World War II

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States formally entered World War II in December 1941. At the time, Colonel Maurice Rose was stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia, where he served as chief of staff to General Ernest “Old Gravel Voice” Harmon. When Harmon was appointed commander of the 2nd Armored Division, he chose to keep Rose as his chief of staff, a sign of his respect for Rose’s abilities. On November 8, 1943, Harmon and the 2AD landed in North Africa. Their mission: gain control of French Morocco in what was known as “Operation Torch.” The Operation was a resounding success– three days later, French Morocco was controlled by the Allies. Only one final Axis stronghold remained in North Africa: Tunisia.

Allied operations in North Africa were heavily reliant on armored forces. American Major General Lloyd Fredenhall, commander of the American II Corps, and British Lieutenant General Keith Anderson led the fight against German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, known as “The Desert Fox.” Losses at Faid Pass, Sidi Bou Zid, and an especially costly Allied loss at Kassarine Pass had all but destroyed the 1st Armored Division.25 This string of decisive victories for Rommel and the German-Italian forces over the Allies in late 1943 led General Eisenhower to appoint Harmon deputy commander of the American II Corps. This placed him in a position to investigate Fredenhall and Anderson. Harmon found both Fredenhall and Anderson to be incompetent, particularly Frendenhall, who gave his orders from a bunker 70 miles from the front lines.26 Conflicts came to a head on February 22, 1943, when, despite orders from Anderson to retreat from Sbiba and Thalia, Harmon ordered the men running from the battlefield to stay and fight. In the face of increased Allied resistance, Rommel realized he must back down, and another Allied loss was averted. With Rose’s assistance, Harmon filed a report labeling both Fredenhall and Anderson incompetent. With great fanfare from their men, Harmon and Rose returned to Morocco, only to return to Tunisia in March 1943 when Harmon was appointed head of the 1AD. In a style Rose would later adopt, Harmon led his men from the front, always exuding confidence and rarely choosing to retreat.27

While in Tunisia, Rose received his first and second Silver Stars for valor in combat. On May 19, 1943, the Allies captured the coastal city of Bizerte and effectively drove the Axis powers out of North Africa. Eisenhower had taken notice of Rose’s competence, and on June 2, 1943, Rose was promoted to Brigadier General, taking charge of Combat Command A of the 2AD.28 Stationed in Bizerte, Rose and the CCA trained for the invasion of Sicily. Code named Operation Husky, the July operation allowed Rose to distinguish himself as a competent commander, capable of making split-second decisions that supported successful operations. Thirty-eight days after their landings, the Allies had successfully liberated Sicily. For his role in the capture of Naro, Canicatti, and the capital city of Palermo, Rose received his third Silver Star.29 

By November 1943, fighting in mainland Italy had come to a standstill, and the 2AD was withdrawn to England in preparation for the invasion of Normandy. When General Rose set foot on French soil on the evening of June 7, 1944, the day after D-Day, he was almost certainly inspired by the incredible sacrifices required to secure the beach. Now, Rose’s mission was to link the five beachheads secured in the D-Day landings before the Germans could launch a successful counterattack.30 To do so, Rose used intelligence from the Ultra code breaking intelligence project, one of the first Allied commanders to effectively do so. On July 22, 1944, the CCA recaptured Carentan, France, where the brave men of the American 101st Airborne Division had been holding out against German forces for almost five days. In the battle, Rose not only demonstrated his tactical prowess, but also his fearsome ethic and drive. As always, Rose was a driving force, initiating an attack by shouting to a beleaguered captain of the 101st Airborne. “Captain, lets get your men out of their holes and moving forward! We are going on the attack– and I mean right now!”31 

Later in the year, General Rose and his CCA also played an important role in Operation Cobra, the Allied operation that pushed into France and permanently penetrated the Germans’ defenses. During the operation, Rose and his men pushed forward for over 48 hours straight, rapidly breaking through the German defenses in what General Charles Corlett would later call “one of the fastest and most successful tactical operations during the war.”32 Despite a brutal and costly fight through the hedgerows of the French countryside, the offensive was successful and is widely considered a turning point of the war. Germany had lost its strategic position in northwestern France, and the Allies now set their sights on Germany.

On August 7, 1944 Rose took command of the 3rd Armored Division, and received a promotion to Major General. Under Rose’s command, the 3AD acquired the nickname “Spearhead,” famed for bravely spearheading many battles during the liberation of France and the push into Germany.33