Eisenhower was a little-known Lieutenant Colonel at Ford Ord when World War II began in 1939. Four years later, he became Supreme Commander of the Allied Armies in Europe.

In March 1941, Eisenhower became a full Colonel. Three months later, he was made Chief of Staff of the Third Army, with headquarters in San Antonio, Texas.

Eisenhower's brilliant record in maneuvers earned him a promotion to Brigadier General in September 1941. It also brought him to the attention of General George C. Marshall, Army Chief of Staff. On December 12, 1941, five days after the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Marshall appointed Eisenhower to the Army's War Plans Division, where Eisenhower worked on plans to defend U.S. possessions in the Pacific. He also began charting an Allied invasion of Europe.

In March 1942, Eisenhower was promoted to Major General and became head of the Operations Division of the War Department, in which capacity he drew up plans to unify all American forces in Europe under one commander. In June, President Franklin D. Roosevelt named him Commanding General of American forces in the European Theater of Operations, promoting him over 366 senior officers eligible for the job.

General Eisenhower set up his headquarters in London in June 1942, and immediately began planning to bring 2,000,000 soldiers to Britain. In July he was promoted to Lieutenant General. He spent the summer of 1942 planning Operation Torch, the first major unified American-British offensive. The operation's goal was to invade French North Africa and drive out the German and Italian armies. He was subsequently named Commander of the Allied Invasion Forces, which landed on the coast of Algeria and Morocco on November 8, 1942. By May 1943, the Allies had conquered North Africa.

Eisenhower became a full General in February 1943.

Once North Africa was secured, Eisenhower turned his attention to an Allied invasion of Sicily and Italy. The Allies occupied Sicily on August 17, 1943, invaded Italy in September 1943, and took Rome on June 4, 1944.

With British military leaders, General Eisenhower leaves Tunisia meeting at which the Italian campaign was planned.

During the Italian campaign, General Eisenhower, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Great Britain, met to plan an invasion of Europe. In early December, 1943, President Roosevelt named Eisenhower to command Operation Overlord. The operation began at 6:30 a.m. on June 6, 1944, and by nightfall the Allies had a firm hold on a long area of Normandy beach. After eleven months of bloody fighting, Germany surrendered on May 7, 1945.

General Eisenhower tells Allied troops "You are about to embark on a great crusade"as they prepare for the invasion of Normandy.

SEE ALSO
World War II
George C. Marshall
President Franklin D. Roosevelt
World War II: The North Africa Campaign
World War II: The Italian Campaign
Winston Churchill

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This page was last updated on December 24, 2017.