Wood had taught chemistry while at the University of Arkansas, and at West Point he received his first nickname, "P" for "professor" because he used his skills as an instructor to tutor many academically deficient classmates.[7][8]
Military career
Wood was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Coast Artillery on June 12, 1912.[1] He made an early mark in military academics, including assistant football coach and chemistry instructor at West Point.[9] Wood wrote on military topics, and his articles and reviews and digests of military literature from other countries, including France, Germany, Italy and Spain appeared in professional journals throughout his career.[10][11][12] In August 1916, after having been promoted to first lieutenant the month before, he returned to the United States Military Academy faculty and transferred to the Ordnance Corps in September. He was promoted to captain on May 15, 1917, a few weeks after the American entry into World War I, and to the temporary rank of major on December 18.[1]
Wood then attended the French Staff School at Langres, from which he graduated in September. The school was created to teach planning and management skills to officers, and his classmates included George S. Patton, William Hood Simpson, and Alexander Patch. He returned to the United States in October 1918 and was assigned as Personnel Officer of the 18th Division at Camp Travis, Texas, before the war ended due to the Armistice with Germany the following month.
In May 1942, five months after the American entry into World War II, Wood took command of the 4th Armored Division (activated April 15, 1941) after Major General Henry W. Baird, and was responsible for the 4th Armored's organization and training. On June 21 he was promoted to the temporary rank of major general.[1][24]
Operations in Brittany
Remaining in command of his division for the next two years, Wood spent that time training the 4th Armored for eventual overseas service. On July 28, 1944, Wood led the 4th Armored into combat in France after the Normandy breakout as part of Operation Cobra and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (DSC).
By 3 August, Wood's 4th Armored Division had reached the base of the Quiberon peninsula. Disorganized German forces were retreating into Lorient, St. Nazaire and up the Quiberon peninsula.[25]
At this point, Wood proposed blocking the base of the Brittany peninsula and moving the majority of his forces eastward towards Chartres. Major General Troy H. Middleton, commanding VIII Corps, ordered the division to hold a line along the Vilaine River, sealing off the Rennes to Quiberon region. The 4th Armored Division stopped roughly ten miles short of the Quiberon Bay objective, despite facing minimal opposition.[26]
Believing that operations in Brittany had no strategic value, Wood told more than one colleague that his superiors were winning the war, but doing it "the wrong way."[27] However, Lieutenant Colonel Harold L. Mack, of the COMZ staff, who described the failure to implement Operation Chastity as the "Critical Error of World War II".[28] placed the blame for failing to capture Quiberon Bay on Wood stating that he "had set his heart on participating in the main drive for Paris, where he could achieve fame and glory" and accuses Wood and all his superiors in the chain of command of failing to appreciate the "supreme need of taking Quiberon Bay".[29]
Drive across France
The 4th Armored led the Third Army's drive east across France, earning Wood his second nickname, "Tiger Jack" because when Patton would yell at him, Wood would pace like a caged animal and argue back.[30]
In August 1944, Wood ran into difficulty when command of his higher headquarters within Third Army, the XII Corps, was assigned to Manton S. Eddy. Wood thought he'd earned the opportunity to command a corps, but was bypassed by Omar Bradley, the commander of the U.S. 12th Army Group, which included Patton's Third Army. Wood was an artilleryman, and may have been passed over in favor of Eddy, who was an infantryman, as was Bradley.[31] It is also possible that Wood was not selected for corps command because of his outspoken manner and willingness to question his superiors.[32]
End of active duty
Wood did not get along with Eddy, including refusing to provide Eddy's headquarters with routine reports or copies of 4th Armored Division's operations orders. Eddy eventually complained to Patton, and Patton replaced Wood with Major General Hugh Gaffey on 3 December 1944, shortly before the Battle of the Bulge.[33][34]
At the time of Wood's relief, he was assured by his superiors, the Third Army commander, Patton, and Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander on the Western Front, that he was being relieved only because medical reports indicated that he was ill, and that after a short rest he would either return to command of the 4th Armored Division or be promoted to command of a corps.[35][36] Wood received the Distinguished Service Cross, Distinguished Service Medal and the Silver Star for his service as commander of the 4th Armored Division.
After retiring from the Army, Wood worked for the United Nations as Chief of Mission for the International Refugee Organization in Austria (1947-1952), and Chief of Mission for the United Nations Reconstruction Administration in Tokyo, South Korea, and Geneva (1952-1953).[38]
Wood was known for leading from the front, often flying in a light observation plane that would land him near his lead elements so he could observe and provide direction; the pilot of his L-4 liaison aircraft was the legendary airman Major Charles M. Carpenter - known to the press as 'Bazooka Charlie' - with whom Wood formed a close and very loyal relationship.[41] Wood was also known for setting an example by sharing the field-service conditions experienced by the ordinary soldiers, which included living in a tent: during the operations in France, he criticised Courtney Hodges, commander of First United States Army, for living and working in specially built panel-vans, instead of sharing the privations of the men and using a tent like them.[42]In addition, he was known for his eccentricities and outspokenness: as a Command and General Staff College student he displayed his disdain for an instructor by reading a newspaper during a lecture;[43] in 1942, during training maneuvers in Tennessee, Wood argued publicly with exercise coordinator Ben Lear after Lear made disparaging remarks about the 4th Armored Division during an after action review.[44]
Family
Wood was married to Marguerite Little (1890-1984).[45][46] Their children included sons Lieutenant Colonel Carroll D. Wood (1913-1955) (West Point, 1937), Colonel John S. Wood (1920-2004) (West Point, 1943), and a daughter, Shirley (born 1929).[47][48][49]
On May 17, 1957, Wood married Abigail Holman Harvey (1899-1983), who survived him.[50][51]
Wood is widely regarded as one of the best division commanders of World War II. Basil H. Liddell Hart wrote of Wood that "John S. Wood [was] one of the most dynamic commanders of Armor in World War II, and the first in the allied armies to demonstrate in Europe the essence of the art and tempo of handling a mobile force."[55]
Lieutenant GeneralWillis D. Crittenberger said of Wood "He far exceeded in his leadership capabilities any man I have ever known." GeneralBruce C. Clarke, who served under Wood in the 4th Armored Division as Chief of Staff and commander of Combat Command A, said years later "The 'Gods of War' did not smile on 'P' Wood... . Under different circumstances 'P' had the brains, the knowledge, the drive, the magnetic hold on his men to have been listed on the rolls of the 'Great Captains' of history."[56]
Mack, Harold L. (1981). The Critical Error of World War II. National Security Affairs Issue Papers. Washington, DC: National Defence University. hdl:2027/mdp.39015055835725. OCLC605367568. 81-1.