Mark Clark was the son of a career army officer and graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point. As World War II allowed rapid promotions, officers with political skills moved up quickly. Mark Clark was a Lieutenant Colonel in 1941 and by 1942 he had jumped four grades to Lieutenant General while serving as a staff officer who cultivated personal relationships with Generals like his old friend Dwight Eisenhower. Most historians are critical of Mark Clark’s performance in Italy and rate him as one of the worst American Generals in World War II.
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Related Tale: “The Senseless and Bloody Italian Campaign 1943-44”; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVbX0AWKYMo
“The Battle of San Pietro”; John Huston; US National Archives; March 14, 2016; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3OLJZvgIx5w
“Mark Clark at Salerno”; Cody Carlson; October 11, 2021; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84pG3i_NcsQ
“Rage Over the Rapido”; Duane Schultz; Historynet; https://www.historynet.com/rage-over-the-rapido.htm
“Hitler’s Soft Underbelly”; David Reynolds; Timeline; February 23, 2017; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xLvx8L_jzM