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On These Generals Shoulders

The Allied Generals: These men solely planned the D-Day operation. Without these skilled men, we could be living in a land of tyranny and hate. The entire war rested on these generals shoulders. The little band of military chiefs entrusted with a historic task: invading and liberating Nazi-occupied Europe.

Eisenhower, General Dwight D. 1890-1969

The son of a poor family from Texas, Eisenhower paved the ground for his military success at West Point where he became a football star and was universally popular. His army career made slow progress between the wars, but he had the good fortune to attract the favorable attention of General Marshall, the Chief of Staff, who early in 1942 brought him to head the Operations Branch in Washington. He was then sent to lead the American staff in Britain and was shortly afterwards chosen to command the Allied landings in French North Africa (Operation Torch). In Washington, Eisenhower had been a leading exponent of the policy of opening a second front in Europe in 1942, and he naturally regarded Torch as a diversion. He nevertheless put his heart into making it the spectacular success that it became and at once demonstrated the many qualities - of imperturbability, professional skill, wise judgment, public charm and gentle conciliation - which were to make him the natural choice for Supreme Allied Commander in Europe throughout the war.

He was given that title in the North African Theater in February, and during the rest of the year oversaw the final conquest of North Africa and the launching of the invasions of Sicily in July and of Italy in September. In December he was recalled to Britain to assume the Supreme Allied Command of the projected invasion of Europe with Montgomery as his operational Commander. Until 1 September his role was that of strategic overlord, but on that day he assumed direct control of operations and was almost immediately confronted with a major crisis of command decision, perhaps the greatest with which he was faced during the war. The Germans were in full retreat to their own frontiers and Patton and Montgomery, commanding the right and left flanks respectively of the Allied advance, were each clamoring for a disproportionate share of supplies strictly limited by the destruction of the French railways and the unavailability of ports beyond Normandy.

General Dwight D. Eisenhower Supreme Allied Commander Born in Texas in 1890 but grew up in Kansas A West Point graduate who sat out World War I in the United States Served Douglas MacArthur as an aide in the prewar Philippines Was an obscure lieutenant colonel when World War II began Escaped from a Washington desk job to head the Allied invasion of North Africa in 1942 Got the top command for D-Day after President Franklin D. Roosevelt shrank from losing the services of the obvious commander, Gen. George C. Marshall, the chief of staff in Washington Known for his skill as a diplomat who could ensure that Allies worked smoothly together Led the Allied armies to victory across Europe and later served as NATO's first supreme commander before his election as president in 1952 Died in 1969 Lieutenant General Omar Bradley Commander, First U.S. Army Born in 1893 in Clark, Mo., and graduated with Eisenhower from West Point Early in the war, after shaping up several new divisions in training, saw action in North Africa as commander of II Corps Took his corps to Sicily, where it distinguished itself Was chosen over the temperamental George S. Patton Jr. to command American ground troops in the Normandy invasion Started the Normandy campaign as Montgomery's subordinate but soon moved up to his equal as commander of the U.S. 12th Army Group, with Courtney B. Hodges taking over his old First Army slot Had a reputation as a modest and extremely competent commander Was much beloved by his soldiers as "the GI's General" In the Korean War, rose to become chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Died in 1981 General Bernard L. Montgomery Commander, 21st Army Group Born in 1887 Badly wounded in France as an infantry platoon leader in France in World War I Made a reputation with his handling of a division in the debacle that led to the retreat from Dunkirk in 1940 Got command of the Eighth Army in the North African desert in 1942 and led it to triumph at the Battle of El Alamein in November 1942, thus becoming an icon to the British public As Britain's best-known general, got tapped to lead the ground assault at Normandy's beaches by two field armies, one American and the other British-Canadian Won promotion to field marshal as a consolation prize after Eisenhower moved his own headquarters to France and took direct charge Was prickly and quarrelsome with his American counterparts but remained a hero to the British public Died in 1976 Lieutenant General Miles C. Dempsey Commander, Second British Army Born in 1896, saw action in World War I Handled a brigade in France in 1940 so well that he got a division after Dunkirk Went to North Africa as commander of the XIII Corps under Montgomery and later took his corps into Sicily and then Italy Won a reputation similar to Bradley's as a leader of quiet competence Juggled British, Canadian and later Polish units on the eastern side of the Normandy battlefield Had to balance his tactics against the cost in casualties to Britain, which was running dangerously low on manpower Among the least-known of the high-ranking Allied commanders; although he led a field army like Patton, he never won big headlines like Patton After the surrender of Germany, took command of Allied land forces in Southeast Asia Died in 1969 German Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt Commander-in-chief, West Born in 1875, son of a Prussian general Retired in 1938 but was recalled at the outbreak of war Commanded an army group in the invasion of Poland and again in the invasion of France Led an army group in the invasion of the Soviet Union but quarreled with Hitler and was relieved Had such talent that Hitler relented and gave him the top job in the West in 1942 Clashed with his subordinate, Erwin Rommel, on the right strategy for defending France Deemed defeatist by Hitler and replaced in August 1944 Recalled yet again a month later and helped to plan the offensive that became the Battle of the Bulge Retired again in March 1945, just before the war's end Charged by the British as a war criminal but never faced trial because of his ill health Died in 1953 German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel Commander, Army Group B Born in 1891 Won a reputation for dash as a junior officer in World War I Between the wars, wrote well-regarded works on tactics Made a name as a hard-charging tank commander leading a division in France in 1940 In North Africa, took command of the Afrika Korps and bedeviled the British but won their respect, even affection Ordered to France from North Africa and given charge of two German field armies there Strove feverishly to build up the coastal defenses because of his feeling that the Allied invasion must be defeated on the beach or not at all Badly wounded by a British fighter-bomber in Normandy Implicated in the anti-Hitler plot Killed himself to spare his family Buried with honors in 1944

Urged by each to sanction a 'narrow front' advance which each claimed would win a speedy final victory, he decided instead to pursue a `broad front' strategy which allowed all Armies to advance at a uniformly slower pace. He made to Montgomery, however, the concession of allowing him to mount a risky airborne operation (Market Garden), which Patton was later to claim robbed him of promising opportunities in Lorraine. Market Garden, conceived in a later judgment to have been aimed at capturing 'a bridge too far,' failed. Montgomery forever claimed that the failure was the result of Eisenhower's 'broad front' strategy. This now looks unlikely. German forces were stronger on the ground near home than Montgomery would concede, and Allied supply resources, whether organized on a `broad' or 'narrow' basis, too exiguous to have supported any sort of war-winning blow. Eisenhower appears to have realized this and to have decided that his best policy was to support both an American and a British dash to the frontier in the general interest of good inter-Allied relations even though neither General could achieve the success he expected.

In that assessment he was certainly accurate for, though his subordinates seethed with frustration, the British and American publics both saw the advance to the German frontier as a triumph of Allied arms. Eisenhower certainly did not undervalue Montgomery's skill as a battlefield commander and during the crisis of the Battle of the Bulge, judged him the right man to take over direction of the counteroffensive, even at the cost of sore feelings among American commanders. Thereafter the course of Allied strategy, both on the British and American fronts, ran smooth - during the Rhine crossing and in the advance to the Elbe and into Austria.

Eisenhower ended the war as much a hero of the British people as of the American, who elected him President in 1952. Though not perhaps a great soldier in the tecnnicai sense - it is doubtful if he ever heard a shot fired in anger - he proved himself a genius in the direction of inter-Allied campaigns.

Bradley, General Omar, 1893-1981

A protege of Eisenhower, who had been in the same class as he at West Point, Bradley's career was also linked with Patton's. Bradley first rose to prominence when he took command of the II Corps, from Patton, in North Africa. He immediately showed his mettle, when troops under his command stormed Bizerta on 7 May 1943 and took 40,000 prisoners. The II Corps then took part in operations in Sicily, landing at Gela and Scogliti.

Bradley's great contribution to the Allied victory was the part played in Operation Overlord. He was chosen by Eisenhower to command the US landings on D-Day, as Commander of the US 1st Army. After the landings, Patton arrived to take command of the new 3rd Army and Bradley became his superior, as Commander of the 12th Army Group. Although Bradley had served under Patton and was susceptible to his influence, this turned out to be a workable relationship, beneficial to both men.

Bradley's great moment came during the German Ardennes Offensive, when his men were completely taken by surprise but Bradley kept his head and was able to prevent a decisive breakthrough by the Germans. After breaking through the Siegfried Line, his troops crossed the Rhine at Remagen in March 1945 and in the following month met the Soviet troops on the Elbe. Bradley was a quiet and calm man, with a sound grasp of tactics, who inspired the confidence of his superiors and also of his men.

The Axis Generals: The German generals, appointed by Hitler, were responsible for the German loss at Normandy. Thrown into confusion by fake allied messages, they foolishly moved their forces away from Normandy to Point de Calais, which is only twenty-three miles from the English coast.

Rundstedt, Field Marshal Gerd von, 1875-1953

Rundstedt had retired from the German Army after the Fritsch-Blomberg crisis but returned to command Army Group A which invaded Poland in September 1939. In May 1940 he held the same command for the invasion of France and it was his Panzer spearhead which broke through at Sedan and cut off the British Expeditionary Force. He persuaded Hitler to allow Army Group A to halt its offensive and to leave the reduction of the Dunkirk pocket to the Luftwaffe. This crucial decision allowed the evacuation of the BEF.

In 1941 Rundstedt was given command of Army Group South which moved through the Ukraine in September but was relieved of the command two months later when Hitler refused to allow him to withdraw. In 1942 he was reinstated and made Commander in Chief of the west and was responsible for the defense of Fortress Europe. When the Allies finally landed in Normandy, Rundstedt was caught unprepared: his troops were deployed over the Channel coast and his Panzer Divisions were well in the rear.

On 1 July 1944 he was replaced by Kluge, who was then dismissed on 17 August, and replaced by Model. Rundstedt was recalled in September but at that point there was little he could do to stop the Allied advance over northwest France. However he planned the Ardennes offensive, sometimes known as the Rundstedt offensive, in which he did not have much confidence. He retired in March 1945 after its failure, but to the end Hitler respected his judgment. It has been said that this was be cause Hitler was impressed by his aristocratic presence, and the Prussian military tradition which he represented.

Rommel, Field Marshal Erwin, 1891-1944

Rommel excelled at every level of command he held, from platoon to army group commander. As a lieutenant in World War I, he led his platoon with great dash in the Battle of the Frontiers. As a company commander he won the Pour le merite, Germany's highest decoration for bravery, in the Battle of Caporetto. Between the wars Rommel wrote an important textbook on infantry tactics, in which the theory or doctrine of 'forward control' was first developed, and at the outbreak of war he was given command of a Panzer Division, the 7th, which he commanded in the Battle of France. He perhaps owed his command to a lucky acquaintanceship with Hitler, but he justified his appointment by the brilliance with which he handled the division in the field (slightly marred by his unsure reaction to the British counterattack at Arras on 21 May 1940).

In February 1941, when the rest of the German Army was preparing for the invasion of Russia, he was chosen to lead the Afrika Korps which Hitler had decided to send to the rescue of Mussolini's Army in Libya, and his handling of it in the next eighteen months laid the foundation of a military legend. On his arrival he immediately halted and then turned back Wavell's advance into Cyrenaica and, until Alamein, retained the initiative throughout the almost continuous fighting of the next year. He was halted by Auchinleck in July 1942 but found the strength to renew his attack towards Cairo in August. It was only because he had exhausted his supplies and reinforcements and overextended his lines of communication that he was so soundly beaten at El Alamein in October and he then made Montgomery pay a high price for his victory. His retreat to Tunisia was a well-conducted delaying action and his defense of the territory when he arrived far stronger than the Allies had expected. He was ordered home by Hitler before the final collapse and then sent to prepare France against the threat of Allied Invasion.

His strengthening of the coastal defenses made the landings, when they came, costlier than they would have been, and he conducted a tenacious defense of the German lines around the lodgment area, even though he had not been allowed by Rundstedt to deploy his troops as he wished. On 17 July however, he was wounded by a British fighter's attack on his car and evacuated. He then came under suspicion of implication in the Bomb Plot and was offered by Hitler the choice of standing trial, with the inevitable danger that threatened his family, or of committing suicide. He took the proffered poison and was given a state funeral, having, it was announced, died of his wounds.

Brassey's D-Day Encyclopedia This unique encyclopedia provides everything you ever wanted to know about D-Day, the invasion of Normandy. Organized alphabetically, the entries give detailed descriptions of weapons, equipment, divisions, air and naval units, geography, terminology, personalities and more.

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