George Marshall was an American statesman and soldier who served as the Chief of Staff of the United States Army under two U.S. Presidents. During his long and illustrious career, he also served as Secretary of State, and then Secretary of Defense, under President Harry S. Truman. As an army man, he gained much fame for his leadership skills during the World War II during which he built and directed the largest army in history and was hailed as one of the military heroes in the Allied victory in World War II by Winston Churchill, the British Prime Minister. A patriotic soul from the very beginning, he decided early on to join the army and enrolled at the Virginia Military Institute. Following his graduation as a senior first captain of the Corps of Cadets, he served in several posts in the Philippines and the United States. During the World War I, he planned the first American attack and victory of the war at Cantigny and played a major role in the planning and coordination of the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Eventually he became the Chief of Staff and organized the largest military expansion in U.S. history during the World War II. After the war, he was made Secretary of State by President Truman and was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953.