Dwight D. Eisenhower

=== Supreme Allied commander and Operation Overlord ===
[[File:Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower s D-Day order of the day.mp3|thumb|General Eisenhower reads his order of the day for June 5, 1944, the day before D-Day.]]
In December 1943, President Roosevelt decided that Eisenhower&nbsp;– not Marshall&nbsp;– would be Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. The following month, he resumed command of ETOUSA and the following month was officially designated as the [[Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force|Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force]] (SHAEF), serving in a dual role until the end of hostilities in Europe in May 1945.<ref>{{harvnb|Ambrose|1983|pp=275–276}}</ref> He was charged in these positions with planning and carrying out the Allied [[Normandy landings|assault on the coast of Normandy]] in June 1944 under the code name Operation Overlord, the liberation of Western Europe and the invasion of Germany.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hitchcock |first=W |title=[[The Age of Eisenhower]] |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |year=2018 |isbn=978-1439175668  |pages=21–23}}</ref>

[[File:Eisenhower d-day.jpg|thumb|left|Eisenhower speaks with men of the [[502nd Infantry Regiment (United States)|502nd Parachute Infantry Regiment]] (PIR), part of the [[101st Airborne Division|101st "Screaming Eagles" Airborne Division]], on June 5, 1944, the day before the D-Day invasion. The officer Eisenhower is speaking to is First Lieutenant [[Wallace Strobel]].]]

Eisenhower, as well as the officers and troops under him, had learned valuable lessons in their previous operations, and their skills had all strengthened in preparation for the next most difficult campaign against the Germans—a beach landing assault. His first struggles, however, were with Allied leaders and officers on matters vital to the success of the Normandy invasion; he argued with Roosevelt over an essential agreement with [[Charles De Gaulle|De Gaulle]] to use [[French resistance]] forces in covert operations against the Germans in advance of Operation Overlord.<ref>{{harvnb|Ambrose|1983|pp=280–281}}</ref> Admiral [[Ernest J. King]] fought with Eisenhower over King's refusal to provide additional landing craft from the Pacific.<ref>{{harvnb|Ambrose|1983|p=284}}</ref> Eisenhower also insisted that the British give him exclusive command over all strategic [[Air warfare of World War II|air forces]] to facilitate Overlord, to the point of threatening to resign unless Churchill relented, which he did.<ref>{{harvnb|Ambrose|1983|pp=286–288}}</ref> Eisenhower then designed a bombing plan in France in advance of Overlord and argued with Churchill over the latter's concern with civilian casualties; de Gaulle interjected that the casualties were justified, and Eisenhower prevailed.<ref>{{harvnb|Ambrose|1983|p=289}}</ref> He also had to skillfully manage to retain the services of the often unruly George S. Patton, by severely reprimanding him when Patton earlier had [[George S. Patton slapping incidents|slapped a subordinate]], and then when Patton gave a speech in which he made improper comments about postwar policy.<ref>{{harvnb|Ambrose|1983|pp=250, 298}}</ref>

The D-Day Normandy landings on June 6, 1944, were costly but successful. Two months later (August 15), the [[Operation Dragoon|invasion of Southern France]] took place, and control of forces in the southern invasion passed from the AFHQ to the SHAEF. Many thought that victory in Europe would come by summer's end, but the Germans did not capitulate for almost a year. From then until the [[End of World War II in Europe|end of the war in Europe]] on May 8, 1945, Eisenhower, through SHAEF, commanded all Allied forces, and through his command of ETOUSA had administrative command of all US forces on the [[Western Front (World War II)|Western Front]] north of the [[Alps]]. He was ever mindful of the inevitable loss of life and suffering that would be experienced by the troops under his command and their families. This prompted him to make a point of visiting every division involved in the invasion.<ref>{{harvnb|Ambrose|1983|p=278}}</ref> Eisenhower's sense of responsibility was underscored by his draft of a statement to be issued if the invasion failed. It has been called one of the great speeches of history:

<blockquote>Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based on the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt, it is mine alone.<ref>William Safire, ''Lend me your ears: great speeches in history'' (2004), p. 1143</ref></blockquote>