Omar Bradley
From Open Encyclopedia
Image:GenArmyOB.jpg Omar Nelson Bradley (February 12, 1893 – April 8, 1981) was one of the main U.S. Army field commanders in North Africa and Europe during the World War II and a General of the Army of the United States Army. He was the last surviving five star officer of the United States. On May 5, 2000, the United States Postal Service issued the Distinguished Soldiers stamps in which Bradley was honored.
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Early life and career
Image:Omarbradleywestpoint.jpg Bradley was born to a poor family near Clark, Missouri, the son of a schoolteacher. He was educated at local schools and intended to enter the University of Missouri. Instead, he was advised to try for West Point. He placed first in his district placement exams and entered the academy in 1911. He graduated from West Point in 1915 as part of a class that contained many future generals, which military historians have called, "The class the stars fell upon."
He joined the 14th Infantry Regiment but, like many of his peers, did not see action in Europe, but held a variety of stateside assignments. He served on the U.S.-Mexico border in 1915. When war was declared, he was promoted to captain, but was posted to Montana. Bradley joined the 19th Infantry Division in August 1918, which was intended for European deployment, but the influenza pandemic and the armistice prevented him from leaving the US.
Between the wars he taught and studied. From 1920-24 he taught mathematics at West Point. He was promoted to a major in 1924 and took the advanced infantry course at Fort Benning, Georgia. After a brief service in Hawaii he then studied at the Command and General Staff School at Fort Leavenworth in 1928-29. From 1929 he taught at West Point again, taking a break to study at the Army War College in 1934. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1936 and worked at the War Department working directly for Army Chief of Staff George Marshall from 1938. In February 1941 he was promoted to brigadier general and sent to command Fort Benning. In February 1942 he took command of the 82nd Infantry Division before being switched to the 28th Infantry Division in June.
World War II
Bradley did not receive a frontline command until early 1943 after Operation Torch. He had been given VIII Corps but instead was sent to North Africa to serve under George S. Patton. He became head of II Corps in April and directed them in the final battles of April and May. He then led his corps onto Sicily in July. In the approach to Normandy Bradley was chosen to command the substantial 1st Army. During Operation Overlord he commanded three corps directed at the areas codenamed Utah and Omaha. Later in July he planned Operation Cobra which was the beginning of the breakout from the Normandy beachhead. By August, Bradley's command, the renamed 12th Army Group, had swollen to over 900,000 men and ultimately consisted of four field armies. It was the largest group of American soldiers to ever serve under one field commander.
Unlike some of the more colorful generals of World War II, Bradley was a polite and courteous man. First favorably brought to public attention by correspondent Ernie Pyle, he was informally known as "the soldier's general." Will Lang Jr. of Life (magazine) said "The thing I most admire about Omar Bradley is his gentleness. He was never known to issue an order to anybody of any rank without saying 'Please' first."
Bradley used his force to undertake an ambitious plan to encircle the German forces in Normandy, trapping them at the Chambois pocket. It was only partially successful but German forces still suffered huge losses during their retreat. The American forces reached the 'Siegfried Line' or 'Westwall' in late September. The sheer scale of the advance had taken the Allied high command by surprise. They had expected the German Wehrmacht to make stands on the natural defensive lines provided by the French rivers, and consequently, logistics had become a severe issue as well. Image:Marshall arnold and bradley.jpg
At this time, the Allied high command under Eisenhower faced a decision on strategy. Bradley favored a strategy consisting of an advance into the Saarland, or possibly a two thrust assault on both the Saarland and the Ruhr Area. Newly promoted to Field Marshal, Bernard Montgomery argued that he should lead a thrust on the northern flank into the Ruhr. Montgomery's tempestuous personality ultimately carried the day, leading to Operation Market-Garden. The debate, while not fissuring the Allied command, nevertheless led to a serious rift between the two Army group commanders of the European Theater of Operations. Bradley bitterly protested to Eisenhower the priority of supplies given to Montgomery, but Eisenhower, mindful of British public opinion, held Bradley's protests in check.
After the failure of Montgomery's forces to take Arnhem and its bridge across the Rhine river, forces under Bradley's command took the initial brunt of what would become the Battle of the Bulge. In a move without precedent in modern warfare, the US 3rd Army under George Patton disengaged from their combat in the Saarland, moved 90 miles to the battlefront, and forced the Germans back. Bradley used the advantage gained in March 1945 — after Eisenhower once again favored Montgomery with supplies for another unsuccessful offensive in February 1945 — to break the German defenses and cross the Rhine into the industrial heartland of the Ruhr. Aggressive pursuit of the disintegrating German troops by Bradley's forces resulted in the capture of a bridge across the River Rhine at Remagen. Bradley and his subordinates quickly exploited the crossing, leading to an enormous pincer movement encircling the German forces in the Ruhr from the north and south. Over 300,000 prisoners were taken. American forces then met up with the Soviet forces near the River Elbe in mid-April. By V-E Day, the 12th Army Group was a force of four armies (1st, 3rd, 9th, and 15th) that numbered over 1.3 million men.
Post-war
Bradley headed the Veterans Administration for two years after the war. He is credited with doing much to improve its health care system and with helping veterans receive their educational benefits under the G.I. Bill of Rights. He was made army chief of staff in 1948 and first official Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in 1949. On September 22, 1950 he was promoted to the rank of General of the Army, the fifth man in the 20th century - and last - to achieve that rank. Also in 1950 he was made the first Chairman of the NATO Committee. He remained on the committee until August 1953 when he left active duty to take a number of positions in commercial life. One of those positions was Chairman of the Board of the Bulova Watch Company from 1958 to 1973 [1].
As Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Bradley strongly rebuked General Douglas MacArthur, the commander of the U.N. forces in Korea, for his desire to expand the Korean War into China. Soon after Truman relieved MacArthur of command in April 1951, Bradley said in Congressional testimony, "Red China is not the powerful nation seeking to dominate the world. Frankly, in the opinion of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, this strategy would involve us in the wrong war, at the wrong place, at the wrong time, and with the wrong enemy."
He published his memoirs in 1951 as A Soldier's Story (ISBN 0375754210) and took the opportunity to attack Field Marshal Montgomery's 1945 claims to have won the Battle of the Bulge. Bradley spent his last years at a special residence on the grounds of the William Beaumont Army Medical Center, part of the complex which supports Fort Bliss, Texas. He also served as a consultant during the making of the film Patton. One of his last public appearances was in connection with the inauguration of President Ronald Reagan in January 1981. Upon Bradley's death, he was buried at Arlington National Cemetery.
The U.S. Army's M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle and M3 Bradley cavalry fighting vehicle are named after General Bradley.
Summary of service
Dates of rank
- Second Lieutenant, United States Army: June 12, 1915
- First Lieutenant, United States Army: October 13, 1916
- Captain, United States Army: August 22, 1917
- Major, National Army: July 17, 1918
- Captain, Regular Army (reverted to peacetime rank): November 4, 1922
- Major, Regular Army: June 27, 1924
- Lieutenant Colonel, Regular Army: July 22, 1936
- Brigadier General (Temporary), Regular Army: February 24, 1941
- Major General, Army of the United States: February 18, 1942
- Lieutenant General, Army of the United States: June 9, 1943
- Promoted to permanent rank of Colonel in the Regular Army: November 13, 1943
- General, Army of the United States: March 29, 1945
- Appointed a General in the Regular Army: January 31, 1949
- General of the Army: September 22, 1950
Primary decorations
- Army Distinguished Service Medal (With three oak leaf clusters)
- Navy Distinguished Service Medal
- Silver Star
- Legion of Merit (w/oak leaf cluster)
- Bronze Star Medal
- Mexican Border Service Medal
- World War I Victory Medal
- American Defense Service Medal
- European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
- World War II Victory Medal
- Army of Occupation Medal
- National Defense Service Medal
Assignment history
- 1915: 14th Infantry Regiment
- 1919: ROTC professor, South Dakota State College
- 1920: Instructor, United States Military Academy (West Point)
- 1924: Infantry School Student, Fort Benning, Georgia
- 1925: Commanding Officer, 19th and 27th Infantry Regiments
- 1927: Office of National Guard and Reserve Affairs, Hawaiian Department
- 1928: Student, Command and General Staff School
- 1929: Instructor, Fort Benning Infantry School
- 1934: Plans and Training Office, USMA West Point
- 1938: War Department General Staff, G-1 Chief of Operations Branch and Assistant Secretary of the General Staff
- 1941: Commandant, Infantry School Fort Benning
- 1942: Commanding General, 82nd Infantry Division and 28th Infantry Division
- 1943: Commanding General, II Corps, North Africa and Sicily
- 1943: Commanding General, Field Forces European Theater
- 1944: Commanding General, First Army (Later 1st and 12th U.S. Army Groups)
- 1945: Administrator of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Administration
- 1948: United States Army Chief of Staff
- 1949: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
- 1953: Retired from active service
External links
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| Preceded by: {{{before}}}}|before=Adm. William D. Leahy}} | {{{title}}}{{{else{{{test|}}}|{{{test{{{test|}}}|{{{then|}}}}}}}}}}|then= Representative for {{{district}}}|else=}}{{{else{{{test|}}}|{{{test{{{test|}}}|{{{then|}}}}}}}}}}|then= {{{years}}}|else=}}{{{else{{{test|}}}|{{{test{{{test|}}}|{{{then|}}}}}}}}}}|then= with {{{regent1}}}|else=}} {{{else{{{test|}}}|{{{test{{{test|}}}|{{{then|}}}}}}}}}}|then= ({{{years1}}})|else=}}{{{else{{{test|}}}|{{{test{{{test|}}}|{{{then|}}}}}}}}}}|then= {{{regent2}}}|else=}} {{{else{{{test|}}}|{{{test{{{test|}}}|{{{then|}}}}}}}}}}|then= ({{{years2}}})|else=}}{{{else{{{test|}}}|{{{test{{{test|}}}|{{{then|}}}}}}}}}}|then= {{{regent3}}}|else=}} {{{else{{{test|}}}|{{{test{{{test|}}}|{{{then|}}}}}}}}}}|then= ({{{years3}}})|else=}}{{{else{{{test|}}}|{{{test{{{test|}}}|{{{then|}}}}}}}}}}|then= Served alongside: {{{alongside}}}|else=}}}|title=Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff|years=1949—1953}} | Succeeded by: {{{after}}} |
| Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff | Image:JointChiefsOfStaffSeal.gif | |
|---|---|---|
| Bradley | Radford | Twining | Lemnitzer | Taylor | Wheeler | Moorer | Brown | Jones | Vessey | Crowe | Powell | Jeremiah (Acting Chairman) | Shalikashvili | Shelton | Myers | Pace | ||
Categories: Chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff | 1893 births | 1981 deaths | American World War II people | Burials at Arlington National Cemetery | Freemasons | People from Missouri | Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients | Recipients of the Legion of Merit | United States Army generals | West Point graduates | Knights Commander of the Bath
