Edwin F. Harding
Encyclopedia
Edwin Forrest Harding commanded the 32nd Infantry Division at the beginning of World War II. He graduated 74th among his classmates from the United States Military Academy
in 1909, who included George S. Patton
(46), Jacob L. Devers
(39), John C. H. Lee
(12), Horace H. Fuller
(59), Robert L. Eichelberger
(68), and William H. Simpson (101). His first field command, the 32nd division was the first American unit, after the Battle for Guadalcanal
, to engage in offensive operations in the Pacific Theater of Operations. The 32nd was understrength, ill-trained, poorly equipped, and thrust into its first battle against seasoned Japanese units. The unit finally logged a total of 654 days of combat during World War II, more than any other U.S. Army division. They were among the first to enter the war and were still engaging attacking Japanese after the Armistice was declared.
, the son of Clarence Henry (Larry) Harding, the manager of the Harding Paper Division of the American Writing Paper Company, and his wife Lilly, née Woodward. Forrest was educated at Franklin High School
and Phillips Exeter Academy
. He also spent a year at Charles Braden Preparatory Academy, a special preparatory school for the United States Military Academy
at West Point. He passed the entrance examination and was appointed to West Point by then Secretary of War
, William Howard Taft
. He graduated from West Point in the class of 1909, which also included future generals George S. Patton
, Jacob L. Devers
, John C. H. Lee
, Robert L. Eichelberger
, and William H. Simpson.
. In 1941 he was promoted to Brigadier General
and Assistant commander of the 9th Infantry Division.
Harding had an agile mind. He could quote T. S. Eliot
or Tennyson or Kipling, and discuss history or astronomy like an Ivy League professor. Harding understood the modern military and had literally written the book on it. During 1934, Col. George Marshall
was assistant commandant at Fort Benning
and selected Harding as an instructor and put him in charge of the Infantry School's publications. He edited Infantry in Battle, a book that codified new ideas on how to organize infantry in battle. Harding was responsible for planning the book and supervising preparation and editing of the manuscript.
The triangular division structure it described was composed of three regimental combat team
s each supported by its own simplified support and command structure. The organizational structure emphasized speed, agility, a lower casualty rate, and adaptability. This contrasted with the square division structure of World War I which was designed for attrition combat characteristic of trench warfare
. Infantry in Battle is still used as an officer's training manual in the Infantry Officer's Course, and was the training manual for most of the infantry officers and leaders of World War II.
The 32nd Infantry Division had been scheduled to receive a year of training before it left the United States. It was authorized to have a peace-time strength of about 11,600 soldiers, but like almost all units in the National Guard and the Regular Army prior to World War II, was not at full strength nor was it assigned all of the equipment it was authorized. Training for many soldiers was incomplete.
Harding was a leader who exuded confidence. One of his Infantry Battalions, the 126th Infantry Regiment, was deployed on an extremely arduous flanking attack inland over the Kapa Kapa Trail
toward Jaure. The total distance over the mountains to the Japanese positions was over 130 miles (209 km), and most of the trail was barely a goat path. The Kapa Kapa trail across the Owen Stanley divide was a "dank and eerie place, rougher and more precipitous" than the Kokoda Track
on which the Australians and Japanese were then fighting.
In a first for World War II, the rest of the 128th Infantry Regiment
was flown from Australia to New Guinea, the greatest distance the Air Force had airlifted men up to that time.
When the trek across the 9100 feet (2,773.7 m) mountain divide proved so debilitating and lengthy, Harding requested that the remainder of the division be flown to the Buna
area, to join Australian units in an assault on the main Japanese beachheads in eastern New Guinea.
With no roads through the jungle, the only way to keep the troops furnished with the food, ammunition and other goods necessary to operate against the Japanese was via airborne supply. This proved to be very problematic in the deep razerback ridges of the Owen Stanley Mountains. Because of a lack of parachutes, material was shoved off airplanes at a height of 40 or more feet, and were often damaged or completely lost due to mis-drops.
His division was tasked with attacking Buna on November 19, 1942. General Douglas MacArthur
received intelligence from Brigadier General Charles Willoughby, who told MacArthur before the operation that there was "little indication of an attempt to make a strong stand against the Allied advance." The intelligence that led him to believe that Buna was held by about 1000 sick and malnourished soldiers. Harding was nearly killed before the attack began. He was on board a coastal trawler with his headquarters company when it was attacked by Japanese aircraft. Harding saved himself by diving overboard and swimming to shore. The attack destroyed many of the supplies Harding was relying on for the upcoming attack.
with limited ammunition, the division was unable to make further progress against these positions. A stalemate ensued. When the 32nd Division failed to advance, MacArthur became so concerned about the lack of progress that he sent General Robert Eichelberger, commander of I Corp, to report on the situation. MacArthur famously said to Eichelberger,
Eichelberger relieved Harding on December 2, 1942. (Harding and Eichelberger had been West Point classmates in 1909.) Eichelberger also sacked the regimental commanders and most battalion commanders. He replaced Harding with the division's artillery commander, Brigadier General Albert W. Waldron. "Some of the 32nd's officers privately denounced Eichelberger as ruthless, Prussian."
Eichelberger later noted that after he relieved Harding he "ordered the medicos to take the temperature of an entire company of hollow-eyed men near the front. Every member, I repeat, every member of that company was running a fever." Eichelberger found the men lacked even the oil and patches require to keep their guns free of rust. He put an officer in charge of supply who ignored all protocols to obtain whatever the men needed. Eichelberger conspicuously wore his three stars on his shoulders among the front-line troops, ignoring the rule that officers remove their insignia at the front because they will attract the enemy. He lost thirty pounds in thirty days at the front.
Martin later admitted, after some experience with the Japanese defenses, that had attacks been continued on the day he conducted his inspection, they would not have been successful.
, and in 1944 Commander of the Antilles Department in the Caribbean
, an unimportant assignment comprising 20 forts, camps and fields in the lesser islands from Cuba, Haiti, Costa Rica to Aruba, and portions of northern South America. In 1945, he was made Director of the Historical Division at the War Department for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. There he oversaw the planning of the Army's comprehensive history of World War II. He submitted a plan on December 18, 1945, in which he estimated that the full historical series would contain about 120 volumes, although only 101 of them were described.
Harding retired after 37 years of military service in 1946.
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
in 1909, who included George S. Patton
George S. Patton
George Smith Patton, Jr. was a United States Army officer best known for his leadership while commanding corps and armies as a general during World War II. He was also well known for his eccentricity and controversial outspokenness.Patton was commissioned in the U.S. Army after his graduation from...
(46), Jacob L. Devers
Jacob L. Devers
General Jacob "Jake" Loucks Devers , commander of the 6th Army Group in Europe during World War II. He was the first United States military officer to reach the Rhine after D-Day.-Biography:...
(39), John C. H. Lee
John C. H. Lee
John Clifford Hodges Lee was a US Army General. He graduated 12th out of 103 graduates from the United States Military Academy in 1909.He served in World War I, World War II and rose to the rank of Lieutenant General....
(12), Horace H. Fuller
Horace H. Fuller
Major General Horace H. Fuller was an American soldier and general in the first half of the 20th century. He is best known for his command of the 41st Infantry Division in the South West Pacific Area during World War II....
(59), Robert L. Eichelberger
Robert L. Eichelberger
Robert Lawrence Eichelberger was a general in the United States Army, who commanded the US Eighth Army in the South West Pacific Area during World War II. His Army was among the very first to engage the Japanese in the Pacific Theater of Operations.-Pre-World War II service:Eichelberger was born...
(68), and William H. Simpson (101). His first field command, the 32nd division was the first American unit, after the Battle for Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal campaign
The Guadalcanal Campaign, also known as the Battle of Guadalcanal and codenamed Operation Watchtower by Allied forces, was a military campaign fought between August 7, 1942 and February 9, 1943 on and around the island of Guadalcanal in the Pacific theatre of World War II...
, to engage in offensive operations in the Pacific Theater of Operations. The 32nd was understrength, ill-trained, poorly equipped, and thrust into its first battle against seasoned Japanese units. The unit finally logged a total of 654 days of combat during World War II, more than any other U.S. Army division. They were among the first to enter the war and were still engaging attacking Japanese after the Armistice was declared.
Education and early life
Edwin Forrest Harding was born on September 18, 1886, in Franklin, OhioFranklin, Ohio
Not to be confused with Franklin County, Ohio.Franklin is a city in Warren County, Ohio, United States. The population was 11,771 at the 2010 census.-History:...
, the son of Clarence Henry (Larry) Harding, the manager of the Harding Paper Division of the American Writing Paper Company, and his wife Lilly, née Woodward. Forrest was educated at Franklin High School
Franklin High School (Ohio)
Franklin High School is a public high school in Franklin, Ohio....
and Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy
Phillips Exeter Academy is a private secondary school located in Exeter, New Hampshire, in the United States.Exeter is noted for its application of Harkness education, a system based on a conference format of teacher and student interaction, similar to the Socratic method of learning through asking...
. He also spent a year at Charles Braden Preparatory Academy, a special preparatory school for the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
at West Point. He passed the entrance examination and was appointed to West Point by then Secretary of War
United States Secretary of War
The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation...
, William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
. He graduated from West Point in the class of 1909, which also included future generals George S. Patton
George S. Patton
George Smith Patton, Jr. was a United States Army officer best known for his leadership while commanding corps and armies as a general during World War II. He was also well known for his eccentricity and controversial outspokenness.Patton was commissioned in the U.S. Army after his graduation from...
, Jacob L. Devers
Jacob L. Devers
General Jacob "Jake" Loucks Devers , commander of the 6th Army Group in Europe during World War II. He was the first United States military officer to reach the Rhine after D-Day.-Biography:...
, John C. H. Lee
John C. H. Lee
John Clifford Hodges Lee was a US Army General. He graduated 12th out of 103 graduates from the United States Military Academy in 1909.He served in World War I, World War II and rose to the rank of Lieutenant General....
, Robert L. Eichelberger
Robert L. Eichelberger
Robert Lawrence Eichelberger was a general in the United States Army, who commanded the US Eighth Army in the South West Pacific Area during World War II. His Army was among the very first to engage the Japanese in the Pacific Theater of Operations.-Pre-World War II service:Eichelberger was born...
, and William H. Simpson.
Early military service
Prior to World War II, he was in 1938 a Colonel in command of 27th Infantry Regiment27th Infantry Regiment (United States)
The 27th Infantry Regiment, nicknamed the Wolfhounds, is a unit of the United States Army established in 1901, that served in the Philippine-American War, in the Siberian Intervention after World War I, and as part of the 25th Infantry Division during World War II, the Korean War, and later the...
. In 1941 he was promoted to Brigadier General
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
and Assistant commander of the 9th Infantry Division.
Harding had an agile mind. He could quote T. S. Eliot
T. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
or Tennyson or Kipling, and discuss history or astronomy like an Ivy League professor. Harding understood the modern military and had literally written the book on it. During 1934, Col. George Marshall
George Marshall
George Catlett Marshall was an American military leader, Chief of Staff of the Army, Secretary of State, and the third Secretary of Defense...
was assistant commandant at Fort Benning
Fort Benning
Fort Benning is a United States Army post located southeast of the city of Columbus in Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties in Georgia and Russell County, Alabama...
and selected Harding as an instructor and put him in charge of the Infantry School's publications. He edited Infantry in Battle, a book that codified new ideas on how to organize infantry in battle. Harding was responsible for planning the book and supervising preparation and editing of the manuscript.
The triangular division structure it described was composed of three regimental combat team
Regimental combat team
A regimental combat team was a provisional major infantry unit of the United States Army during the World War II and the Korean War, and of the U.S. Marine Corps to the present day...
s each supported by its own simplified support and command structure. The organizational structure emphasized speed, agility, a lower casualty rate, and adaptability. This contrasted with the square division structure of World War I which was designed for attrition combat characteristic of trench warfare
Trench warfare
Trench warfare is a form of occupied fighting lines, consisting largely of trenches, in which troops are largely immune to the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery...
. Infantry in Battle is still used as an officer's training manual in the Infantry Officer's Course, and was the training manual for most of the infantry officers and leaders of World War II.
World War II commands
Harding was a leader who exuded confidence. One of his Infantry Battalions, the 126th Infantry Regiment, was deployed on an extremely arduous flanking attack inland over the Kapa Kapa Trail
Kapa Kapa Trail
The Kapa Kapa Trail is a steep, little-used, mountain trail that stretches from the Kapa Kapa village on the south coast of Papua New Guinea, across the extremely rugged Owen Stanley Range, to the vicinity of Jaure on the north side of the Peninsula...
toward Jaure. The total distance over the mountains to the Japanese positions was over 130 miles (209 km), and most of the trail was barely a goat path. The Kapa Kapa trail across the Owen Stanley divide was a "dank and eerie place, rougher and more precipitous" than the Kokoda Track
Kokoda Track
The Kokoda Trail or Track is a single-file foot thoroughfare that runs overland — in a straight line — through the Owen Stanley Range in Papua New Guinea...
on which the Australians and Japanese were then fighting.
In a first for World War II, the rest of the 128th Infantry Regiment
128th Infantry Regiment (United States)
The 128th Infantry Regiment is a United States military unit of the Wisconsin National Guard. The 128th has served as part of the American Civil War, Spanish-American War, Mexican Civil War, World War I, World War II and the Iraq War....
was flown from Australia to New Guinea, the greatest distance the Air Force had airlifted men up to that time.
When the trek across the 9100 feet (2,773.7 m) mountain divide proved so debilitating and lengthy, Harding requested that the remainder of the division be flown to the Buna
Buna, Papua New Guinea
Buna is a village in Oro Province, Papua New Guinea. It was the site in part, of the Battle of Buna-Gona during World War II, when it constituted a variety of native huts and a handful of houses with a airstrip...
area, to join Australian units in an assault on the main Japanese beachheads in eastern New Guinea.
Attacked Buna
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
received intelligence from Brigadier General Charles Willoughby, who told MacArthur before the operation that there was "little indication of an attempt to make a strong stand against the Allied advance." The intelligence that led him to believe that Buna was held by about 1000 sick and malnourished soldiers. Harding was nearly killed before the attack began. He was on board a coastal trawler with his headquarters company when it was attacked by Japanese aircraft. Harding saved himself by diving overboard and swimming to shore. The attack destroyed many of the supplies Harding was relying on for the upcoming attack.
Combat stalemate
Harding accepted MacArthur's decision to rely on direct air support in place of tanks or heavy artillery, and his troops were stopped cold by formidable Japanese field fortifications. With the only artillery support provided by a single 25 pounder batteryOrdnance QF 25 pounder
The Ordnance QF 25 pounder, or more simply, 25-pounder or 25-pdr, was introduced into service just before World War II, during which it served as the major British field gun/howitzer. It was considered by many to be the best field artillery piece of the war, combining high rates of fire with a...
with limited ammunition, the division was unable to make further progress against these positions. A stalemate ensued. When the 32nd Division failed to advance, MacArthur became so concerned about the lack of progress that he sent General Robert Eichelberger, commander of I Corp, to report on the situation. MacArthur famously said to Eichelberger,
Harding sacked
Eichelberger and his staff flew into Buna, and on December 2, he inspected the left or westward-lying U.S. front, the Urbana Force. Two of his staff officers, Colonels Martin and Rogers, inspected the right flank, which was designated the Warren Force. They found the troops were ill with malaria, dengue fever, tropical dysentery, and other ailments. They discovered the men had few rations causing them to lose weight, and lacked hot meals, vitamins, and cigarettes. Some were unshaven, their uniforms and boots were dirty and in tatters, and they showed "little discipline or military courtesy." Having been on the front at Buna for two weeks with virtually no progress to show for it except for hundreds of casualties, their morale was very poor.Eichelberger relieved Harding on December 2, 1942. (Harding and Eichelberger had been West Point classmates in 1909.) Eichelberger also sacked the regimental commanders and most battalion commanders. He replaced Harding with the division's artillery commander, Brigadier General Albert W. Waldron. "Some of the 32nd's officers privately denounced Eichelberger as ruthless, Prussian."
Eichelberger later noted that after he relieved Harding he "ordered the medicos to take the temperature of an entire company of hollow-eyed men near the front. Every member, I repeat, every member of that company was running a fever." Eichelberger found the men lacked even the oil and patches require to keep their guns free of rust. He put an officer in charge of supply who ignored all protocols to obtain whatever the men needed. Eichelberger conspicuously wore his three stars on his shoulders among the front-line troops, ignoring the rule that officers remove their insignia at the front because they will attract the enemy. He lost thirty pounds in thirty days at the front.
Martin later admitted, after some experience with the Japanese defenses, that had attacks been continued on the day he conducted his inspection, they would not have been successful.
Later commands
MacArthur had initially promised Harding a new assignment elsewhere in the Southwest Pacific, but Harding was recalled to the United States a few weeks later. In 1943, he was made Commander of the Mobile Force in the Panama Canal ZonePanama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
, and in 1944 Commander of the Antilles Department in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, an unimportant assignment comprising 20 forts, camps and fields in the lesser islands from Cuba, Haiti, Costa Rica to Aruba, and portions of northern South America. In 1945, he was made Director of the Historical Division at the War Department for the Joint Chiefs of Staff. There he oversaw the planning of the Army's comprehensive history of World War II. He submitted a plan on December 18, 1945, in which he estimated that the full historical series would contain about 120 volumes, although only 101 of them were described.
Harding retired after 37 years of military service in 1946.