Adna Romanza Chaffee Jr. (September 23, 1884 – August 22, 1941) was an officer in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, called the "Father of the Armored Force" for his role in developing the U.S. Army's tank forces.

Early life and education

Chaffee was born in

Junction City, Kansas Junction City is a city in and the county seat of Geary County, Kansas, Geary County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 22,932. Fort Riley, a major United States Army, U.S. ...

, on September 23, 1884, to his father,

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Adna R. Chaffee, and mother, Annie Francis Rockwell. He was commissioned as a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

Cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

in 1906 following his graduation from the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

. He was 31st out of 78 pupils in his class. Chaffee learned to ride on horseback from a young age, and would later receive recognition as "the Army's finest horseman". Upon his father's death in 1941, he became an Hereditary First Class Companion of the

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or, simply, the Loyal Legion, is a United States military order organized on April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Union Army. The original membership was consisted ...

Career

From 1914 to 1915, Chaffee was posted with the 7th Cavalry in the Philippines, and from 1916 to 1917, Chaffee was assigned to

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

as the senior cavalry instructor in the Tactical Department. When America entered

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

in April 1917, Chaffee was temporarily promoted to

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

and assigned as the adjutant for the 81st Division as it organized a
Camp Jackson, South Carolina
During the war, Chaffee served as an Assistant G3 Operations officer in the US IV Corps, and later returned to the 81st Division as the G3 during the St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne offensives. Promoted to the temporary rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

, he became the G3,

III Corps III or iii may refer to: Companies * Information International, Inc., a computer technology company * Innovative Interfaces, Inc., a library-software company * 3i, formerly Investors in Industry, a British investment company Other uses * I ...

at the end of the war, and remained with the

corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was formally introduced March 1, 1800, when Napoleon ordered Gener ...

for occupation duty in 1919. Following the war, he returned to his

Regular Army A regular army is the official army of a state or country (the official armed forces), contrasting with irregular forces, such as volunteer irregular militias, private armies, mercenaries, etc. A regular army usually has the following: * a ...

rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

and became an instructor at the General Staff School and the Army School of the Line at

Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...

. During the 1920s, he helped develop the armor concepts and doctrine of the future. He predicted in 1927 that mechanized armies would dominate the next war and helped the first effort to develop a U.S. Army armored force. In 1931, newly promoted Lieutenant Colonel Chaffee was assigned as the executive officer of the embryonic 1st Cavalry Division, where he continued to develop and experiment with armored forces and became the leading American advocate of mechanized warfare. From 1934 to 1938, Chaffee was posted to the War Department as the Chief of the Budget and Legislative Planning Branch. Chaffee then returned to the 1st Cavalry Division at Fort Knox, where he was advanced to brigadier general and given command of the 7th Mechanized Brigade. Chaffee led the unit through the Plattsburg and

Louisiana Maneuvers The Louisiana Maneuvers were a series of major U.S. Army exercises held from August to September 1941 in northern and west-central Louisiana, an area bounded by the Sabine River to the west, the Calcasieu River to the east, and by the city of ...

of 1939–1940, where he helped develop Army doctrine for armored and mechanized formations. In June 1940, Chaffee was appointed the

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

of the Armored Force, and given responsibility for integrating all branches of the Army into mechanized warfare. He played a major role in the development and fielding of new armored and mechanized infantry divisions for World War II. Chaffee was promoted to major general in October 1940, and given command of the I Armored Corps. When Chaffee became ill with cancer he was succeeded as corps commander by Charles L. Scott. Chaffee died in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

on August 22, 1941. He was buried next to his father in Section 3 of

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

Legacy

The

M24 Chaffee The M24 Chaffee (officially light tank M24) was an American light tank used during the later part of World War II; it was also used in post–World War II conflicts including the Korean War, and by the French in the Algerian War, War in Algeri ...

light tank is named after him.

Fort Chaffee Fort Chaffee Joint Maneuver Training Center, also known as Fort Chaffee, is an Arkansas Army National Guard Military base, installation located in western Arkansas, adjacent to the city of Fort Smith, Arkansas, Fort Smith. Established as Camp C ...

, near

Fort Smith, Arkansas Fort Smith is the List of municipalities in Arkansas, third-most populous city in Arkansas, United States, and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County, Arkansas, Sebastian County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the pop ...

, is named in his honor.

References

External links

Army.mil: Adna Chaffee Jr.

ANC Explorer
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chaffee, Adna R. Jr. 1884 births 1941 deaths United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army Cavalry Branch personnel People from Junction City, Kansas Military personnel from Kansas Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Deaths from cancer in Massachusetts United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni United States Military Academy alumni Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) United States Army generals of World War II