Marshall, S.L.A. (Samuel Lyman Atwood), 1900-1977

Brigadier General Samuel Lyman Atwood Marshall, also known as Slam, (July 18, 1900 – December 17, 1977) was a military journalist and historian. He served with the American Expeditionary Forces in World War I, before leaving to work as a journalist, specialising in military affairs.

In 1940, he published Blitzkrieg: Armies on Wheels, an analysis of the tactics used by the Wehrmacht, and re-entered the U.S. Army as its chief combat historian during World War II and the Korean War. He officially retired in 1960 but acted as an unofficial advisor during the Vietnam War. Marshall wrote some 30 books about warfare, including Pork Chop Hill: The American Fighting Man in Action, which was made into a film of the same name.

His most famous work was Men Against Fire: The Problem of Battle Command; based on group interviews, he concluded fewer than 25% of men in combat actually fired their weapons. While his data collection methods and percentages have been challenged, his conclusion that a significant number of soldiers do not fire their weapons in combat have been verified by studies performed in other armies.

The key issue remains why this is so; Marshall concluded social conditioning against killing was so strong, many could not do so even at the risk of their own lives. Others argue so-called 'low fire' is a function of training and discipline, and is a positive attribute. These debates continue; understanding the reasons helps overcome them through training, as well as dealing with actual or potential combat-stress disorder.