Omar Bundy

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Omar Bundy as Major General

Omar Bundy (born June 17, 1861 in New Castle , Indiana , † January 21, 1940 in Washington, DC ) was an American officer, last major general in the United States Army , who participated in the Spanish-American War , in the Filipino-American war and the First world war served.

Life

Bundy attended New Castle High School and Asbury College in Greencastle for a year before entering the United States Military Academy in 1879 . He completed his training there in 1883 and was assigned to the 2nd Infantry Regiment as 2nd Lieutenant . From 1885 to 1887 he attended the Infantry and Cavalry School at Fort Leavenworth . He gained his first combat experience in the campaign against the Crow Indians in Montana in 1887. From 1890 to 1891 he fought with the 3rd Infantry Regiment against the Sioux in South Dakota . From 1891 to 1898 he was regimental and base quartermaster at Fort Snelling , Minnesota.

In April 1898 Bundy was promoted to captain in the 6th Infantry Regiment and took part with his regiment in the fighting in Cuba , including the Battle of El Caney and the Siege of Santiago. He later received the Silver Star for his achievements in this campaign . From 1899 to 1900 Bundy was stationed with his regiment in the southern Philippines, where he took part in battles against the insurgent Moros . From 1900 to 1901 he was Inspector General of the Department of the Visayas , then until 1902 Provost Marshal in Iloilo . After returning to the United States in 1902, he taught military law at the General Service and Staff College at Fort Leavenworth until 1905, and was promoted to major in 1904 .

In early 1905, Bundy returned to the Philippines for a second Tour of Duty that lasted two years. During this time he commanded, among other things, the assault on the mountain fortress of Mount Dajo on the island of Jolo . From 1907 to 1909 he served in San Antonio in the Department of Texas as Inspector General, then until 1911 in the Department of Missouri. He then served for a year as a Lieutenant Colonel in the 11th Infantry Regiment at Fort DA Russell , Wyoming, before attending the year-long course at Army War College . He then served with the 11th and as commander of the 16th Infantry Regiment with the rank of colonel on the Mexican border. From November 1915 to May 1917 he was adjutant general in the Southern Department under General Frederick N. Funston when the Mexican expedition took place there.

In June 1917, General John J. Pershing gave him the command of the 1st Brigade of the 1st Infantry Division under promotion to Brigadier General , which went to France as one of the first US combat units after the USA entered World War I. He was promoted to major general in August and organized the placement of US troops in France before being appointed commander of the 2nd Infantry Division in October . In the spring and summer of 1918 he led the division in its first missions at the front, including in June and July in the battle of Château-Thierry and the battle of Belleau forest . On July 20 he received command of the newly established VI Corps and on September 11 of the VII Corps . In August he was - unknowingly - involved in the plan to confuse the Germans from the Belfort area by fictitious attack preparations in southern Alsace and thus to distract them from the upcoming battle of St. Mihiel . At the beginning of November, shortly before the armistice , he returned to the United States.

He commanded Fort Lee , Virginia until August 1920 and then became a commander in the 7th Corps Area with headquarters in Fort Crook , Nebraska. From the spring of 1922 he was in command of the Philippine Department in Manila for two years . His last assignment was as a commandant in the 5th Corps Area, headquartered in Fort Hayes , Ohio. In June 1925, after reaching the age limit of 64 years, he went into statutory retirement.

Bundy died in 1940 at the age of 78 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

literature

  • George Washington Cullum etc. (Ed.): Biographical Register of the Officers and Graduates of the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, since its establishment in 1802. 1891 ff.
  • John Eisenhower: Yanks: The Epic Story of the American Army in World War I. Simon and Schuster, 2001.
  • Benjamin R. Beede (Ed.): The War of 1898 and US Interventions, 1898-1934: An Encyclopedia. Routledge, 2013, p. 77 f.

Web links

Commons : Omar Bundy  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ James H. Hallas: Squandered Victory: The American First Army at St. Mihiel. Greenwood Publishing, 1995, pp. 44 f.
personal data
SURNAME Bundy, Omar
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American officer, most recently Major General in the United States Army
DATE OF BIRTH June 17, 1861
PLACE OF BIRTH New Castle , Indiana
DATE OF DEATH January 21, 1940
Place of death Washington, DC