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.
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
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 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
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
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.
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
