Robert L. Eichelberger - Between The Wars

Between The Wars

Instead of returning to the United States following his service in Siberia, Eichelberger became Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2 (Intelligence), of the Philippine Department on 4 May 1920. Like many officers in the aftermath of World War I, he was reduced in rank to his permanent rank of captain on 30 June 1920, but was immediately promoted to major again the next day. Em had joined him in Vladivostok in March 1920, and the two first travelled to Japan before moving on to the Philippines. In March 1921, Eichelberger became head of the Intelligence Mission to China. He established intelligence offices in Peking and Tientsin, and met the President of the Republic of China, Sun Yat-sen. He finally returned to the United States in May 1921, where he was assigned to the Far Eastern Section of the G-2 (Intelligence) Division of the War Department General Staff.

A major disappointment for Eichelberger was his failure to make the General Staff Eligibility List (GSEL). The National Defense Act of 1920 required that only officers on this list could be promoted to brigadier general. Concluding that his prospects for promotion in the infantry were poor, at the urging of the Adjutant General, Major General Robert C. Davis, he transferred to the Adjutant General's Corps on 14 July 1925. He continued to work with the War Department General Staff, but now in the Adjutant General's Office. In April 1925, he was posted to Fort Hayes, Ohio, as Assistant Adjutant General, 5th Corps Area.

Davis had offered to nominate Eichelberger for a place at the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth. Eichelberger joined 247 other officers there in July 1924. Since the students were seated alphabetically, he sat next to the officer who topped the class, Major Dwight D. Eisenhower. Other students in the class included Joseph Stilwell, Leonard Gerow and Joseph T. McNarney. Eichelberger graduated as a Distinguished Graduate, one of the top quarter of the class, and stayed on at the Command and General Staff College as its Adjutant General. In 1929, he became a student at the Army War College. On graduation, he was posted back to the Adjutant General's Office in Washington, D.C.

In 1931, Eichelberger was sent to West Point as its adjutant. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 1 August 1934. In April 1935, he became Secretary of the War Department General Staff, working for the Chief of Staff of the United States Army, General Douglas MacArthur. Eichelberger transferred back to the infantry in July 1937, although he remained Secretary of the War Department General Staff until October 1938, in the rank of colonel from 1 August.

The new Chief of Staff, General Malin Craig offered Eichelberger command of the 29th Infantry, the demonstration regiment based at Fort Benning, Georgia. Eichelberger turned this down, as he had been away from the infantry for many years, and some infantry officers might be jealous. Instead, he accepted command of the 30th Infantry, a less prestigious unit stationed at the Presidio of San Francisco, but there were still officers who resented someone attaining command of a regiment at the age of 52. Before departing, he took a brief course at the Infantry School at Fort Benning to reacquaint himself with the infantry. As part of the 3rd Infantry Division, the 30th Infantry took part in a series of major training exercises over the next two years.