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Command #25
Omar Bradley
General Omar Bradley was the premier US Army tactical commander in the European Theater of Operations in 1944-45. A West Point classmate of Dwight Eisenhower, Bradley was the quintessential US field commander of World War II, elevated to high command with little combat experience but a solid track record as a skilled planner and organizer. Bradley was part of a small cadre of highly skilled young officers groomed for higher command in the austere and bankrupt 1930s. Bradley began World War II in creating the new 82nd Division which would go on to fame as one of the US Army's premier airborne divisions. Bradley spent most of the early years of the war in George Patton's shadow, first as an assistant corps commander under Patton in Tunisia in early 1943, then as a corps commander under Patton on Sicily in July 1943. Patton's social blunders pushed him out of contention for the coveted spot leading the First US Army on D-Day, and Bradley's sterling performance on Sicily won him the position.
Bradley was at the center of nearly all the major US Army victories in 1944-45 from D-Day through the final push into Germany. After commanding the US First Army in Normandy, Bradley was elevated to the command of the 12th Army Group, which contained the three main American field armies in the autumn of 1944. Along with that combat record came a string of controversies. Bradley's great victories like Operation Cobra in July-August 1944 were brought in to question by more dubious campaigns such as the miserable battles for the Hurtgen forest and the lesser-known Operation Queen in the autumn of 1944. Bradley's greatest blunder, failing to anticipate the German offensive in the Ardennes, was counter-balanced by a vigorous and skilled response which fatally injured the German army in the West. Beyond the performance of the US Army in the ETO, Bradley was also intimately wrapped up in other controversies, especially the internecine squabbles with his British counterpart, Bernard Montgomery.
Bradley was at the center of nearly all the major US Army victories in 1944-45 from D-Day through the final push into Germany. After commanding the US First Army in Normandy, Bradley was elevated to the command of the 12th Army Group, which contained the three main American field armies in the autumn of 1944. Along with that combat record came a string of controversies. Bradley's great victories like Operation Cobra in July-August 1944 were brought in to question by more dubious campaigns such as the miserable battles for the Hurtgen forest and the lesser-known Operation Queen in the autumn of 1944. Bradley's greatest blunder, failing to anticipate the German offensive in the Ardennes, was counter-balanced by a vigorous and skilled response which fatally injured the German army in the West. Beyond the performance of the US Army in the ETO, Bradley was also intimately wrapped up in other controversies, especially the internecine squabbles with his British counterpart, Bernard Montgomery.
- GenresHistoryWorld War II
64 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2012
About the author
Steven J. Zaloga
381 books77 followersSteven Zaloga is an author and defense analyst known worldwide for his articles and publications on military technology. He has written over a hundred books on military technology and military history, including “Armored Thunderbolt: The US Army Sherman in World War II”, one of the most highly regarded histories of the Sherman Tank. His books have been translated into Japanese, German, Polish, Czech, Romanian, and Russian. He was a special correspondent for Jane’s Intelligence Review and is on the executive board of the Journal of Slavic Military Studies and the New York Military Affairs Symposium. From 1987 through 1992, he was the writer/producer for Video Ordnance Inc., preparing their TV series Firepower. He holds a BA in history from Union College and an MA in history from Columbia University.
Mr. Zaloga is also a noted scale armor modeler and is a host/moderator of the World War II Allied Discussion group at Missing-Lynx.com, a modelling website. He is a frequent contributor to the UK-based modeling magazine Military Modelling. He is a member of the Armor Modeling and Preservation Society.
Mr. Zaloga is also a noted scale armor modeler and is a host/moderator of the World War II Allied Discussion group at Missing-Lynx.com, a modelling website. He is a frequent contributor to the UK-based modeling magazine Military Modelling. He is a member of the Armor Modeling and Preservation Society.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 4, 2017
Bradley is interesting. Widely praised during and after the war, the last 20 years has seen a backlash that has depicted Bradley as unimaginative and passive-aggressive in his personal relations. Zaloga's short book offers a more balanced consideration of Bradley as a steady professional, but lacking in brilliance.
November 28, 2012
My grandfather Cortland had a lot of respect for General Omar Bradley. He was proud to say that her served under Bradley during the Normandy invasion. He even saw him on Utah Beach shortly after D-Day. The general was yelling at some sergeant for allowing the men to work without their helmets.
Omar Bradley commanded the entire American ground force during the Normandy invasion, yet he is often overlooked by those with casual interest in WWII history. Eisenhower, MacArther, and certainly Patton are the American generals who steal the spotlight. Osprey Publishing recently published a solid and short biography of Bradley in their Command series. In 64 pages the author presents Bradley's military career and a good sense of his quiet, yet determined personality. Zaloga condenses the general's history well, while still managing to highlight interesting details. For instance, the dour expression seen in Bradley's photographs is a result of losing his front teeth in a sports accident.
The book discusses Bradley's role in the strategy of the war in the Mediterranean and Europe, and his relationship with other Allied generals. It touches on his responsibilities in the Veterans Administration and his role as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Cold War. In addition to Bradley's war record, it was his management of the VA (which assisted GIs after the war) and his humble upbringing that won the respect of regular Joes like my grandfather.
Besides the war biographies written by the general himself, there have been very few texts devoted to Bradley. Zaloga offers a quick and comprehensive introduction to Omar Bradley, and he shares numerous seldom-seen photographs dug from the collections at the National Archives and the US Army Military History Institute.
Omar Bradley commanded the entire American ground force during the Normandy invasion, yet he is often overlooked by those with casual interest in WWII history. Eisenhower, MacArther, and certainly Patton are the American generals who steal the spotlight. Osprey Publishing recently published a solid and short biography of Bradley in their Command series. In 64 pages the author presents Bradley's military career and a good sense of his quiet, yet determined personality. Zaloga condenses the general's history well, while still managing to highlight interesting details. For instance, the dour expression seen in Bradley's photographs is a result of losing his front teeth in a sports accident.
The book discusses Bradley's role in the strategy of the war in the Mediterranean and Europe, and his relationship with other Allied generals. It touches on his responsibilities in the Veterans Administration and his role as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Cold War. In addition to Bradley's war record, it was his management of the VA (which assisted GIs after the war) and his humble upbringing that won the respect of regular Joes like my grandfather.
Besides the war biographies written by the general himself, there have been very few texts devoted to Bradley. Zaloga offers a quick and comprehensive introduction to Omar Bradley, and he shares numerous seldom-seen photographs dug from the collections at the National Archives and the US Army Military History Institute.
October 14, 2014
A reasonably good compilation of the man's career but seriously lacks an inside view of what the man thought and felt in momentous decisions. What did he feel sending men into battle? Was he really as stoic as he is described? There has to be more to a man who accomplished so much while attracting so little notoriety.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews