The place and recognition given to the fighting units of
the Allied Armies in World War 2 seemed to tie in many instances to the flamboyance
and public relations proficiency of its commanding officers. Such seemed to be
the undoing of the First Army whose two commanding officers, General Omar N
Bradley and General Courtney Hicks Hodges were not particularly charismatic
personalities and as such the pall of recognition that hovered over the
commanders invariably affected the perception of the public concerning the men
and thousands of heroic soldiers and officers who fought under their command.
I wonder how many people today particularly link the June 6th
D-Day landings on Omaha Beach and Utah Beach with the US First Army or that the
First Army bore the brunt of the fighting in the US sector in the battle of the
Hedgerows, the capture of St Lo and the eventual breakthrough to Brittany
following the launch of Operation Cobra, its central role in orchestrating the
envelopment and destruction of the German Seventh and Fourth Armies in the
Falaise pocket and the eventual pursuit across the Seine River.
Few remember the
First army capture of Aachen, the first city in Nazi Germany to fall to the
Allies, the battles of the Hurtgen forest, the capture of the Kall trail and
the eventual advance across the Mosselle River on to the banks of the Rhine
across the Cologne Plains or even its frontal role in absorbing the direct
blows of three German tank armies in the Battle of the Bulge without an
ultimate rupture in the Allied lines despite the desperate efforts involved in
the German assaults.
The US First Army’s crucial role in securing the landing
zones in the American sector particularly in Omaha Beach, its heroics in the
bitter fighting in the Hedgerows and its ability to fight its way into open
country following the aerial bombing in Operation Cobra was vital to the
success of the whole Allied venture into France through Normandy, particularly
the breakthrough into Brittany and the eventual capture of the Cotentin
Peninsular.
The US First Army
actually provided the platform that launched Patton’s third Army into action on August 1 1944 when the Third
Army was activated , giving the Third Army the necessary footage to gain the
spectacular victories and advances recorded in the summer of that year.
The dearth of public relations prowess of the First Army’s
commanders has tended to dim if not mute the contributions of this heroic
fighting force in the annals of American military history. This has also
extended to the general perception of the public as to their contribution to the
ultimate victory In Europe. Nothing can be further from the truth as this
writing unveils.
Our major effort therefore is to draw the attention of the
reader to the fact that the role played by the various armies on the
battlefields of Europe in 1944-45 is not necessarily in tandem with the cliché,
quotes or political declarations of contemporary thinking, particularly in
political circles.
To lay claim to a father or grandfather who served in
Patton’s Third army is hot political stuff today and an electoral asset, but
not many may be inclined to think so well about the son of an officer who
fought in Bradley/Courtney Hodges Army.
In fact the question many may be tempted to ask is who is General
Courtney Hicks Hodges?
A few may have heard about Bradley but not many people in
the United States can say for sure that they can tell the role played by the
First Army in the campaign to liberate Western Europe from the tyranny of Nazi
domination. However as all the pieces of the jig-saw puzzle are finally being
pieced together, we shall endeavor to highlight the strategic role played by
the officers and men of the United States First Army in liberating France and
Western Europe.
A world that has known peace for close to seven decades has
largely forgotten the issues , tensions and challenges faced by the men and
women of that age as they sought to liberate the world as it then was from the
evils of Nazism , fascism, aggression and racial hatred.
Decades have rolled
by and many waters have since passed under the bridge suggesting that the past
should be allowed to pass, but events as they are unfolding even in this early
years of the 21st century are showing that the heroism, valor and
courage displayed by the uniformed men and citizens soldiers of that era are
still needed to battle the problems and issues of our contemporary age , even
if they center on issues such as national debt , stagnant growth , deficit
financing, unemployment and youth waywardness.
The contributions of the fighting men of the early 20th
century laid the groundwork for the peace and prosperity a whole generation has
enjoyed and it will be worthwhile to revisit the sacrifices, courage, valor,
dedication and tenacity of these men who thought it a light thing to lay down
their lives in defense of the sacred values of human rights, democracy and
freedom of expression.
Truly the story of the American military at the vanguard of
the crusade for the liberation of Western Europe in 1944-45 would be incomplete
without a fitting tribute and testimony to the contributions of the officers
and men of the United States First Army
that was activated in Britain in January 1944 under the command of Lieutenant
General Omar N Bradley, who was recalled to London from the command of the US
Seventh army’s II Corps in Sicily by General
Dwight D Eisenhower to help plan the campaign for the liberation of France and
Western Europe dubbed Operation Overlord.
As you may recollect,
General Bradley succeeded to the leadership of the American II Corps at the tail
end of the North African campaign when General Patton was assigned the command
of the newly designated Seventh Army preparing for the invasion of Sicily.
Bradley eventually commanded the II Corps of the Seventh army in Sicily under
General Patton’s overall command.
Although General
Eisenhower had planned to give Lieutenant General George S Patton command of
all American ground forces in the invasion of France, his involvement in the
slapping of two convalescing American soldiers had led to his being sidelined
in the planning of operation Overlord and the eventual command being given to
his erstwhile subordinate Lieutenant General Omar N Bradley. That was how
General Bradley came to command the First Army in the invasion of France as
well as acting as deputy to General Montgomery as overall Allied ground forces
commander in France.
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