1

2
3

Eisenhower and World War II

4
5I.

Listen to Eisenhowers minibiography and fill in

6the blanks according to what you hear.
7Dwight

D.

Eisenhower

was

8(1)___________________________________.
9World

War

II,

he

was

10(2)___________________________________
11US

During
the
of the

Forces in the European Theater. Dwight

12Eisenhower

was

undoubtedly

13(3)___________________________________.
14in

the

one

of

America's

Dwight D. Eisenhower was born

Dennison Texas on October 14th 1890.

15Dwight
16the

Eisenhower (4)___________________________________ West point in

class of 1915, the class the star fell on, because so many of its members

17became
18then

(5)___________________________________ in World War II. He was

stationed in Texas and there is where he met his wife Mamie Doud. During

19World

War I, Eisnhower steadly rose through the ranks, although he never left the

20US

mainland.

21Far

the World War II, Eisenhower (6)___________________________________

22with

General Douglas MacArthur in the Philippines, and was at that time the

23Lieutenant
24Chief
1
2

Coronel. Eisenhower was brought back to the US in 1939 by Army

of Staff General George C. Marshall. General Marshall saw that Eisenhower

1

25was

quickly promoted from (7)___________________________________to

26(8)___________________________________
27Torch

which was the Invasion of North Africa in 1942. This was followed by the

28invasion
29He

of Sicily and mainland Italy in 1943, and the Invasion of France in 1944.

was in charge of Operation Overlord, the Operation which resulted in the

30invasion
31Dwight
32is

of Normandy on June 6th 1944,the day that we know as D-Day.

D. Eisenhower was a (9)___________________________________, what

exactly what he as called for to keep the Alliance together during World War II.

33Eisenhower
341945.

the service in 1948 to become president of Columbia University. In 1950,

36Eisenhower

returned to military service when President Harry Truman asked him

become the NATO Supreme Commander which was a newly created position. In

381952
39In

received a hero's welcome when he returned to the US after the war in

He then served as the (10)___________________________________before

35leaving

37to

and had him command Operation

Eisenhowe stepped down from his NATO position and ran for president.

the November 1952 election he won the first of his two presidential terms in a

40landslide

victory. He continued many of the policies of the New Deal and FDR and

41Harry

Truman,

even

though

42(12)___________________________________.
43the

he

was

On Civil rights in 1957, there was

Little Rock School Crisis. The Governor of Arkansas didn't want to let African-

44American

children enter the all white schools. Eisenhower sent Federal troops to

45make

sure

that

those

students

46(13)___________________________________

got

to

have

their

there at the Central High School in

47Little

Rock. Eisenhower's foreign policy achievements include the Armstice that

48ended

the Korean War, a ramping up of the Cold War where he increased

49surveillance

3
4

against the communism.

50DDW's
51the

lasting visible legacy, interesting enough, came in infrastructure. He was

father of the interstate (14)___________________________________. He also

52created

NASA. Eisenhower was never known as a great public speaker but many

53people

believed that his final speech as president was his greatest one. In that

54speech

he

expressed

his

55(15)___________________________________
56exerting
57with

about

and the military establishment

too much influence on America's everyday life. Those concerns remain

us to this day. After his presidency, Eisenhower retired to a

58(16)___________________________________
59his

concern

in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania with

wife in 1961. He died on March 28 1969.

60II.

Answer the following questions while you read the text about Eisenhowers
61military career.
62Questions
631.

How did Eisenhower succeed in keeping the Allies together in a grand alliance?
64(1 paragraph)
st

652.

Why did Eisenhower decide to attend West Point? (2nd paragraph)

663.

What were Eisenhowers three important assignments mentioned in this

67paragraph? (3rd paragraph)
684.

What did public opinion expect from the military after the attack on Pearl
69Harbor and what did Ike believe? (4th paragraph)
705.

What was Ikes greatest challenge after he was appointed Supreme Allied
71Commander, and what would happen if the operation failed? (5th paragraph)
726.

What was the German strategy that made initial gains in the Battle of the Bulge?
73(6 Paragraph)
th

What was Ikes leadership style and why did he sometimes have to adapt it? (7th
75Paragraph)
747.

5
6

768.

What did Ike warn American of at the close of his presidency? (8th Paragraph)

77Text

Americas success in World War II depended to a great extent upon Allied

78

79coordination
80leadership

that ensured the Allied powers cooperated better than did the

81counterparts
82fine

and cooperation. Dwight D. Eisenhower (18901969) provided the

in the Axis powers. His diplomatic and political skills were honed to a

edge during his early military career and were instrumental in keeping the

83grand

alliance together.

84

After growing up in humble circumstances on the Kansas prairie,

85Eisenhower
86to

entered West Point as an alternate candidate in 1911. He was attracted

West Point because of the free education it offered and the chance to play

87football.

After graduating from West Point, Eisenhower was posted to Fort Sam

88Houston

in San Antonio, Texas. Eisenhowers West Point class became one of the

89most

famous in history, producing as it did two five-star generals (Eisenhower and

90General

Omar N. Bradley, 18921981) and more than a dozen division

91commanders.
92Eisenhower
93front

in France during World War I.

95United
96were

States to test American military mobility to show the nation that good roads

a military as well as civilian necessity in the age of the automobile. General

97Douglas

MacArthur (18801964) noticed the talents of Eisenhower and employed

as a special assistant in the Philippines. Eisenhower said of his service with

99MacArthur:
100the

7
8

was valued too highly as a military trainer at home to be sent to the

After the war in 1919, Eisenhower led an important expedition across the

94

98him

Even though he desired front-line service as soon as possible,

I studied dramatics under him for five years in D.C. and four years in

Philippines. His able leadership role in the Louisiana maneuvers of 1941

4

101brought

him to the attention of Army Chief of Staff General George Marshall

102(18801959).

After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, Marshall named Eisenhower chief

103
104of

plans and operations officer and then, in June of 1942, commander of the

105European

Theater of Operations. Eisenhower believed in the need to focus on

106Germany

first even though public opinion was focused with anger on Japan. In

107addition

to grand strategy, Eisenhower had to use his diplomatic skills to keep the

108Allied

coalition together.

109

Eisenhower oversaw American forces as they invaded the north African

110territory

of the Vichy French. He followed up this successful operation with the

111invasion

of Sicily and the Italian peninsula in 1943. In February 1944, President

112Franklin

D. Roosevelt appointed Eisenhower as Supreme Allied Commander of the

113Allied

Expeditionary Force. His greatest challenge lay in preparing for the D-Day

114invasion

of German-controlled France in June 1944. Had the invasion failed,

115Eisenhower
116succeeded,
117by

was prepared to take full responsibility for the action. The invasion

however, and soon Allied armies were racing to Germany until stopped

changing weather and supply problems. Eisenhower envisaged a broad-front

118strategy
119Ruhr

in France against the German armies. The ultimate goal was to cross the

River and encircle remaining German forces in the climactic battle for

120Germany.
121

Eisenhower faced one of his greatest challenges when Hitler launched his

122Ardennes
123the

offensive codenamed Watch on the Rhine (later known as the Battle of

Bulge) on December 16, 1944. Three German armies were tasked to divide the

124British

and American armies and deny Antwerp as a source of supply for the Allied

125armies.

Using surprise, deception, and bad weather that kept Allied air power

9
10

126grounded,

the Germans made significant initial gains in the offensive. Eisenhower

127maintained
128southern
129air

his calm and ordered Pattons Third Army to swing north into the

portion of the bulge. When the weather cleared on December 22, Allied

power began to wear down the Wehrmacht, which was already suffering

130because
131their

of bad logistics. The Germans lost 100,000 men and gravely weakened

defenses before the coming Allied offensives in the spring of 1945.

132

Eisenhowers leadership style was to delegate to qualified commanders and

133allow

them to do their job without micromanaging. However, volatile generals

134such

as British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery and United States General

135George

S. Patton would require Eisenhowers personal attention on more than one

136occasion.
137being

Eisenhower was determined to focus on military objectives even when

pressured to focus on political objectives by Winston Churchill. One

138example

of this was that he thought it pointless to pursue capturing Berlin since

139Roosevelt,
1401945)

Churchill, and Stalin had stipulated at the Yalta Conference (February

that Berlin would be turned over to the Russians at the end of the war

141anyway.

His combination of military and diplomatic skill carried Eisenhower to the

142

143presidency

of the United States in 1952. He was mature enough as a soldier to

144understand

the horror of war and the need to avoid another world war in the

145nuclear

age. He even warned of the dangers that a permanent military- industrial

146complex
1471953
148.

posed to democracy in America at the close of his presidency in 1961. In

he stated,

. . every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in

149the

final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold

150and

are not clothed.

11
12

151

During his presidency, he oversaw the beginnings of the American interstate

152highway

system (an undertaking inspired in part by his participation in the first

153Transcontinental

13
14

Motor Convoy in 1919).

154III

Prepare a 5-minute presentation on one of the 5 major phases of Ikes

155military
156

career. The students can use the link below to do their research.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwight_D._Eisenhower

1571.

World War I

1582.

In Service of Generals

1593.

Operation Torch and Avalanche

1604.

Supreme Allied Commander and Operation Overlord

1615.

Liberation of France and Victory in Europe

162