Bradley, General Omar N.

Bradley, General Omar N. (1893–1981),US Army officer and a West Point classmate of Eisenhower, whose most trusted field commander he later became.

Born in Clark, Missouri, Bradley did not see active service during the First World War. But by the time the USA was involved in the Second, he had risen to the rank of brigadier-general and was commanding the Infantry School at Fort Benning. His deep and abiding interest in infantry warfare was soon to pay great dividends. After commanding and training the 82nd and then the 28th Division in Louisiana with the rank of maj-general, Bradley became, in February 1943, Eisenhower's ‘eyes and ears’ in the North African campaign, following which he was appointed Patton's deputy at 2nd US Corps, and in April his successor. He showed his exceptional ability immediately during the last phase of the North African campaign and in June 1943 was promoted three-star general. He then commanded 2nd US Corps in Patton's Seventh Army during the Sicilian campaign that started the following month, and his success there made him a natural choice for high command in north-west Europe.

Bradley arrived in the UK in September 1943 and in due course was given command of the First US Army, comprising 21 divisions, that landed on OMAHA and UTAH beaches during the Normandy landings in June 1944 (see OVERLORD). In early August Bradley assumed command of the newly formed Twelfth US Army Group which performed with such precision during the Normandy campaign. He contained the German counter-attack at Mortain and then, with the help of the British, virtually destroyed the German Seventh Army at Falaise. This enabled both Army Groups to turn their forces towards Paris, their momentum eventually sweeping them across France before the advance ran out of steam.

The bitter differences that then arose between Montgomery and Eisenhower over strategy, and over the allocation of supplies, found Bradley firmly on the side of Eisenhower and his policy of fighting on a broad front. But though the Supreme Commander considered him ‘the greatest battle-line commander I have met in this war’ they did not always agree; and when Eisenhower assigned the First Army, now commanded by Hodges, to Montgomery during the Ardennes campaign Bradley reacted furiously. But at the height of the crisis he behaved with great coolness, ordering Bastogne to be held and launching Patton's Third Army in a brilliant flank attack to relieve it. Once the German advance had been stemmed and then broken the final phase of the war began. One of Hodges's armoured columns seized the bridge at Remagen and by 23 March Bradley had three corps east of the Rhine; the formal link-up with Soviet troops around Torgau on 25 April followed.

At the time of the German surrender Bradley's command had grown to four field armies and 1.3 million men. As a field commander he combined an icy calm and plain commonsense with great tactical flair. He was promoted to four-star general in March 1945 and to general of the army in 1950. See also land power.

Bibliography

Bradley, O., and and Blair, C. , A General's Life (New York, 1983).
Carver, M. (ed.), The War Lords (London, 1976).