Figure 1.--Lt. Gen Omar Bradley commanded the U.S. ground forces that landed in Normandy. He then commanded the 12th Army Group that swept through France and then across the Rhine into the Reich. Here he is with some French boys outside a headquarters unit. The press caption read, "French Boys Pay Their Respects to U.S. General: French boys make friends quickly with U.S. Lieutenant General Omar N. Bradley, commander of American Ground Forces in France, during his inspection tour of the St. Brice area, northwestern France." This was a small town near Paris. The photograph was dated August 23, 1944. At the time, the French Resistance was battling the Germans in Paris and the Allies led by French units were racing in force toward the French capital.

Omar Bradley was born into a low-income family in Clarl, Mossuri (1893). A college education was unobtainable which led him to West Pont. He graduated from West Point (1915). This was the famed class that 'stars fell on'. The Germans asked for an Armistice in World War I before he was deployed to France. He thought that this ended any chance for a future high rank. Like other important American commanders, he languished in the peace time Army and the very limited appropriations approved by Congress. He developed relations with Eisenhower, Patton, Macarthur, and Marshal. At the time war broke out in Europe, he was a training officer and though he would again not be involvd in a combat commnd. He was, however, based on the people he had impressed, part of the Totch Invasions of North Africa (November 1942) and served under Gen. Patton in Sicily (July 1943). With Patton in disgrave because of the slapping incidenton Sicily, Eisenhower chose Bradley to head American ground forces preparing for the Normandy cross Channel invasion. Bradley commanded the the United States First Army that established the American bridgeheads in Normandy and after the landings the 12th Army Group. This was the largest army group ever led by an ameriucn commnder. He planned Operation Cobra that obliterated the elite Panzer Lehr Division, blasting a hole in German lines enabling the Normandy breakout. This unleased the American coiled spring that had built up in Normandy. Bradley was a competent, but perhaps overly cautious commander--here assessments vary. He is often referred to as 'The GI General' a name given him by Earnie Pyle. According to an Arlington Cemetary biography because of 'his care of an compassion for those soldiers under his commamnd'. In this regard he is often compared favorably to the flamboyant Patton. This comarison is more complicated than often posed. Sending men into combat aggresively is not always the path to lower casualties. Bradley's caution around Falaise led to many German troops escaping that would later cause serious American casualtis in the Bulge.

Created: 8:09 PM 11/1/2016
Last updated: 8:09 PM 11/1/2016