World War II Research Aid - World War II Research Aid - World War II Research Aid
The People
Behind the Allied Powers
This list of biographies will be regularly updated and new
individuals added. Keep this page bookmarked for more info in the future!!
Individuals are listed in Alphabetical Order:
Alexander, Harold (Field Marshall - British : 1891-1969)
Appointed to command the 1st Division in the British Expeditionary Force which he handled
with great skill during the retreat at Dunkirk. He was then promoted to the 1st Corps and
then took command Birma. In 1942, he was sent to the African Western Desert with Montgomery.
After the junction of Operation Torch and Western Desert Forces in Tunisia, he became deputy
to General Eisenhower (US) and commander of the Anglo-American Ground Forces. In that position
he directed the invasions of Sicily and the Italian mainland. He then became the Supreme Allied
Commander for the Mediterranean and took the German unconstitutional surrender in Italy on 29 April, 1945.
Anders, Wladyslaw (General - Polish : 1892-1970)
Captured by the Russians after the partition of Poland (1939), Anders was released from the Lubianka
prison in 1941 to lead the Polish Prisoners of War from Russian into Persia, where the British had
offered to arm and equip them to fight against the Germans in the Western Desert. This Polish II
Corps became one of the most redoubtable military formations of the War. Its principal and unforgettable
achievement was the capture of Monte Cassino on the 17th-18th of May 1944. Anders subsequently lead it in
the Battles up the Adriatic Coast and int he clearance of the Po Valley. Most of the II Corps chose exile
at the end of the war and remained in England under Anders until their death.
Antonov, Aleksei I (General - Russian : 1896-1962)
The Russian Chief of Staff and head of Operations from 1942-45. Son of a Tsarist artillery officer,
he graduated from the Frunze Military Academy in 1921, and then joined the Red Army. In action as
Chief of Staff he served in the South and North Caucasus and on the Transcaucasus Front (1941-2).
Stalin did not like him and thus posted him to the Voronezh Front. He nevertheless lead a distinguished
career there and became Deputy Chief of Staff and Chief of Operations where his job was to liaison with
other officers and inform Stalin of the military situations. He took part in the preparations of the
Offensive on Berlin. By 1944 he became Chief Spokesman and was present at the Potsdam Conference.
Attlee, Clement (British : 1883-1967)
The leader of Great Britain's Labour Party and Deputy to Winston Churchill. He strongly opposed any
form of appeasement with the Fascists before the war. He worked hard on keeping any labour disputes
at bay during the war and took over from Churchill during his visits abroad. He became Prime Minister
in 1945. He attended both the conferences at Potsdam and San Francisco.
Biddle, Francis (US : 1886-1968)
Attorney-General in President Roosevelt's Cabinet (1941-45). Strongly supported the rights of all
US citizerns, protecting those of Japanese and Italian orgin. Under President Truman he was a member of
the Military Tribunal at Nuremburg, Germany.
Blamey, Sir Thomas Albert (General - Australian : 1884-1951)
Commander of the Australian land forces. He was called to command the Anzac troops in Greece but spent
most of the time helping with the evacuation. He was then posted to Alexandria and fought in Libya.
After the attack on Pearl Harbour in December, 1941, he was recalled to Australia. He subsequently fought
the Japanese in the Jungles of Asia. However, MacArthur took control of most of his troops in 1943.
Bradley, Omar (General - US : 1893-?)
A Divisional Commander in 1941, he graduated with Eisenhower from West Point in 1915. He was appointed
to command the 2nd Corps in Tunisia where he booked much success under General Patton. He was also
successful in Sicily. Recalled by General Eisenhower to help make preparations for D-Day, he was given
command of the US 1st Army. Soon Bradley became a superior officer to General Patton as he took over
the US 12th Army Group. Here his operations included the repulse of the Ardennes Offensive and the
crossing of the Rhine. He was liked by his men and known as the 'GI General'.
Chamberlain, Neville (Prime Minister - British : 1869-1940)
British Prime Minister from 1937-1940. He wished to avoid war with the Nazis and, as a result, ceded
territory to them. Most famous was the cessession of the Check Sudetenland to Germany after
the Munich Conference (Sept. 1938). It was not until Hitler's invasion of Poland (1939)
the Britain declared war on Germany. He became association with defeatism after that point, believed
to have given too much to Hitler. He was replaced by Winston Churchill and soon became ill. He died in 1940.
Churchill, Winston Spencer (Prime Minister - British : 1874-1965)
Before becoming Prime Minister, Churchill held the post of First Lord of the Admiralty. He showed himself to
be a great wartime minister due to his strenght of character, rejecting surrender. Fortunate was that Churchill
and Roosevelt were already on good terms before the war. Contact between the two leaders after Pearl Harbour
(1941) was almost daily. He kept the country together during the war years and was always aware of the importance
of remaining on good terms with decision makers of all levels. Although he did not win the post war election, many
seeing him as a pure wartime leader, he remains Britain's greatest hero in the 20th century.
Clark, Mark Wayne (General - US : 1896-?)
Deputy to General Eisenhower in 1942 and Commander of American Ground Forces Europe. He commanded the 5th Army
during the invasions of Sicily and the Italian mainland. He directed the unsuccessful Anzio Operation and took
the decision to bomb the Monte Cassino monastary. He entered Rome in June 1944, and became commander in Italy.
He ended the war as commander in Austria.
Crerar, Henry (General - Canadian : 1888-1965)
Led the 1st Canadian Army in Northwest Europe. The 1st Canadian Army landed in Normandy in 1944 at Berni�res-sur-Mer.
There they held their ground until they pushed through to encircle the German 7th Army at Falaise.
Darlan, Jean-Francois (Admiral - French : 1881-1942)
The Commander-in-Chief of the French Navy when Hitler invaded France. The British were concerned that the French Navy
(at that time the second largest after Britain) would fall in the hands of the Germans. Darlan responded that he would
not let this happen. But after accepting a post in Marshall P�tain's Vichy government, British fears were raised. As a
result Churcill ordered its destruction by bombardment in 1940.
De Gaulle, Charles Andr� Joseph Marie (General - French : 1890-1970)
A sublantern to Marshall P�tain in World War I, De Gaulle became a military writer and theorist during the inter-war period.
He soon fled to England, where he declared the existence of 'Free France' and called up all Frenchmen to fight on for France.
His relations with the Allies were far from smooth as he instisted on being the legal representative of France and her government.
After the war he would lead the French government.
Dempsey, Miles (Lt. General - British : 1896-1969)
He distinguished himself during the evacuation of Dunkirk where his brigade (13th Infantry) fought the rear guard. He went on to
see acction in Libya (8th Army) and in Italy (2nd Army). General Montgomery chose him to command the 2nd Army during the D-Day landings.
He drove through France and Belgium and also took part in the fight for the bridgehead at Arnhem (Operation Market Garden).
Douglas, Sir W. Sholto (Air Marshall - British : 1893-?)
Douglas became the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff in 1940. He succeeded Dowding that same year as head of RAF Fighter command, during
the climax of the Battle of Britain. He changed its policy from a defensive on to offensive. In 1943 he became Commander of the RAF
Middle East Command. During the D-Day operations his role was to keep the English Channel clear of enemy boats. At the end of the
war he took ont he post British Air Forces of Occupation in Germany.
Eaker, Ira C. (Lt. General - US : 1898-?)
US Commander of Strategic Air Forces in Europe, he was a firm supporter of bombings as a means of winning the war. In 1944 he succeeded
Tedder as Commande-in-Chief of Mediterranean Bomber Command (Italy). In August, 1944, he took command of Allied Air Forces for the invasion
of Southern France, with success.
Eisenhower, Dwight D. (General - US : 1890-1969)
He was appointed to the US War Offices at the outbreak of the war and then became head of US forces in the European Theatre in 1942. There he
commanded the Torch Landings (North Africa) and eventually troops in Tunisia. As Supreme Allied Commander in North Africa he led both the
landings in Sicily and Italy. Due to his many success and diplomacy, he was appointed Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in
Western Europe. There he helped plan and oversaw the landings for D-Day (Operation Overlord, 1944). After the invasion of France he left the
ground forces to General Montgomery (GB) and General Patton (US) until they became involved in a dispute with each other. Eisenhower became
President of the US from 1953-1961.
Friedman, William (Colonel - US : 1891-1969)
He was the Chief Cryptologist of the US War Department in Washington (1941-47). His most noted contribution to World War II was the breaking of
the Japanese diplomatic code in 1940. The US had three tracking stations intercepting this signal world-wide.
Gauss, Clarence (Ambassador - US : 1887-1960)
The US Ambassador to China from 1941 until 1944. He was the State Department's expert on Chinese matters.
Grew, Joseph (Ambassador - US : 1880-1965)
The American Ambassador to Japan from 1932 until the begining of the war. He was an expert on the Japanese Army. When war broke out he was arrested
in Japan, but was eventually released through an exchange of diplomats between Japan and the US in 1942.
Heath, Lewis (Lt. General - British : 1885-1954)
Commander of the British 3rd Indian Corps when Japan invaded Malaya in late 1941. He was eventually forced to retreat to Singapore and was captured
there when it fell. He spent the rest of the war years as a POW.
Kenney, Roger (General - US : 1889-?)
The Commander in Chief of US Far East Forces as General MacArthur's principal air officer. He was a man of great drive
who used his ingenuity well during the war, modifying bombers to hit naval targets, setting up flight routes and so forth.
He was present during the signing of the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay on 2 September, 1945.
King, William Mackenzie (Prime Minister - Canadian : 1974-1950)
The Liberal Prime Minister of Canada during the war. He managed to convince the population in 1942, that Canada could not
stay out of the war and often played intermediary between Churchill and Roosevelt.
Kirponos, Mikhail P. (Colonel - Russian : 1892-1941)
He was the only higher officer in the Russian Army who managed to halt the German offensive ini 1941. As a commander of Kiev
Military District he held up the German advance in that area, but was forced to retreat back to the city. He died there attempting
a breakout.
Knox, W. Frank (US : 1874-1944)
The ex-publisher of the Chicago Daily News who was appointed, by Roosevelt, to be Secretary of the Navy in 1940.
One of his first major tasks was to investigate the failure in the Pearl Harbour defences. He held his post until April 1944.
Leese, Sir Oliver (General - British : 1897-?)
Commander of the 30th Corps for the Battle of El Alemein and later led the inva sion into Sicily and Italy. He was a prot�g� of
General Montgomery and succeeded him in command of the 8th Army (1944) in Italy. At the end of the war he b ecame Commander of
Allied forces in Southeast Aisa.
Maisky, Ivan (Ambassador - Russian : 1884-1975)
The Soviet Ambassador to London until he was recalled in 1943. Back in the Soviet Union, he was made Commissar for Foreign
Affairs. He had warned Stalin in 1941, that the Allies had information pointing to an attack by Germany into the USSR.
But Stalin ignored this. He spent two years in London ('41-2) attempting to get Churchill to open a second European Front
to relieve pressure on Soviet troops.
McCreery, Sir Richard (General - British : 1898-1967)
He was the Chief of Staff to General Alexander in the Western Desert (1942) and was the one who suggested the final outline
of the El Alemein Battle to General Montgomery. He also commanded the 10th Corps at the Salerno Landings and succeeded General Leese
commanding the 8th Army in Italy.
Montgomery, Bernard Law (Field Marshall - British : 1887-1976)
Commanded the 3rd Division at the beginning of World War II. He was at Dunkirk and was promoted to the 5th and then the 12th
Corps upon his return from France. Churcill then chose him to lead the 8th Army in North Africa. Here his task was to repulse
Rommel's attacks on Alexandria (Battle of Alam Halfa) and to restore the morale and strenght of the troops there. He managed to
drive Rommel back to Tunis after the Battle of El Alemein. However, after that success, Montgomery proved less well suited to
function under the Anglo-American system. He nevertheless booked much success during the invasion of Italy and at Normady.
However, he soon became over-independent and was less successful regarding the landings at Arhnem (Neth.) and during the Battle of
the Bulge (Belgium). He became Chief of the Imperial General Staff and Deputy Supreme Allied Commander in the postwar era.
Oppenheimer, J. Robert (Nuclear Physicist - US : 1904-1967)
Appointed director of the government laboratory at Los Alamos in 1942 and head of the team working on the first atomic bomb. His
efforts resulted in the bomb being ready for use in time to avoid an invasion of Japan by armed forces. His inventions were dropped
on both Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Patton, George (General - US : 1885-1945)
A charismatic character, Patton landed with US force in Morocco in 1942 and commanded the 2nd Corps in Tunisia. He was in command of the
7th Army during the invasion of Italy when he struck a soldier suffering from battle fatigue, calling him a coward. He was promptly removed
from his position and his affairs taken over by General Bradley, formerly his junior. During the Normandy Invasions, he led the 3rd Army,
bursting out of a bridgehead in Operation Cobra (25 July, 1944). He soon made enourmous headway into France. However, with oil supplies being
diverted to Montgomery in Holland, his drive for Germany was significantly slowed. He played a large role in the defeat of German forces during
the Battle of the Bulge in 1945 and directed the fastest drive into German y, ending in Checkoslo vakia. Patton was killed in a road accide nt shortly
before the end of the war. Known as "Old Blood and Guts" by his soldiers, Patton wast he most flamboyant and effective US Field Commander of the war.
Stirling, David (Commando Officer - British : 1915-?)
A Scots Guards Officer, he joined the Commandos in 1940. By 1941 he was raising his own forces in the Western Desert in order to make attacks behind
enemy lines. These became known as the Special Air Service (SAS). His troops inflicted much damage on enemy positions. His methods would continue to
be used after his capture in 1943.
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