On the eve of World War II, Dwight D. Eisenhower appeared to be approaching the end of a moderately successful career distinguished mainly by exemplary staff work. A member of the 1915 class of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, he spent most of the first World War training troops at home. He never received so much as a battalion command until 1940.
Developing the Skills
Graduating in the upper third of his class at West Point, Eisenhower had already displayed the warmth, friendliness, and ability to say the right thing that endeared him to colleagues. These qualities, further perfected, would serve him well in increasingly challenging relationships and would eventually lead to the "I Like Ike" campaign that swept him into the White House in 1952.
But more than likeability formed the essence of the future supreme commander. Eisenhower came under the wing of General Fox Conner in the Panama canal Zone in the early 1920's. Conner saw leadership potential in his young chief of staff and introduced him to the writings of classical philosophers and military historians. Supervising Eisenhower's drafting of military orders, he guided him through careful analysis of tactical and terrain problems. When Ike went off to the Army's Command and General Staff School, he finished at the top of his class.
Continued distinction in staff assignments brought him to the attention of Army Chief of Staff General, Douglas MacArthur, who made Eisenhower his special assistant both in Washington and later in the Philippine Islands, where they were charged with preparing its defenses against future invasion. Back home in 1941, Ike caught the attention of the new Chief of Staff, General George C. Marshall, who put him in charge of planning for the war that seemed to be looming ever closer. He impressed again with papers that essentially oulined the main thrusts of American military actions for the next three years.
The Right Man for the Job
By this time, coordinated war planning was being done through the U.S.-British Combined Chiefs of Staff. When a Supreme Allied Commander for the European Theatre was needed, Eisenhower was tapped by Marshall with the approval of the British. As a Lieutenant General, Ike moved to London and directed the invasion of North Africa that began in November 1942. He also supervised the invasions of Sicily and Italy in 1943, smoothly coordinating U.S. and British forces through a variety of commanders, some of whom had far more experience than he.
This factor and the natural buildup of irritations among allies taxed his diplomatic and interpersonal skills as preparations were made for the D-Day invasion of France in June 1944. Despite its success, German resistance continued and dissension developed among Ike's subordinates as to how to finally break it. Britain's Field Marshal Montgomery proved especially difficult to placate. But Eisenhower kept the lid on the clashing emotions, made the tough decisions on allocations and tactics, and was deservedly lionized when victory came in May 1945.
Five years later, when a new threat to Western Europe and America again required a unified military command, Ike was called out of retirement to set up the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The next, and climactic, step was the Presidency.
Reference: www.history.army.mil
