Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight D. Eisenhower is arguably the most recognizable military commander of the 20th century. His success in WWII played a huge role in the United States victory in Europe. It is extremely remarkable that Eisenhower actually had no field command experience before WWII (Chen). He clearly possessed naturally leadership qualities that complimented his strategic knowledge. From the beaches of Normandy, to the western front of Germany, General Eisenhower commanded the Allies. If it a lesser man was in charge the outcome of the war and the world we live in today could have been very different.
Eisenhower was born in Denison, Texas on October 14th, 1890. He grew up in Kansas in a poor family. Eisenhower was known as a good athlete and a hard worker. In 1915 he graduated from West Point and was stationed in San Antonio as a second lieutenant. The First World War ended right before Eisenhower was scheduled to go, which greatly upset him. He then went on the graduate first in his class from the Command and General Staff College in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Next, the future president served under General John J. Pershing as a military aid. He later served as an aid to General Douglas MacArthur for seven years in the Philippines. In 1939 he returned home just at the outbreak of the Second World War. In September 1941, Eisenhower was promoted to brigadier general. Just three months later Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. Eisenhower was then called to Washington by General George Marshal, U.S Army Chief of Staff. Marshal assigned Eisenhower to work as a planning officer in the capital (History.com). He had seven years of experience stationed in the Philippines so Eisenhower worked mostly as an early Pacific theater advisor. He correctly predicted that Japan would easily overtake the Philippines and that the U.S only needed to hold out long enough to build a base in Australia (PBS). General Marshal was impressed by his strategic skills and sent him to North Africa to be the top allied commander. This would be the first field experience for the new General (Chen).
The invasion of North Africa was known as Operation Torch. It was probably the most important step in Eisenhower’s career because it was his first real test to prove himself and continue to climb in his career. The first objective of the new General was to win the port of Tunis and force the Germans and Italians out of Tunisia. Eisenhower used a unified command style, which was an idea created and stressed by General Marshall (Jeffers). Unified command was the concept of having one supreme commander who would act without any national allegiance. This was important because the allies in North Africa were the US, France, and Great Britain. Naturally, all three would have squabbles. The drawback of unified command was that it could appear to violate the British and French chain of commands to their forces. However, the strategy would prevent the Allies failure due to French and British disagreements. Eisenhower never wavered from his commitment to unified command (Jeffers).
Operation Torch would not go smoothly for the rookie General. They were landing and attacking a Vichy France force which was neutral thus far. Eisenhower thought he could persuade them to join the Allies without the use of force. The three points they would attack were Casablanca, Algiers, and Oran. Allied forces were combated at Casablanca and Oran with a strong resistance. Algiers did not put up any opposition. Eisenhower now had to use his persuasion and political savvy to succeed in North Africa. He did this by making a deal with Admiral Jean Darlan after three days of negotiation which ended the Vichy French resistance. This was seen by some as controversial due to Darlan’s fascist views. However, it was a necessary agreement that would allow Eisenhower and his army to gain control of Oran and Morocco. It also opened up a path for the allies to move against Nazi forces in Tunisia. This is a moment that could be seen as a mistake by Eisenhower. He did not move rapidly to attack a vulnerable German army in Tunisia (Ambrose). That November and December the weather was bad and Eisenhower decided postpone the invasion of Tunisia. This unfortunately gave time for the Germans to send troops and solidify their hold on Tunisia. Allied forces were then defeated in February of 1943 by Germans in Tunisia. The Germans launched a counteroffensive that the Allies eventually stopped. Eisenhower appointed his friend General Patton to lead the attack on the flank of Tunis, Tunisia. The British Eighth Army attacked on the eastern coastal region and broke through. Eventually Allied forces prevailed in early May and forced the surrender of 275,000 Germans and Italians. While the invasion of North Africa was not executed as fast and easily as expected, it still was successful. This also proved the previously green Eisenhower with much needed experience to use as he moved into Europe. Eisenhower was named a full four star general that year.
The next step was the invasion of Sicily, code named Operation Husky. Paratroopers were used as well as amphibious force. Six weeks of land combat was all that was needed to take the Island. Axis forces surrendered in early August. This opened up the Mediterranean Sea lanes for the Allies, which was very significant for the invasion of France and Germany. The success of the operation was so significant because it led to a new Italian government taking over from Mussolini in early September (PBS). It set the stage for the invasion of Italy. Despite growing pains, Eisenhower was able to capture a large amount of territory in his first two years of the war. More importantly, it gave him the confidence and experience to face more risky operations. He was now a full General and had learned to be a tougher leader; he started to remove all subordinates he did not have full confidence in.
The War then turned to Europe. Operation Overlord would be the invasion of German occupied Europe. This would be the largest scale land, sea, and air military operation in the words history. Eisenhower would be in charge. The biggest question many may have was why a relatively unknown and inexperienced General Eisenhower would be chosen over his own boss General Marshall. British General Brooke was another favorite to win the job but Prime Minister Churchill decide it would have to be an American because of the amount of U.S troops that will be deployed (Balkoski). But why would General Marshall not be assigned as the supreme commander? Marshall never promoted himself to President Roosevelt, but said he would do whatever he was asked. This was after FDR asked him what position he would prefer. In all odds if he said he wanted the job and title he could have got it (Balkoski). Instead, after a meeting with FDR in Cairo, Marshall announced that Eisenhower would be the supreme commander in Europe. This was an amazing opportunity for Eisenhower but also one with great responsibility. It is clear a man for this positon needed to command unmeasurable respect and leadership qualities. Eisenhower was sent home for a few weeks to recharge and prepare for the coming invasion that would change the face of the war.
Operation Overload, more commonly known as D-Day, is one of the most remembered and celebrated military battles of all time. It was extremely complex for Eisenhower and his army to plan and execute. It would be the greatest seaboard invasion to date. Men and equipment would be dropped off on the four beaches of Normandy, while paratroopers were deployed behind the enemy lines. A task like this must be well prepared for. It was, as Eisenhower ended up planning for five months which included multiple delays. To plan the largest sea and air assault in history, Eisenhower needed to carefully prepare for the tides and lunar activity. Normandy had some of the most extreme tides in the world that needed to be studied. They also figured that they needed to execute the invasion during a full moon so that the thousands of planes could navigate in the dark. The ships also had to cross the dangerous English Channel in the cover of night. Eisenhower and his aids decided it would be best for ships to land as early in the morning as possible so that they could unload as many men as possible during the day. Through the scouting of the coast, Eisenhower found out that the Germans were placing mines and other obstacles along the beaches. During the high tides the obstacles would be hidden and therefore would make landing almost impossible. They decided that the only way to land ships safely was to do it at low tide so they could navigate and destroy the obstacles after landing. So the invasion had to take place during the lowest possible tide, which also took place at the crack of dawn, and with a full moon. The only realistic dates were from June 5th through the 7th of 1944. They decided to launch the attack on the 5th, but a storm forced Eisenhower to delay the attack until the 6th. When he was informed that the storm would subside by the 6th, Eisenhower famously said, “Okay, we’ll go.” (Balkoski). It’s hard to imagine what stress the General must have been under. The mission was seen as very risky. The mission could easily fail and it would be a huge blow to the Allies who needed a foothold in France. Eisenhower also was responsible for the fate of thousands of young men’s lives. It was a gutsy call to go through with the invasion. Eisenhower actually drafted two letters for the battle, one in case of victory and one in case of defeat. The success of D-Day is one of the future Presidents greatest legacies.
Over 150,000 men stormed the beaches and there were at least 10,000 allied casualties (Warren). What shouldn’t be overlooked about the invasion was that deception played a crucial role. The Axis powers new an invasion was coming but didn’t know where. The most logical point was Pas-de-Calais, which was closest to England. Just across the Channel from Pas-de-Calais, the Allies orchestrated a fake invasion set up. They crafted inflatable tanks and equipment, wooden model airplanes, fake artillery, and even had men stationed there under General Patton. When the Germans scouted out this fake army from the sky, it looked completely real. The German pilots had photographs of the inflatable tanks and vehicles, and were convinced that the invasion would be at Pas-de-Calais (dday-overlord). This kept the bulk of German soldiers away from Normandy. The diversion worked in another way as well. Because of the fake build up near Pas-de-Calais, the Germans initially believed that the Normandy landings actually were the diversion (dday-overlord).
By nightfall of the invasion, over 100,000 men had successfully secured coastal regions. By the end of the month of June, the Allies secured Normandy and used the foothold to unload hundreds of thousands of soldiers and supplies. By July over 1 million allied soldiers were safely camped in Normandy (u-s history.com). The man behind this and responsible for the success was Eisenhower. He had to make all the hard decisions along the way that would cost the lives of thousands of men, and risk losing the war. The Allies won on strength of numbers and good strategic planning.
During the summer of 1946 Eisenhower commanded the Allies from Normandy as they began to move through France. In late August they liberated the capital of Paris from Nazi control. During this “European Crusade”, Eisenhower not only had to find ways to defeat the Germans, but also manage his Allied commanders. British General Montgomery was one of the biggest problems. His slow and inconsistent performance in France had angered many U.S officers. At one point he even asked to be made ground commander, which would give him control over American soldiers. Many in the U.S Army wanted Eisenhower to essentially fire Montgomery (Ambrose). Eisenhower was firm on maintaining his control over the Allied operations in Europe and never wavered to Montgomery or some of his more bold commanders, like General Patton. He showed his political savvy that would help him land in the oval office by keeping the Allies on task and working together. By December of 1944, Eisenhower was named the General of the Army.
The successful European campaign lead by Eisenhower soon moved into Germany. The Allied victory seemed within sight, all they had to do was get across the Rhine River. The danger of crossing was that the first army sent through would be vulnerable to a counter attack and could be completely defeated. It is also important to note that Eisenhower was dealing with the geographic problem of supplying an army that was moving further and further away from Normandy. Nevertheless, Eisenhower believe the Germans to have low morale and attacked the Germans across their lines. This led to an unexpected counteroffensive in the Ardennes called the “Battle of the Bulge”, ending with more than 40,000 casualties (Ambrose).
Many view the Battle of the Bulge as Eisenhower’s one blemish on his otherwise outstanding resume. However, the other way to look at it is to realize the great leadership he demonstrated during this time of crisis. Eisenhower never lost his cool and stayed calm under the pressure to motivate his men. The General actually viewed the German attack as a great opportunity. He is famously quoted saying, “The present situation is to be regarded as one of opportunity for us not of disaster” (Loftus). The opportunity he saw was that the Germans massive attack which was successful for them, also left them vulnerable to another U.S counterattack. This could deal a devastating blow to the Germans, who were already acting in desperation. Eisenhower ordered his army to hold the lines at the Meuse River. Eisenhower believed that they needed to destroy as much of the Germany Army when they were still west of the Rhine River. The plan was to use his reserves to launch a huge counterattack, have Patton and Montgomery encircle the Germans from behind, and to use the Airborne divisions to protect key towns and access to supplies (Loftus). The plan worked and the Allies prevailed despite the horrible number of casualties on both side. It was one of the darkest time periods of the war and a time where great leadership was desperately needed. Eisenhower once again made the tough decisions under extreme pressure that would take years off a person’s life. The battle led to the Germans losing the western front and allowed the Allies to cross the Rhine River. Once the first army crossed into Germany they overran the country leading to the end of the war (Ambrose).
Eisenhower’s leadership in WWII was vital to the Allies victory. He had an ability to make tough decisions in times of great pressure. He had an amazing attention to detail which contributed to his meticulous planning of D-Day (Ambrose). He also successfully managed the at times difficult personalities of his commanders. His decisions to go ahead with D-Day and using the Battle of the Bulge as an opportunity showcased the Generals strategic expertise. A natural leader, Eisenhower was able to boast the moral of his troops. He would often spend time on the front lines getting to know soldiers to inspire confidence and show that he cared for his men (Chen). He was one of if not the most successful general of the war. The biggest decisions he was forced to make all turned out to be the right ones. Eisenhower will forever be remembered for his service to his country and the world during its darkest hour.

Works Cited
Ambrose, Stephen E. "Eisenhower’s Generalship." Eisenhower’s Generalship (n.d.): n. pag. 1999. Web.
"American Experience: TV's Most-watched History Series." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.
Balkoski, Joseph. "The Liberation Trilogy by Rick Atkinson." The Liberation Trilogy by Rick Atkinson EXECUTE OPERATION OVERLORD Comments. N.p., June 2014. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.
Balkoski, Joseph. "The Liberation Trilogy by Rick Atkinson." The Liberation Trilogy by Rick Atkinson WHO WILL COMMAND THIS OPERATION Comments. N.p., 20 Jan. 2014. Web. 14 Apr. 2015..
Chen, Peter. "Dwight Eisenhower." WW2DB RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.
Colley, Rupert. "D-day and Omaha Beach - a Brief Summary - History in an Hour." History in an Hour. N.p., 05 June 2014. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.
"D-Day, the Battle of Normandy." D-Day, the Battle of Normandy. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.
"Dwight D. Eisenhower." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.
Franklin, Anthony. "Sicily & Invasion of Italy." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.
Jeffers, Paul. "MARSHALL, EISENHOWER, OPERATION TORCH, AND UNIFIED COMMAND14." Command Posts RSS. N.p., 14 Oct. 2011. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.
Loftus, Geoff. "Lead Like Ike In The Battle Of The Bulge." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 16 Mar. 2010. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.
"Operation Fortitude." Operation Fortitude. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.
Warren, James A. "D-Day Was The Largest And One Of The Bloodiest Invasions In History." The Daily Beast. Newsweek/Daily Beast, 6 June 2014. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.