What qualities do you think Dwight D. Eisenhower needed to succeed as commander of the Allied forces in Europe?

Answer 1

Eisenhower was not an extremely good general. He had a military education, was a life-long professional soldier, and was competent. But he had never led troops in combat. He spent WWI training troops in the states, and never got overseas. His generalship tended to be cautious and conservative. His decision to follow a "broad front" strategy, where all portions of the Allied force advanced side by side, in lock step, meant ignoring opportunities presented when German weakness was detected. There would be no knife-like thrust for the jugular with Eisenhower in charge. No bold thrust to punch into the enemy lines where the weakness of the foe created an opening.

What Eisenhower was good at, and the reason he was selected for the command, was at getting along with everybody and getting everybody to pull together. He was a very likable person, extremely affable. He excelled at this political aspect of his job. Coalition warfare - where a force is composed of troops of several armies from several nations - is a notoriously difficult thing in military history. Eisenhower was able to keep the Allies together, cohesive enough to deal with the enemy.

George Marshall was the commanding general of the US Army. Eisenhower was his protege, hand-picked and promoted over the heads of hundreds of senior officers. Marshall always intended to go to Europe in person and lead the Allied force when the invasion came. But Roosevelt said he would be unable to sleep at night if Marshall was away from Washington, and forbid him to go. So we remember Marshall today mostly for the "Marshall Plan" he crafted later, as Secretary of State for Truman. But he was the true architect of victory, and had Roosevelt been less insecure Marshall might have become president, and Eisenhower might be the historical unknown today.