Biography of General Mark Clark
Military Leader in WWII and The Korean War
Early Life and West Point
Mark Wayne Clark was born May 1st, 1896 in Madison Barracks, NY to a Col. Charles and Rebecca Clark. His father, like Mark’s grandfather; were career soldiers that served in military outposts all over the country. In 1918, graduated from West Point Military Academy.
WWI & The Interwar Years
Clark served valiantly in WWI until being wounded in action in the Vosges Mountains, in Eastern France. After a brief convalescence, he continued to serve in the Western Theatre until his return home in 1919[1].
The post World War I military was difficult for men like Clark. Clark became part of a growing number of professional soldiers that faced the reality of a shrinking military. Relegated to menial tasks in obscure military outposts, Clark took advantage of the time and enlisted in officer training school. He enrolled in and graduated from the prestige General Staff School in Fort Leavenworth, and the Army War College in Washington, D.C.
WWII - Operation Torch – The Invasion of North Africa
In October of 1942, Major General Clark performed one of the most daring operations of the war. Prior to the allied landings in Morocco and Algeria, he was spirited into North Africa by submarine to negotiate with the commander of French Forces on the continent, Admiral Francois Darlan[2]. Although Darlan and the Colonial Army in Morocco were technically under the control of the Vichy Government in France, the allies were aware that Darlan could be persuaded to lay down his weapons. The agreement between the two men cleared the way for a successful invasion of Northern Africa and it saved countless American lives.
WWII – Operation Husky – The Invasion of Italy
In September of 1943, Clark was promoted to lieutenant general and placed in command of the newly created U.S Fifth Army, which took a leading role in the invasion of Italy. The fighting in this rugged mountainous nation was one of the bloodiest contests in World War II.[3]
The disastrous amphibious landing at Salerno, the brutality of the Anzio campaign and the destruction of the ancient abbey at Monte Casino will forever be linked with General Clark and the fateful decisions that he made during those campaigns.
In June 1944, General Mark Clark became the first commander of a foreign army to capture Rome in over 5,000 years. Unfortunately for him, the bloodiness of the campaign and the Normandy landings less than two days later has diminished the achievement. Despite the conquest of the Eternal City, German forces would not be completely subdued in Northern Italy until 1945.[4]
The Korean War
During the Korean War, Mark Clark would take over for General Matthew B. Ridgeway on May 12, 1952. Aside from signing the Korean armistice in 1953, Clark also successfully negotiated the transfer of thousands of American servicemen from North Korean military prisons.[5]
Retirement
In 1954 upon his retirement from the Army, Mark Clark would go on to serve as president of The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. In addition he published two memoirs, Calculated Risk (1950) and From the Danube to Yalu (1954). He died on April 17, 1984.
Bibliography/Sources
Atkison, Rick The Day of Battle Henry Holt and Company – 2007
Bradley, Omar A Soldier’s Story Henry Holt and Company – 1954
D’Este, Carlo Bitter Victory: The Battle for Sicily, 1943 Perennial Publising Inc. – 1989
D’Este, Carol Fatal Decision: Anzio and the Battle for Rome Perennial Publishing Inc – 1992
Ridgeway, Mark, General The Korean War Da Capo Press - 1967
[1] Atkinson, Rick, Day of Battle, p. 183
[2] Atkinson, Rick, An Army at Dawn p. 89
[3] Bradley, Omar, A Soldier’s Story p. 536
[4] D’Este, Carlo Fatal Decision: Anzio and the Battle for Rome, p. 391
[5] Ridgeway, Matthew, General The Korean , p. 251
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