By July 1940, during World War II (although the United States was still neutral at this point), he was a G-3 staff officer with I Armored Corps. He served with the corps until July 1942, seven months after the American entry into the war, which occurred due to the Japaneseattack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.
From left to right, Major General Hugh Joseph Gaffey and Lieutenant General George S. Patton, pictured here sometime in 1944.
In April 1943, when the campaign in North Africa was coming to an end, he was promoted to the two-star general officer rank of major general and a month later became commanding general (CG) of the 2nd Armored Division, replacing Major General Ernest N. Harmon. At the age of 47, Gaffey was one of the youngest division commanders in the U.S. Army at the time. He commanded the division in the Allied invasion of Sicily (codenamed Operation Husky) in the summer of 1943 where, fighting in difficult mountainous terrain and operating in very hot weather, the division, advancing some 200 miles and facing light resistance, captured the Sicilian capital of Palermo along with thousands of Italian soldiers. The 2nd Armored Division, under Major General Gaffey, was sent to England later in the year to train and spearhead the Alliedinvasion of Normandy (codenamed Operation Overlord), scheduled for the following year.
Major General Hugh Gaffey addresses heads of regional German governments and Army technical staff at a conference held to discuss the transfer of government to local units. From left to right are: Brigadier General Perry, Assistant Commanding General, Major General Norman Cota, 28th Division; Major General Gaffey, and Lieutenant Colonel Campbell W. Newman. Neustadt, Germany, May 18, 1945.
In June 1946, Gaffey was the CG of Fort Knox, Kentucky when he was killed in a B-25 Mitchell crash as it attempted to land at Godman Field, Kentucky. He was buried at the post cemetery.
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This article is about the American General For the Scottish Labour MP see Hugh Gaffney Major General Hugh Joseph Gaffey November 18 1895 June 16 1946 was a senior United States Army officer He was a career officer who served in both World War I and World War II Hugh Joseph GaffeyBornNovember 18 1895Hartford Connecticut United StatesDiedJune 16 1946 aged 50 Godman Army Airfield Kentucky United StatesAllegiance United StatesService wbr branch United States ArmyYears of service1917 1946RankMajor GeneralService number0 8435UnitField Artillery BranchCommands held2nd Armored Division4th Armored DivisionXXIII CorpsBattles warsWorld War IWorld War IIAwardsArmy Distinguished Service Medal 2 Silver StarLegion of MeritBronze Star 2 Contents 1 Early life and military career 2 Between the wars 3 World War II 4 Postwar 5 Namesake 6 References 7 External linksEarly life and military career EditBorn in Hartford Connecticut Gaffey graduated from Worcester Academy in 1916 and later attended Officers Training School at Fort Niagara New York and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Field Artillery Branch of the United States Army Reserve on August 15 1917 four months after the American entry into World War I Assigned to the 312th Field Artillery Regiment part of the 79th Division at Fort Meade Maryland in August 1918 he was sent to the Western Front to serve with the American Expeditionary Force AEF He later served in Germany with the 12th Field Artillery Regiment part of the 2nd Division before returning to the United States in August 1919 nine months after the war came to an end with the signing of the Armistice with Germany Between the wars EditDuring the next two decades in the interwar period he transferred to the Regular Army and was soon promoted to first lieutenant He joined the 15th Field Artillery Regiment in 1922 and entered the U S Army Field Artillery School at Fort Sill Oklahoma Graduating from there in 1926 he became a Professor of Military Science and Tactics at Cornell University New York In 1935 he attended the U S Army Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth Kansas He graduated the following year and was assigned to the 68th Field Artillery Regiment Mechanized 1 World War II EditBy July 1940 during World War II although the United States was still neutral at this point he was a G 3 staff officer with I Armored Corps He served with the corps until July 1942 seven months after the American entry into the war which occurred due to the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7 1941 He was appointed to the one star general officer rank of brigadier general on August 5 1942 and was sent to England in November Soon afterwards he was sent to Morocco in North Africa to command Combat Command B CCB of the 2nd Armored Division He later served as chief of staff of the II Corps then fighting in Tunisia under the command of Lieutenant General George S Patton Jr later replaced by Major General Omar Bradley nbsp From left to right Major General Hugh Joseph Gaffey and Lieutenant General George S Patton pictured here sometime in 1944 In April 1943 when the campaign in North Africa was coming to an end he was promoted to the two star general officer rank of major general and a month later became commanding general CG of the 2nd Armored Division replacing Major General Ernest N Harmon At the age of 47 Gaffey was one of the youngest division commanders in the U S Army at the time He commanded the division in the Allied invasion of Sicily codenamed Operation Husky in the summer of 1943 where fighting in difficult mountainous terrain and operating in very hot weather the division advancing some 200 miles and facing light resistance captured the Sicilian capital of Palermo along with thousands of Italian soldiers The 2nd Armored Division under Major General Gaffey was sent to England later in the year to train and spearhead the Allied invasion of Normandy codenamed Operation Overlord scheduled for the following year nbsp Major General Hugh Gaffey addresses heads of regional German governments and Army technical staff at a conference held to discuss the transfer of government to local units From left to right are Brigadier General Perry Assistant Commanding General Major General Norman Cota 28th Division Major General Gaffey and Lieutenant Colonel Campbell W Newman Neustadt Germany May 18 1945 In April 1944 handing over command of the 2nd Armored Division to Major General Edward H Brooks he was designated chief of staff of the Third Army serving again under Lieutenant General George Patton Gaffey served in this capacity through the campaign in Western Europe from the time the Third Army landed in France in July 1944 and played a major role in Operation Cobra and the Battle of the Falaise Gap followed by the Allied advance from Paris to the Rhine and the Battle of Metz In December 1944 he replaced Major General John Shirley Wood as CG of the 4th Armored Division which played a major role in the Battle of the Bulge helping to break the siege of Bastogne He remained in command of the division until March 1945 towards the end of the war in Europe when he became CG of the XXIII Corps He relinquished command of XXIII Corps in September when the war ended due to the surrender of Japan For his services during the war he was twice awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal 2 Postwar EditIn June 1946 Gaffey was the CG of Fort Knox Kentucky when he was killed in a B 25 Mitchell crash as it attempted to land at Godman Field Kentucky He was buried at the post cemetery Namesake EditThe U S Navy transport ship USNS General Hugh J Gaffey T AP 121 was named in his honor on March 1 1950 References Edit George Forty 4th Armored Division in World War II p 105 106 Hugh Gaffey Recipient This article incorporates text from the public domainDictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships External links Edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Hugh J Gaffey Generals of World War II United States Army Officers 1939 1945Military officesPreceded byErnest N Harmon Commanding General 2nd Armored Division1943 1944 Succeeded byEdward H BrooksPreceded byJohn S Wood Commanding General 4th Armored Division1944 1945 Succeeded byWilliam M HogePreceded byJames Van Fleet Commanding General XXIII CorpsMarch September 1945 Succeeded byFrank W Milburn Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Hugh Joseph Gaffey amp oldid 1169182696, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
