The U.S. Army commander who led the Normandy campaign
Omar Bradley was a senior U.S. Army commander of the Second World War, leading forces from North Africa and Sicily through the Normandy landings and the advance into western Europe. The existing headquarters associated with his First U.S. Army Group was repurposed as a fictitious command in the Allied deception plan, while Bradley commanded the real First Army and later the Twelfth Army Group. After the war, he became Army Chief of Staff and the first Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, helping shape U.S. military policy during the opening of the Korean War.
Career Timeline
- 1915Second lieutenant, U.S. Army Infantry
- 1941Commandant, U.S. Army Infantry School
- 1943Commander, II Corps, North Africa and Sicily
- 1944Commander, First Army, Normandy landings
- 1944–1945Commander, Twelfth Army Group, western Europe
- 1948–1949Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army
- 1949–1953First Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
- 1950Promoted to General of the Army