Dempsey’s Army was involved in Operation Market Garden, the failed Allied assault on the Netherlands in September 1944. The 2nd Army fought major battles at Mortain and Falaise before driving to the east through Belgium. 1st Army was able to break out of Normandy.Īfter Normandy, Dempsey continued to command the 2nd Army during its drive up to Germany.
Dempsey’s army kept German forces engaged so that the U.S.
After landing on June 6, the 2nd Army drove inland to capture Caen on July 9. According to the plan, the British 50th Infantry, British 3rd Infantry and Canadian 3rd Infantry Divisions were to assault Gold, Sword and Juno beaches respectively. forces at Salerno.īecause of his strategic acumen, Montgomery selected Dempsey to command the 2nd Army in the invasion of Normandy, which was comprised of both Canadian and British forces.
His troops later led the invasion the Italian Peninsula across the Strait of Messina, where they advanced more than 300 miles to the north in 17 days before linking up with U.S. In July 1943, the Corps, under Miles Dempsey’s command, formed the right wing of Montgomery’s forces in the invasion of Sicily. At the beginning of World War II, Dempsey was a lieutenant colonel in command of an infantry brigade in France.ĭuring the Allied retreat, Dempsey’s force provided screening for the British forces as they evacuation from Dunkirk in May-June 1940.ĭempsey was promoted to lieutenant general, in November 1942 and took command of the 13th Corps of the 8th Army in North Africa. Commissioned into the British Army in 1915, Dempsey fought with the British Expeditionary Force in France during World War I. Miles Dempsey was born on December 15, 1896, in New Brighton, Cheshire, England. This move put Bradley in charge of the 1st, 3rd, 9th and 15th Armies. Sensing victory, Bradley split his divisions into two separate armies and called in Patton’s 3rd Army. On July 26, the 1st Army penetrated German lines at St. Bradley’s strategy was to use the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions to protect his landing forces from local counterattacks by German forces.įollowing extensive planning by allied commanders, Bradley landed in France with the 1st Army. Following his release from II Corps, Bradley arrived in the United Kingdom in October 1943. Later, Bradley assumed additional duties as commanding general, 1st U.S. His successes earned Bradley the command of the 1st U.S. After victory in Africa, Bradley helped plan and execute the allied invasion of Sicily on July 10, 1943. Following this, Bradley took command of II Corps and went on help defeat the German Afrika Korps. In 1943, Eisenhower appointed Bradley his personal representative in North Africa. In February of 1941, Bradley was promoted to brigadier general and sent to Fort Benning to set up the Infantry Officer Candidate Program. After the entrance of the United States into WWII, he acquired command of the 82nd Infantry Division and later the 28th Infantry Division after promotion to major general. He rose to the rank of major during the First World War. He was appointed to the US Military Academy in 1911. Omar Nelson Bradley was born in Clark, MO on February 12, 1893.
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