Dr. Connie Harris was suspicious of Donovan’s desire to be in www.mn-ww2roundtable.or charge of all intelligence gathering and was Welcome to the “Dr. Harold C. equally uncomfortable with irregular, Deutsch Lecture” at the November psychological, and unconventional warfare. session of the Dr. Harold C. Deutsch Donovan built a huge OSS civilian World War II History Round Table. intelligence infrastructure that employed Tonight’s speaker is D.K.R Crosswell, author thousands in multiple theaters, clashing with of Beetle: The Life of General Walter Bedell military planners who often frustrated him Smith. He will be speaking on General with their restrictions on OSS operations. Smith’s contributions to the difficult Even so, Smith and Donovan spoke highly of orchestration of Allied forces in achieving the other. victory in Europe. Born on October 5, 1895, in Indiana, Walter For those of you who are unfamiliar with this Bedell Smith or “Beetle,” a nickname derived annual event, we offer a word of explanation. from this middle name, did not rise in the It was Dr. Deutsch’s custom to speak on a military like many of his contemporaries. topic of his choosing at the November Eisenhower, Bradley, and Patton were West meeting. Because of his renowned scholarly Point graduates. Smith began his military reputation and knowledge of World War II, career in 1911 at sixteen as a private in the these were well-attended lectures. Many of Indiana National Guard. In the Guard, he his former students from the University of aided in Ohio Flood relief, the Indianapolis Minnesota came to this lecture. With his Streetcar strike, and in Mexico with the death, this Round Table took his name and Pancho Villa Expedition where he served on honors him with the lecture series in his the staff of the Indiana National Guard. He name. qualified for officer training school in 1917 and eventually became a Lieutenant with the Neither Harold Deutsch nor Walter Bedell 4th Infantry Division. Landing in France with “Beetle” Smith are well-recognized names his unit in June 1917, Smith was wounded from the Second World War. Harold Deutsch after two days combat in the Aisne-Marne was part of the Research and Analysis Offensive. Returning to the United States, he Division of the Office of Strategic Services served on the War Department’s Intelligence (OSS), and Beetle was one of Marshall’s men, Staff and spent most of the 1920s and 1930s and then Eisenhower’s Chief of Staff in going from one school to another. Although Europe. They were each cogs in the larger he missed attending West Point, he attended organizations of the war effort. Deutsch wrote the Command and General Staff College at reports and managed OSS Headquarters first Fort Leavenworth, the small arms school at in London and then in Paris. As part of Fort Benning Georgia, and the Army War George Marshall’s staff, Smith organized the College. Promotions came slowly and after Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC), the Joint over twenty years in the service, Smith was Chiefs of Staff (JCS), and with the British, the still a major. The situation changed quickly Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS). With the when in 1941 when Major Smith went to organization of the JIC, Smith had to deal Washington to be on George Marshall’s staff. If you are a veteran, or know a veteran, of one of these campaigns – contact Don Patton at cell 612-867-5144 or [email protected]

The Round Tablette 10 November 2020 — 2 Unlike his comic strip name-sake, he had [email protected] great capacity for organization, liaison work, Twin Cities Civil War Round Table - 17 Nov. 2020 - Gen. Grant at the Battle of Belmont and 15 Dec. 2020 - and analysis. By the time he organized the General George Thomas - www.tccwrt.com - JIC, the JCS, and the CCS, he was a brigadier [email protected] general. St. Croix Valley Civil War Round Table - TBD - 715- 386-1268 - [email protected] When Eisenhower, because of his Military History Book Club, Har Mar Barnes & Noble organizational skills and friendly relations - TBD - [email protected] with the British, became Supreme Civil War Symposium -TBD - [email protected] Commander of the European Theater of Minnesota Military Museum, Camp Ripley, 15000 Operations, he requested that Smith become Hwy 115, Little Falls, MN 56345 - 320-616-6050 - http://www.mnmilitarymuseum.org/ his Chief of Staff. While Eisenhower Minnesota Air Guard Museum - 612-713-2523 - maintained a pleasant, distant presence, www.mnangmuseum.org Smith’s job required an aggressive manner, 8th AF Historical Society of MN, KC Hall and he became known as Ike’s “hatchet” man. Bloomington, Wednesdays at 1130 - Despite his reputation of being tough, Smith https://www.8thmn.org. Friends of Ft. Snelling - www.fortsnelling.org managed to deal with the touchy egos of World Without Genocide - 651-695-7621 - Bernard Montgomery, George Patton, Harold http://www.worldwithoutgenocide.org/ Alexander, and Mark Clark. Throughout his Fagen Fighters WWII Museum, Granite Falls, MN - tenure as Ike’s Chief of Staff, Smith’s Air show - TBD - 320-564-6644 - relations between the Western Allies http://www.fagenfighterswwiimuseum.org. Wings of the North Airshow - Eden Prairie - TBD - remained cordial. Smith never saw actual 952-746-6100 - www.wotn.org combat in this war but accepted the surrenders Book Club - of Italy and Germany as Eisenhower’s [email protected] representative. Alliance Francaise 612-332-0436 - www.afmsp.org Honor Flight - Jerry Kyser - 651-338-2717 - Fighters alone do not win wars. No cinematic [email protected] masterpiece will be made about Beetle Smith CAF - Commemorative Air Force - 651-455-6942 - or Harold Deutsch, people who worked www.cafmn.org Selim Center for Life Long Learning, UST, ‘behind the scenes’ to provide the plans and https://www.stthomas.edu/selimcenter/ the knowledge necessary to achieve victory Western Naval Historical Association and deserve to be remembered. [email protected]

FURTHER READINGS: We need volunteers to drive our veterans to D.K.R. Crosswell, Beetle: The Life of General and from meetings. Please contact Don Patton (Lexington, KY: The at cell 612-867-5144 or [email protected] University Press of Kentucky, 2010). Stephen R. Taafe, Marshall and His Generals: US Round Table Schedule 2020-2021 Army Commanders in World War II (Lawrence 8 Dec Origins of the Great KS: University Press of Kansas, 2001). 2021 Benjamin Runkle, Generals in the Making: How 19 Jan Aerial Intelligence in Europe’s Air War Marshall, Eisenhower, Patton, and Their Peers 9 Feb Struggle for Middle East Oil and War Became the Commanders who won World War II 9 Mar Nazi Art (Lanham, MD: Stackpole Books, 2019). 23 Mar Nazi Scientists in the US Space Program Mark A. Stoler, Allies and Adversaries: The Joint 13Apr The Tragedy of Poland: Nazis; Soviets Chiefs of Staff, The Grand Alliance and US 11 May The “Mighty Eighth” and Victory in Strategy in World War II (Chapel Hill, NC: Europe University of North Carolina, 2000). The Round Table is a 501.c.3 non-profit. David Rigby, Allied Master Strategists: The- We would greatly appreciate your Combined Chiefs of Staff in World War II supporting the HCDWW2RT! (Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 2012). Announcements: Vietnam War Roundtable – TBD

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