D-Day: Leadership

Home , 1st Army (Wehrmacht), 21st Army Group, Miles Dempsey, Normandy landings, Omar Bradley

D-Day: Leadership.

role, brought Harris into conflict LTG Omar Bradley, Com- with fellow Allied commanders, mander of US 1st Army. including Chief of the Air Staff General Bradley was the last and Prime Minister Winston of only nine people to hold Churchill. In Jan. 1946, he was five-star rank in the U.S. ignored and omitted from the Armed Forces. In 1949, he Victory honors list and resigned was named first chairman of the Joint Chiefs later that year. of Staff. For D-Day, Bradley was chosen to command the US First Army, which along- Air Marshal Arthur Tedder, side the British Second Army made up Gen- 1st Baron Tedder, Deputy eral Montgomery's 21st Army Group. Commander of Allied Forces. A colleague Eisenhower respect- Lt. Gen. Miles Dempsey, ed considerably, Tedder was to Commander of UK 2nd “paralyze” the French railway on Army. In North Africa, Sicily the eve of Overlord. He identi- and Italy, Dempsey gained a "You have got to have something in fied over 70 railroad targets in France and Bel- reputation for expertise in which to believe. You have got to have gium, directing traffic away combined operations such leaders, organization, friendships, and from lower Normandy. that Gen. Montgomery se- contacts that help you to believe that, Historians generally agree lected him to lead the 2nd Army (the primary Tedder was key to Allied air UK force, plus Canadians) in Jan. 1944. and help you to put out your best." forces success. By destroying —Dwight D. Eisenhower bridges over the Seine and Air Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory, Loire rivers, they effectively isolated Normandy, Commander-in-chief of the Allied from remarks to the Leaders of the imposing long detours and endless delays on the Expeditionary Air Force. United Defense Fund, 1954 Germans. Leigh-Mallory was the most senior British officer killed in Gen. Bernard Law Montgomery, 1st ome of history’s greatest military leaders World War II. For D-Day, he Viscount Montgomery of Alamein. helped lead to an Allied victory, and D-Day led the Allied aerial push to During the Normandy landings and for several was certainly an important test of that lead- stop German troop move- S months afterwards, Montgomery ment. His success led to ap- ership. Here are some facts about those fascinat- commanded all Allied troops in ing Allied leaders. pointment as Air Commander-in-Chief of France. But in September 1944, South East Asia Command. Unfortunately on Eisenhower took over, with Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, Allied his way there in November, he died when his Montgomery reverting to com- Expeditionary Force plane crashed in the French Alps. mand of 21st Army Group, Supreme Commander. much to his chagrin. His arro- During World War II, Eisen- Lt. Gen. Carl Spaatz, Commander of gance was well known, and the hower was earned his fifth star Strategic Air Forces in Europe. “Montgomery cocktail,” a martini mixed at a ratio as Supreme Commander of the Spaatz was under direct com- of 15:1, is a facetious reference to his alleged refusal Allies — one of only nine men mand of Gen. Eisenhower. to go into battle without at least that numeric ad- to ever hold a 5-star rank. As Spaatz was noted for his Oil vantage. Reportedly, severe internal injuries from the Allies Commander, Eisen- Plan which prioritized those WWI prohibited his own drinking and smoking. hower was considered the most powerful military targets. After the war, Eisen- man in the world. Ironically, his Jehovah's Wit- hower was reported as saying Adm. Sir Bertram ness parents had been strict pacifists. Spaatz and Gen. Bradley, Home Ramsay, Allied were the two American general officers who Naval Expeditionary Air Chief Marshal Sir contributed most to the victory in Europe. Force commander. Arthur Harris, 1st Baronet, Ramsay was responsible Commander of the Royal Lt. Gen. Water Bedell Smith, Chief-of- for Operation “Neptune,” which was pri- Air Force Bomber Com- Staff at Supreme Headquarters Allied marily a Royal Navy effort — only 346 mand. He believed that strategic Expeditionary Force. American of 2,468 major vessels involved bombing alone would defeat “Beetle,” Smith began his on D-Day. Ramsay did not live to see victo- Germany. Unfortunately this military career as an enlisted ry in Europe. On Jan. 2, 1945, his aircraft strong conviction and his reluc- soldier but ultimately became crashed upon take-off , on his way to see tance to allow his aircraft to be diverted from this one of Eisenhower’s most General Montgomery, . trusted strategic advisers.