Orlando Ward
Major General, U.S. Army

Orlando Ward was born on 4 November 1891 in Macon, MO.

Ward graduated from West Point in 1914. His first assignment was as a Second Lieutenant of black Cavalry Troops (E Troop of the 9th Cavalry Regiment) on border patrol in the wilds of Arizona and New Mexico. He later was part of General John J. Pershing's forces chasing Pancho Villa into Mexico. He was awarded the Mexican Service Medal for serving on this campaign.

Recognizing that the horse had a limited future in the Army, he became interested in artillery and changed to the Field Artillery Branch. At the Second Battle of the Marne, under conditions that rendered other officers in charge useless, he took charge of the 2nd Battalion of the U.S. 10th Field Artillery Regiment and kept the Battalion effective until the tide of Germans was turned back. He was later awarded the Silver Star for his actions.

During the period between the wars, he continued in field artillery, but was assigned posts like ROTC instructor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (where Charles Lindbergh was one of his students). Eventually, he became an instructor at the U.S. Army Field Artillery School at Fort Sill, OK, where he and others developed key Forward Observer procedures that made the U.S. artillery effective in the Second World War.

World War II

When the Army was in the critical period of building up for World War II, Ward was Secretary to Chief of Staff George C. Marshall. He assisted in finding the resources to build up the military and to help the United Kingdom, while political forces were fighting to keep the U.S. out of the war. During this time, he worked closely with Walter Bedell Smith and Omar Bradley.

He left that post (and was promoted to Major General) to become the second commander of the U.S. Army's 1st Armored Division. He supervised the deployment of his Division across the Atlantic to North Africa, which was brought piecemeal (with a layover in Northern Ireland) as part of Operation Torch and subsequent operations. The failure of 1st Armored to arrive intact and deploy as a single entity had important consequences in later action against German forces in Tunisia.

The 1st Armored's first action against the Germans was not promising, when Combat Command 'B' and other Allied forces were thrown back after an advance by German forces. On the night of 10-11 December 1942, during withdrawal from Medjez el Bab, the focal point of the enemy attack, scores of combat vehicles of the 1st Armored's Combat Command 'B' - tanks, half-tracks, and tank destroyers - had bogged down in thick mud and had to be abandoned. The tanks were so badly mired that even the advancing Germans could not extricate them. It was a crippling loss. In its brief experience in action, Combat Command 'B' had lost 32 medium and 46 light tanks. The combat vehicles that remained were in poor condition after their long overland journey to the front lines.

Kasserine Pass

At the Battle of Kasserine Pass, the first major battle between Americans and Germans during World War II, elements of the 1st Armored Division were sent reeling back by a series of sudden enemy offensive thrusts. The dispersal of the 1st Armored into separate combat commands across the front by British General Kenneth Anderson, with the connivance of his immediate superior, American General Lloyd Fredendall, had angered Ward from the start, as it greatly weakened the Division's ability to repulse concentrations of German armor and to shift his forces in response to enemy thrusts. (Fredendall was later relieved of command and replaced by George S. Patton.) However, Ward also bore responsibility for his failure to consult British tank commanders on German panzer tactics and to disseminate that information to his subordinate commanders. As a consequence, elements of the 1st Armored Division at Faïd fell victim to one of Rommel's familiar tactics when they pursued German tanks feigning retirement into a screen of 88 mm high-velocity German anti-tank guns, resulting in large American armor losses.

End of the Tunisian Campaign

After the rout at Kasserine, Patton at first counseled, then admonished Ward of the need for personal leadership of his Division in order to keep German forces under pressure. Impatient with the progress of the 1st Armored, Patton took the unusual step of ordering General Ward to personally lead a night assault on the Meknessy Heights, a series of stubbornly defended knolls in front of the 1st Armored's lines. Ward obeyed the order, and the attack was initially successful. Wounded in the eye, he was awarded a Purple Heart, Silver Star, and later the Distinguished Service Cross. However, the stalemate east of Meknassy continued, and it appeared to Patton that Ward was still overcautious and too reluctant to incur casualties when conducting offensive operations. By 1 April 1943, the American offensive that had begun at El Guettar had bogged down against stiffened Axis defenses. With the concurrence of 18th Army Group commander General Harold Alexander, Patton finally relieved Ward of duty. Patton's actions were in keeping with Eisenhower's personal written instructions to him after General Fredendall was sacked: "You must not retain for one instant any man in a responsible position where you have become doubtful of his ability to do his job."

Ward was replaced with General Ernest Harmon, who had successfully intervened to remedy General Fredendall's inaction during the battles of Kasserine Pass. Ward was the only general relieved of his command by Patton during World War II. Returning to the U.S., Ward was briefly Chief of Field Artillery before returning to a combat command late in the war with the U.S. 20th Armored Division operating in Bavaria.

Post-War Service

After the war, Ward had two major assignments, first as head of the 6th Infantry Division in Korea (prior to the war there), and later as Chief of Military History, where he oversaw the production of the famous "Green Books," the official U.S. Army military history of World War II.

Medals and Awards

Distinguished Service Cross
Army Distinguished Service Medal
Silver Star Medal with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster
Legion of Merit with Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster
Purple Heart
Mexican Border Service Medal
World War I Victory Medal
Occupation of Germany World War I Medal
American Defense Service Medal
American Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with 4 Bronze Stars
World War II Victory Medal
Army of Occupation Medal
National Defense Service Medal

Distinguished Service Cross Citation (Synopsis)

Major General Orlando Ward (ASN: 0-3729), United States Army, was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving with the 1st Armored Division, in action against enemy forces in March 1943. Major General Ward's intrepid actions, personal bravery and zealous devotion to duty exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States and reflect great credit upon himself, the 1st Armored Division, and the United States Army.

General Orders: Headquarters, U.S. Army-North African Theater of Operations, General Orders No. 69 (1943)

Death and Burial

Major General Orlando Ward died on 4 February 1972 in Denver, CO. He is buried at Fairmount Cemetery in Denver.