Dwight David Eisenhower

Ryan McCarthy

Josiah Stork

Introduction

• Many people know Dwight David Eisenhower as our 34th president. Others know him as the commanding officer of the Allied forces in Europe during WWII.

• How did he become the Allied leader in WWII?

• What impact did he have on the war?

Dwight D. Eisenhower

General Knowledge

• October 14, 1890; Denison, Texas- Dwight David Eisenhower is born

• 1909; Abilene, Kansas-Eisenhower graduates from Abilene High School

• 1911; New York-Eisenhower begins attending Military Academy at West Point

• 1913- Eisenhower sustains a serious twisted knee, ending his amazing football career

• July 1, 1916; Denver, Colorado- Mamie Geneva Doud and Dwight David Eisenhower marry

• March 28, 1969; Washington D.C.- Dwight Eisenhower dies

• November 1, 1979- Mamie dies

West Point Military Academy

Mamie Geneva Doud

Early Career

• 1917- Eisenhower is promoted to captain and wishes to go to France to lead the troops in the newly begun Great War

– Eisenhower is too exemplary an instructor that he is held in the U.S. to train soldiers

– March 1918 Eisenhower takes command of Camp Colt, and trains soldiers to use tanks

• There he learns much about armored warfare and converting civilians into military personell

Tanks like Eisenhower used at Camp Colt

Early Career

• 1922- Eisenhower is sent to Panama Canal Zone as executive officer of the 20th infantry Brigade

– Eisenhower meets General Fox Conner who aroused Eisenhower’s interest in war

– Conner advises Eisenhower to seek a position under Colonel George C. Marshall, who he expected would lead the Americans in the next war

– Conner gives Eisenhower the idea that the next war will be global, and that the lead strategists will have to think of the whole world, rather than one front

The Panama Canal

Early Career

• 1925- Eisenhower Graduates first in his class from West Point

• 1925-1941- Eisenhower serves under various leaders, and rises in rank

• December 14, 1941- The Army Chief of Staff, George Marshall, calls Eisenhower to Washington to serve on the War Plans Division

– Eisenhower did not like the job because he was stuck behind a desk with no troop interaction

– March 1942- Marshall becomes impressed with Eisenhower, and promotes him to head of the Operations Division

– June 1942- Eisenhower is sent to London to take command of U.S. forces in the European Theater of Operations

George Catlett Marshall

Becoming Involved in WWII

• Within a few weeks of his arrival in London, Eisenhower is in the midst of one of the war’s greatest debates.

• Eisenhower backs Marshall, who suggests an invasion of France in 1943, or an earlier “suicide invasion” if the Soviet Union appears to be leaving the war

• The British propose an invasion into North Africa, an easier, but less effective course of action

• President Franklin D. Roosevelt sides with British, so the African invasion is chosen

Early WWII

• The Combined Chiefs of Staff (the heads of Britain and the U.S.) choose Eisenhower to lead Operation Torch– This gives Eisenhower control over all British and U.S.

ground, sea, and air forces, one of the largest forces ever assembled

• November 8, 1942- Eisenhower’s forces land near Casablanca, Algiers, and Oran

• The French forces resist, but Eisenhower makes a deal with their commander, Admiral Jean Darlan

Early WWII

• The deal obtains French cooperation against Germany, but it gives the French admiral civil control of Northern Africa

• This deal causes a great deal of controversy, because Darlan collaborated with the Nazis, and espouses anti-Semitic sentiments

• To his critics, Eisenhower emphasized the temporary and military nature of the deal, and his critics calm down

WWII

• Eisenhower tries to maneuver his troops to Tunisia, but the Germans establish a hold before his forces arrive

• After a long struggle, the Germans surrender in May, 1943.

• In July, Eisenhower launches his invasion into Sicily, and it falls at the end of August

• September 8, 1943- Eisenhower lunches an invasion into Salerno, Italy. The Germans are well prepared and they fight a long battle.

• December, 1943- The CCS orders Eisenhower to leave Italy and come to London to take control of the forces getting ready to invade France

Normandy

• When Eisenhower took control of the Allied Expeditionary Force, he headed the largest single undertaking ever attempted by man

• He led more than 156,000 men, 6,000 ships, and thousands of sundry aircraft

• Eisenhower relied on the help of several people, but did not get along with the British Commander, Bernard Law Montgomery

British Viscount Montgomery

British Viscount Montgomery

Normandy

• The invasion was to occur on June 4, 1944, but a large storm over the English Channel forced a delay

• A weatherman predicted that the storm would clear up enough by June 6

• Eisenhower took this man for his word, because he had been daily checking the meteorologist’s accuracy for nearly a month

• Before dawn on June 5, the storm had not yet cleared. If the invasion were halted, it could not be launched for at least two weeks, and the invasion point would probably have become known to the Germans, so Eisenhower launched the invasion with the support of his advisers.

Post Invasion

• For the next month and a half, Eisenhower’s troops assembled on the beaches of Normandy

• Eisenhower urged the British to attack the area around Caen so that the AEF could move directly to Paris

• Montgomery refused and insisted that his chief concern was to keep the Germans occupied so that the Americans would be able to leave the beach

• Eisenhower did force a breakthrough in late July, and he began to sweep through France

• Almost immediately, he was again stuck in controversy with Montgomery

A small sample of the troops at Normandy

Post Invasion

• Montgomery wanted all available supplies so that the British could force their way into Northern Germany

• Eisenhower insisted on a unified front, because he suspected that if he allowed Montgomery to invade Germany, they would be isolated, and engulfed by the enemy

• Eisenhower stuck with his suspicion, even against the protests of Montgomery, the British Chiefs of Staff, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill

Post Invasion

• In late Autumn, the AEF had run out of supplies, and, though able to remove the enemy from France, they were unable to invade Germany

• In December 1944, Germany launched a sizeable counterattack, which resulted in the Battle of the Bulge

• Eisenhower’s troops recovered quickly, and were able to stop the breach in the Allied lines

• Eisenhower swept through most of the German forces in one well-executed campaign

Ending WWII• Eisenhower again found himself in a controversy with the

British• Churchill wanted the U.S. forces to take and hold Berlin

until the Russians left Poland, and other loose ends in Eastern Europe were tied up

• Eisenhower insisted on prior arrangements, which greatly strained the alliance between Britain and the U.S.

• On May 8, 1945, the Germans signed an unconditional surrender

• Eisenhower lead the occupation forces for 6 months, and then went to Washington D.C., where he became Chief of staff

Post WWII

• After WWII, both major political parties pressed Eisenhower to accept a political nomination, but he refused, and instead became president of Colombia University

• 1950- Eisenhower leaves Colombia University and became the head of the NATO forces

• 1952- Eisenhower begins his first term as President

• 1956-Eisenhower begins his second term as president

• After his final term, Eisenhower retires, and in 1969, he dies

SOURCES

• "Dwight David Eisenhower." U.S. Army Center Of Military History. Web. 25 Mar. 2010. http://history.army.mil/brochures/Ike/ike.htm.

• "Dwight D. Eisenhower." United States History. Web. 25 Mar. 2010. http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1789.html.

• "Dwight Eisenhower." History Learning Site. Web. 25 Mar. 2010. http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/dwight_eisenhower.htm.

• "Dwight D. Eisenhower |." The White House. Web. 25 Mar. 2010. http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/presidents/DwightDEisenhower.

• "The Role of Dwight D. Eisenhower During World War II: An Analysis. |." Lennon & McCartney. Web. 25 Mar. 2010. http://johnandpaul.blogspot.com/2006/03/role-of-dwight-d-eisenhower-during.html.

• "US History: President Dwight D. Eisenhower, WWII General." HubPages. Web. 25 Mar. 2010. http://hubpages.com/hub/Dwight-D-Eisenhower.