Ralph Corbett Smith Papers

http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt100033gq No online items Register of the Ralph Corbett Smith papers Finding aid prepared by Jessica Lemieux Hoover Institution Library and Archives © 2009, 2019 434 Galvez Mall Stanford University Stanford, CA 94305-6003 [email protected] URL: http://www.hoover.org/library-and-archives Register of the Ralph Corbett 78013 1 Smith papers Title: Ralph Corbett Smith papers Date (inclusive): 1910-1974 Collection Number: 78013 Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives Language of Material: In English and French Physical Description: 32 manuscript boxes, 3 oversize boxes, 1 card file box, 9 oversize folders(18.5 Linear Feet) Abstract: Correspondence, diaries, reports, writings, and printed matter relating to the American Expeditionary Forces in France during World War I, activities of the Command and General Staff School and Army War College in the inter-war period, and American military operations in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Creator: Smith, Ralph Corbett, 1893-1998 Hoover Institution Library & Archives Access Boxes 11, 13-15, 17-18, 24, and 35 closed for preservation. Original materials in Box 34 restricted; use copies available in Box 32. The remainder of the collection is open for research; materials must be requested at least two business days in advance of intended use. Publication Rights For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives. Acquisition Information Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1978. Preferred Citation [Identification of item], Ralph Corbett Smith papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives. Biographical Note Major General Ralph Corbett Smith was born in 1893 in South Omaha, Nebraska. After attending Colorado State College, he served in the Colorado National Guard. Smith was an early aviator and was given flying lessons by Oroville Wright. In 1916, Smith was commissioned into the US Army as a second lieutenant. Smith served under General John Pershing in punitive expedition against Mexican revoluntionary Pancho Villa before the United States entered World War I. From 1916-1918, Smith served in World War I, primarily in France, and was twice decorated for bravery. He was wounded in the Meuse-Argonne offensive in 1918. Between the world wars, Smith taught at West Point. He also attended and subsequently taught at Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. In 1942, he was promoted to Major General and took command of the 27th Infantry Division of the US Army. Troops under Smith's command captured Makin Atoll in the Gilbert Islands, the first central Pacific island to be recaptured by the Allies in 1943. A year later, the 27th Division took part in the struggle for the island of Saipan in the western Pacific. Major General Ralph C. Smith was relieved of command by Lieutenant General Holland M. Smith of the US Marine Corps, causing controversy between the Army and the Marine Corps. Major General R. C. Smith was later exonerated by an Army board of inquiry. From 1945-1946, Smith served as a military attaché at the US embassy in Paris and CARE's chief of mission for France. In 1948, Smith retired from the Army and became a fellow at the Hoover Institution. His first wife, Madeleine, died in 1975. Smith was remarried in 1980 to Hildy Jarman; she died in 1995. In 1998, Smith died at home in Palo Alto at the age of 104, the oldest surviving general officer of the US Army. Scope and Content of Collection The Ralph Corbett Smith papers consists of correspondence, diaries, orders, maps, reports, lectures, books on military history, military textbooks, photographs, and clippings related to the course of Smith's career in the Army. Smith served in the American Expeditionary Forces in France during World War I, taught at the Command and General Staff School and Army War College in the inter-war period, and played a vital role in American military operations in the Pacific Theater during World War II, commanding the Army's 27th Infantry Division. Arranged in five series: Diaries, Correspondence, Army files, Photographs, and Published Material. Subjects and Indexing Terms World War, 1939-1945 -- Campaigns -- Pacific Ocean Officers World War, 1914-1918 -- Campaigns -- France Register of the Ralph Corbett 78013 2 Smith papers United States. Army. American Expeditionary Forces United States. Army United States. Army. Infantry Division, 27th Army War College (U.S.) U.S. Army Command and General Staff College Diaries 1911-1943 Scope and Contents note Consists of a diary begun by Smith while he was at school and another series of diary entries written during World War II. The first diary chronicles his early education, entry into the Army, and the U.S. entry into World War I. This diary is related to and precedes several albums of correspondence that Smith wrote to his family, located in the correspondence series. The second diary dates from 1943 and describes the movements of the 27th Division from the mainland to Hawaii and across the Pacific. Arranged in chronological order. box 1, folder 1-2 Diary and classroom notes 1911-1917 box 1, folder 3 Diary notes 1943 July-November Correspondence 1917-1971 Scope and Contents note Consists of correspondence, associated manuscripts, and clippings regarding Smith's career. Includes two albums of letters Smith wrote to his family during World War I, describing his training and deployment to France. These albums are in effect an epistolary diary. Also significant are several folders of correspondence and clippings regarding the Smith vs. Smith controversy over Makin Atoll, and its effects on the relationship between the Army and the Marine Corps. Arranged in rough chronological order. box 1, folder 4 Album of World War I letters (1917) 1917 box 1, folder 5-6 Album of World War I letters and notes 1918-1920 box 2, folder 1 Album of World War I letters and notes 1918-1920 box 2, folder 2 Family correspondence 1920 box 2, folder 3 Regarding General Golovine's book 1933-1934 box 2, folder 4 Swords and Ploughshares: An Introduction to the Sociology of War, by General N. N. Golovine 1938 box 2, folder 5 General correspondence 1931-1951 box 2, folder 6 Conroy's burial 1948-1949 box 2, folder 7 America article on Makin 1949 box 2, folder 8-9 Makin correspondence and clippings 1944-1950 box 36, folder 1 G-2 Situation Map no.2, Saipan Island, Sheets 1 and 4 1944 May 6 box 2, folder 10 Colonel W.M. Van Antwerp 1961-1962 box 2, folder 11 Smith, Truman and Kay 1967-1971 Army files 1917-1967 Scope and Contents Orders, reports, maps, lectures and exercises for military education, and memorabilia documenting Major General Smith's long career in the United States Army, and his historical analyses afterward. Smith fought in both World War I and World War II and taught at the Army War College and Army Command and Staff School. Arranged in chronological order. box 32, folder 1 Battlefield souvenirs, [Souvarin] (use copies only) undated Access Original materials in Box 34 restricted; use copies available in Box 32. 3 buttons Eagle pin Register of the Ralph Corbett 78013 3 Smith papers Army files 1917-1967 World War I 1917-1919 Piece of rusted metal Lourdes medallion World War I 1917-1919 box 2, folder 12 American Expeditionary Forces, France 1917-1919 map_case case Third Corps Area, Operation Map No.3 - 3rd American Army, American Sector - Coblenz Bridgehead 1918 box 2, folder 13 Army General Staff College - Handbook for Brigade and Division Commanders 1918 box 2, folder 14 Médaille de Saint-Michel 1918 box 2, folder 15 Université de Paris - Cours de Civilisation Française pour les Étudiants Américains 1919 map_case case 2 maps: Annecy, Service Géographique de l'Armée, 1931 Auxerre-Dijon, Service de Tourisme Michelin, 1937 1931-1937 Army War College 1930-1935 box 3, folder 1 The Galician Battle, 1914 1930 October 4-8 box 3, folder 2 The Russian War Plan of 1914 1931 May 21-22 box 3, folder 3 Comparison of French and American Tactical Doctrine 1932 box 36, folder 2 Map no. 1, Inclosure no. 6 and Map no. 2, Inclosure no. 7 undated box 3, folder 4 Comparison of French and American Offensive Doctrines 1932 box 36, folder 2 Map no. 1, Inclosure no. 6, General Situation - Gettysburg Map no. 2, Inclosure no. 7, Special Situation - Blue undated box 3, folder 5-6 Conduct of War course 1934-1935 box 36, folder 3 Album of maps depicting Civil War campaigns undated box 3, folder 7 Circular of Information and Regulations 1934-1935 box 3, folder 7 G-1 course 1934-1935 box 3, folder 8 G-2 course 1934-1935 box 4, folder 1 G-3 course 1934-1935 box 4, folder 2 G-4 course 1934-1935 box 4, folder 3 G-4 reference data 1934-1935 box 4, folder 4-5 War Plans course 1934-1935 box 4, folder 6 Bulletin 1935 box 4, folder 7 Orders to Army War College 1935 Army Command and Staff School 1923-1934 box 4, folder 8 Infantry School 1923-1924 box 4, folder 9 Lecture on Grant and Lee 1924-1933 box 4, folder 10 Tactical Principles and Decisions 1930 box 36, folder 4 Map no. 1, Inclosure no. 6, General Situation - Gettysburg Map no. 2, Inclosure no. 7, Special Situation (Blue) undated box 4, folder 11 Military History and Strategy 1931-1932 box 4, folder 12 Lectures on Military History 1931-1934 map_case case Map of Montmirail, Janvilliers, Boissy, Charleville Map no. 1 - Situation des corps allemands, le 6 Septembre 1914 vers 9 heures du matin, dans la région Esternay-Saint-Gond undated box 4, folder 13 War Planning Principles 1931-1934 box 5, folder 1 Military Intelligence 3 1932 box 5, folder 2 Memoranda 1932 box 5, folder 3 Memoranda and directives 1932-1933 box 5, folder 4 Infantry Headquarters and Service Company 1932-1933 box 5, folder 5 Civil War 1932-1934 box 5, folder 6 Preparatory course exam 1933 box 5, folder 7 Military Intelligence Factor in the Commander's Decision 1933-1934 Register of the Ralph Corbett 78013 4 Smith papers Army files 1917-1967 Army Command and Staff School 1923-1934 box 5, folder 8-10 Military Intelligence 1933-1934 box 36, folder 4 [Table for intelligence analysis] undated map_case case Overlay to accompany Section I Map Problem no.

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