Unity of Command

1
Unity of Command

• Normandy Invasions

2
Agenda

• SHAEF
• Key Leaders
• Why these Leaders?
• American / British Relations
• Montgomery's Command
• Conclusion

3
SHAEF

• SHAEF was the Supreme Headquarters Allied
  Expeditionary Force.
• SHAEF was created in February 1945 or the U.S.
  and Britain to have a unified command of the
  upcoming cross channel attack.
• It was dissolved in July following the invasion.

4
Key Leaders

• Dwight D. Eisenhower- Supreme Allied Commander
• Tedder, Arthur- Deputy Supreme Allied Commander
• Montgomery, Bernard- Ground Forces Commander
• Leigh-Mallory, Trafford- Allied air forces
  Commander

5
Key Leaders Cont.

• Ramsay, Bertram Home- naval forces commander
• Bradley, Omar N., U.S. ground forces commander
• Smith, Walter Bedell- Chief of Staff at SHAEF

6
Why Dwight D. Eisenhower?

• Eisenhower had the knack of saying the right
  thing to gain others' cooperation.
• His strong personality and overwhelming good
  nature inspired trust.
• The Supreme Allied Command in Europe would never
  have worked without Eisenhower, for he virtually
  invented the concept of Allied unity of command
  and persuaded the British to accept it in lieu of
  the committee system to which they were
  accustomed.

7
Tedder, Arthur

• Tedder disliked Montgomery and the entire British
  Army which made it easy for him to work with
  Eisenhower.
• Tedder was friends with Eisenhower since the
  north Africa Campaign so it made sense for him to
  be the deputy.
• Many thought he should have been allied air
  commander because of his popularity with the
  airmen.

8
Montgomery, Bernard

• Montgomery was always the center of controversy
  and disputes that would eventually burden his
  ability to command.
• Montgomery was known for being unorthodox with
  little respect for the war office.
• He was scared of no one, and loved the troops.
  The troops also loved him
• He was a great ground commander.

9
Leigh-Mallory, Trafford

• Leigh-Mallory was not easy to get along with.
• He was very detailed in his plan.
• He ensured complete Allied air superiority during
  the invasion and his plan to destroy German road
  and rail links was crucial in isolating most of
  the German defense forces.
• He was known to often question plans, but always
  supported Eisenhower when the decision was made.

10
Ramsay, Bertram Home

• Ramsay was quite experienced in the movement of
  combat troops across water.
• Early on, Ramsay doubted the mulberry harbors,
  but he came to support them.
• He was a master of the complex staff work
  required for such undertakings as the massive
  ally movement in the amphibious attacks.

11
Bradley, Omar

• During the months before the invasion, Bradley
  supervised the refinement of assault plans and
  troop training.
• His troops often called him the soldiers
  General.
• Bradley was known as the middle, between Patton
  and Montgomery.
• Not a part of SHAEF

12
Smith, Walter Bedell

• He was known as the American Bulldog.
• Smith was a prior enlisted soldier.
• Smith at first had problems with working with
  foreign senior officers, but through Eisenhower's
  guidance he grew to become a great leader.
• Smith was great a uniting the forces behind
  Eisenhower especially while they were still in
  Britain.

13
British / American Relations

• Eisenhower was great at tying together the two
  forces.
• At a speech given in the Norfolk house Eisenhower
  said, Once we have made our plan, I want
  everybody to express their faith in it, no matter
  what controversy's or misgivings you may have
  mentioned among yourselves when the plan was
  being formulated.

14
British / American Relations Cont.

• Bradley was often considered the balance between
  the two extremes of these generals.
• Eisenhower would actually fire members of the
  SHAEF staff if they spoke harshly of another
  nationality and its officers.

15
Initial Ground Forces Commander

• Montgomery was chosen to be the initial ground
  forces commander because he was liked so well by
  the troops.
• Eisenhower also wanted all troops to be under one
  command so that there was no competition when the
  landings were occurring.
• Montgomery was known to dominate the ground
  commanders.

16
Conclusion

• .Unity of Command was clearly demonstrated in the
  Normandy invasion by the composition of the SHAEF
  staff, Eisenhower's delicate handling of
  British-American Relations, and the decision to
  have Montgomery serve as the initial ground
  forces commander until the formation of the U.S.
  1st Army.