MovieChat Forums > Merrill's Marauders (1962) Discussion > My theory why Frank Merrill was a brigad...

My theory why Frank Merrill was a brigadier general

posted 11 years ago by jeffyoung1
3 replies | jump to latest

In the United States Army, a formation of 3,000 soldiers is called a, brigade and it is commanded by a full colonel. The word, 'full', is not official but colloquial, to distinguish it from, lieutenant colonel. In informal conversations, both ranks are often referred to as, 'colonel'.

In the history of the U.S. Army, brigadier generals often followed European military tradition from the late 16th to 19th century by being the final, highest ranking fighting officer rank. Major generals and higher did not personally lead men into battle but brigadier generals could still do so and did so, which is why the term was adopted from the French, 'generale de brigade'. In military history, whenever a brigadier general commanded a brigade, it was typically 5,000 men. In the U.S. this practice continued into the Civil War where a brigadier general could command a unit as low as 5,000 to a full division. The Union cavalry division of the 9th at Gettysburg was a brigadier general and his division was only 9,000 men compared to the authorized strength of 16,000 of Union and Confederate armies.

Thanks for reading all the above background info and I apologize if I bored you.

I was surprised that a brigadier general was in charge of only a brigade sized unit, the 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional). The mid to late 20th century American Army rarely uses brigadier generals except for two armored cavalry regiments.

Here's my theory. It was political. The Americans needed to demonstrate to the British that they were fully committed to the China-Burma-India theater. The truth known to all was that the U.S. couldn't spare many more men after Europe and the Central Pacific. But it still had to be done. Placing an officer of general rank in charge of a large, commando-like formation of 3,000 men would surely impress the British and show them the Americans were serious. It worked but as the movie shows, the unfortunate brigadier general Merrill had to literally work his men to death.

[–] tiller088 10 years ago

There are a few problems with your theory. First, and probably most importantly, between WWI and WWII, the US Army underwent a wholesale reorganization in unit composition, from large four regiment sized divisions to a 'triangular' makeup of three regiment divisions. From at least the Mexican-American War through the Civil War and WWI, divisions were generally split into two brigades, but in WWII in the American Army, there was no such formation. So saying Merrill was made a brigadier general because he commanded a brigade is simply wrong.

Second, there was no hard and fast rule as to the rank assigned to various unit commanders. Yes, 'usually' a division was led by a major general, a brigade by a brigadier general, and a regiment by a colonel. But there are plenty of examples of brigadier generals commanding divisions, colonels commanding brigades, etc. One usually did not automatically attain a higher rank simply by elevating to command of a unit.

Third, there is a very important reason why the British would not have been 'impressed' by an American Brigadier General fighting with such a front line unit as The Marauders: in the British Army, a Brigadier is not considered to be a flag rank/general officer! At least in WWII, a typical British division was commanded by a Major General, and was comprised of typically three brigades, essentially the equivalent of American regiments, which are typically commanded by colonels.

A British Brigadier is more or less considered a 'super colonel' for lack of a better way of expressing it. You need only look at their rank insignia to see why - a colonel's shoulder insignia is two 'pips' and a crown, a brigadier is three 'pips' and a crown, but a Major General has a sword crossing a baton plus one 'pip', differentiating it as a general officer completely from the 'field grade' officers - major, lieutenant colonel, colonel and brigadier. In fact, the British colloquial term for being promoted to general officer is 'getting your baton'. A brigadier was a 'fighting rank' for the British, as even field grade officers were expected to 'lead from the front'. Merrill, leading what was essentially a regimental combat team, would have been nothing exceptional from the British perspective.

My two cents worth, at least. Hope that helps.

[–] nickm2 10 years ago

A British Brigadier is more or less considered a 'super colonel' for lack of a better way of expressing it.

So it's like commanding an 'enhanced Regiment', then. Thanks, that was interesting information. Of course, when I hear the word 'Brigadier', I usually think of "Lethbridge-Stuart'.

[–] silvercometred1 8 years ago

The word, 'full', is not official but colloquial, to distinguish it from, lieutenant colonel

I've also heard full colonel's referred to as Bird Colonels and Bull Colonels. I've also have heard LTCs referred to as "Light Colonels."

The US Army also allows an officer of a certain rank to fill the billet of one rank below. I've seen Majors that have filled a Captain's billet (company commander) and one-star Generals filled a Colonel's billet.