William Hood Simpson

William Hood Simpson
Born	May 18, 1888 Weatherford, Texas, United States
Died	August 15, 1980 (aged 92) San Antonio, Texas, United States
Buried	Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, United States
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1909–1946
Rank	General
Unit	Infantry Branch
Commands held	3rd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment 9th Infantry Regiment 35th Infantry Division 30th Infantry Division XII Corps Fourth Army Ninth Army Second Army
Battles/wars	Moro Rebellion Pancho Villa Expedition World War I World War II
Awards	Army Distinguished Service Medal (2) Silver Star Legion of Merit Legion of Honour (France) Croix de guerre (France)

General William Hood Simpson (May 18, 1888 – August 15, 1980) was a senior United States Army officer who served with distinction in both World War I and World War II. He is most notable, however, for being the Commanding General of the U.S. Ninth Army in Western Europe on the Western Front during the final stages of World War II.

Biography

Early life and military career

Simpson was born on May 18, 1888, at Weatherford, Texas. In June 1905, a month after turning 17, he entered the United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point, New York, and graduated four years later in June 1909, being commissioned as a second lieutenant into the Infantry Branch of the United States Army. His fellow graduates from the USMA included Jacob L. Devers, John C. H. Lee, Edwin F. Harding, George S. Patton, Delos Carleton Emmons, Thomas D. Milling and James Garesche Ord, all later having distinguished careers and becoming general officers.

Simpson's first assignment was with the 6th Infantry Regiment at Fort Lincoln, North Dakota. Soon afterwards the regiment was sent overseas to the island of Mindanao in the Philippines in January 1910 and remained there for another two-and-a-half years, where Simpson participated in the Moro Rebellion. He returned to the United States with his regiment in 1912 and, being stationed at Fort Bliss, Texas, remained there as a company commander until, now promoted to first lieutenant, he fought in the Pancho Villa Expedition in 1916. In February 1917 he became aide-de-camp to Major General George Bell, Jr., then commanding the El Paso Military District.

Simpson was promoted to captain in May 1917, a month after the American entry into World War I, and moved with Major General Bell to activate the 33rd Infantry Division. The 33rd Division was sent to the Western Front in April 1918. As a temporary lieutenant colonel he was division chief of staff, and was awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal and the Silver Citation Star during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in late 1918.

Between the wars

In the inter-war years, 1919–1941, Simpson filled staff appointments and attended military schools, both as student and as instructor. On Christmas Eve, 1921, he married Ruth Krakauer, an English-born widow whom he had first met while at West Point. From 1932 to 1936, he served as the Professor of Military Science at Pomona College in Claremont, California. From April to September 1941 he was the first commander of the country's largest Infantry Replacement Training Center, Camp Wolters, located in Mineral Wells, Texas.

World War II

In mid-1940, he was appointed to command the 9th Infantry Regiment at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Before the U.S. entry into World War II, he had commanded divisions and served as the Assistant Division Commander (ADC) of the 2nd Infantry Division. He received a promotion to temporary major general, taking the 35th Infantry Division, an Army National Guard formation, from Camp Robinson, Arkansas, to a training site in California. He relinquished command in May 1942 and briefly assumed command of the 30th Infantry Division, another Army National Guard formation, until July.

Senior American commanders in Western Europe, 1945. Seated are, from left to right, William Hood Simpson, George S. Patton, Carl A. Spaatz, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, Courtney Hodges, Leonard T. Gerow. Standing are, from left to right, Ralph Francis Stearley, Hoyt Vandenberg, Walter Bedell Smith, Otto P. Weyland, and Richard E. Nugent.

Further promotions followed, including command of XII Corps, and later the U.S. Second Army. In May 1944, now with the three-star rank of lieutenant general, Simpson took his staff to England to organize the U.S. Ninth Army. This formation was activated as part of Lieutenant General Omar Bradley's U.S. 12th Army Group, on September 5 at Brest, France. Brest was liberated on September 20, 1944.

The Ninth Army joined the Allied armies on the Western Front in the general advance and, after a month in the Ardennes forest the Ninth was moved further north. In November 1944 it broke through the Siegfried Line and advanced, in some of the heaviest fighting of the war, to the Roer River. At this point the advance stalled, due to the threat posed by dams upstream.

Allied commanders conference, April 11, 1945. From left to right, Lieutenant General Sir Miles C. Dempsey (GOC British Second Army), General Omar N. Bradley (C-in-C U.S. 12th Army Group); Field Marshal Sir Bernard L. Montgomery (C-in-C 21st Army Group), Lieutenant General William H. Simpson (GOC U.S. Ninth Army).

During the crisis of the Battle of the Bulge in December Simpson's Ninth Army came under command of Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery's Anglo-Canadian 21st Army Group. After the battle was over in early 1945 the Ninth Army remained with Montgomery's 21st Army Group for the final attack into Germany. As part of Operation Plunder, the River Rhine was crossed on March 24, 1945, north of the Ruhr industrial area and on April 19 the Ninth Army made contact with Lieutenant General Courtney Hodges' First United States Army, making a complete encirclement of the Ruhr. On April 4, it had reverted to Bradley's 12th Army Group.

The Ninth was the first American field army across the Elbe, on April 12, 1945. The Ninth Army continued its advance into Germany until the end of World War II in Europe on May 8, 1945, Victory in Europe Day. Simpson returned to the United States for a rest a month later, in June 1945.

Dwight Eisenhower summarized his experience with Simpson as follows: "If Simpson ever made a mistake as an Army Commander, it never came to my attention... Alert, intelligent, and professionally capable, he was the type of leader that American soldiers deserve. In view of his brilliant service, it was unfortunate that shortly after the war ill-health forced his retirement before he was promoted to four-star grade, which he had so clearly earned."

Postwar

He next undertook a mission to China in July and subsequently commanded the U.S. Second Army at Memphis, Tennessee.

He retired from the army in November 1946 and on July 19, 1954, he was promoted to full general on the retired list by special Act of Congress (Public Law 83-508). After retirement, Simpson lived and worked in the San Antonio, Texas area. In 1971, his wife Ruth died, and soon thereafter, Simpson moved into the Menger Hotel in downtown San Antonio, where he was very popular with the staff. In 1978, at the age of 90, he met Catherine Louise Berman, a retired civil-service worker from a military family, and the two were married that same year.

General William Hood Simpson died at the Menger Hotel on Friday, August 15, 1980, and was later buried alongside his wife Ruth in Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia.

Military decorations

	Distinguished Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster
	Silver Star
	Legion of Merit
	Philippine Campaign Medal
	Mexican Service Medal
	World War I Victory Medal with two battle clasps
	Army of Occupation of Germany Medal
	American Defense Service Medal
	American Campaign Medal
	Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
	European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal with four bronze service stars
	World War II Victory Medal
	Légion d'honneur (Knight) (France)
	Croix de guerre 1939–1945 (France)
	Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (United Kingdom)

Dates of rank

Insignia	Rank	Component	Date
No insignia in 1909	Second Lieutenant	Regular Army	June 11, 1909
	First Lieutenant	Regular Army	July 1, 1916
	Captain	Regular Army	May 15, 1917
	Major	National Army	June 7, 1918
	Lieutenant Colonel	National Army	November 5, 1918 (Reverted to captain on June 30, 1920.)
	Major	Regular Army	July 1, 1920
	Lieutenant Colonel	Regular Army	October 1, 1934
	Colonel	Regular Army	September 1, 1938
	Brigadier General	Army of the United States	October 1, 1940
	Major General	Army of the United States	September 29, 1941
	Lieutenant General	Army of the United States	October 13, 1943
	Brigadier General	Regular Army	February 1, 1944
	Major General	Regular Army	April 11, 1946
	Lieutenant General	Retired List	November 30, 1946
	General	Retired List	July 19, 1954

External links

• European Center of Military History (AAR 171ECB/XIIIC/9A Crossing at Linnich Germany
• Simpson's biography from the Arlington National Cemetery's website
• Photos of William Hood Simpson, hosted by the Portal to Texas History
• Interviews with William Hood Simpson, June 30, 1976, July 7, 1976, University of Texas at San Antonio: Institute of Texan Cultures: Oral History Collection, UA 15.01, University of Texas at San Antonio Libraries Special Collections
• Stone, Thomas R. (Strategic Studies Institute) (1981). "General William H. Simpson-Unsung commander of U.S. 9th Army" (PDF). Parameters. XI (2). U.S. Army War College: 44–52. Retrieved May 2014. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)