In June 1944 Allied forces mounted the largest seaborne invasion in history, and in less than a year combined with the Soviet Red Army to defeat fascism in Europe. One man deserves credit for turning American, British, Canadian, Free French, Polish, and other Allied military commands into a single fighting force—Dwight Eisenhower.
George Mason University history professor Kevin Matthews looks at how Eisenhower contended with rival armies, navies, and air forces while he managed the outsized egos of his lieutenants: Britain’s Bernard Montgomery and his U.S. opposite, George Patton.
Not least, Eisenhower faced an enemy on the battlefield that was far from beaten, as would be shown at Arnhem and in the Battle of Bulge. Throughout, Eisenhower led not by being an “American general” but by being an “Allied general”—a unique insight that led to the ultimate victory.
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