Character Study on General Omar Bradley

Bradley was a classmate of Eisenhower in the West Point class of 1915. During WW II, he was Deputy Commander of the Seventh Army under George Patton in North Africa and Sicily.

In 1944–1945, he was the ground commander of the 12th Army Group in Europe over the First, Third and Ninth Armies with direct control over 1,300,000 men.

It was the largest field command in American history. He was promoted to General of the Army (5 stars) and was the last living soldier to attain this rank.

Positive reputation – Considered by his peers to be the most brilliant military tactician of modern times; was know to be absolutely fair and just.

Value to the team – Was a sound thinker and scholar of the operational arts of military science and was able to fit practical strategy with theory.

D  I   S   C

Character traits:

Self-effacing Master of facts Gentle and quiet Logical tactician Projected unusual kindness Non-demonstrative Very self-controlled The rock of stability Occasionally would smile, but seldom Amiable, courteous to everyone  showed emotion Painstakingly accurate Conservative Model of competence

What others had to say about Omar Bradley:

Will Lang, chief correspondent for Life Magazine – “The thing I most admire about Omar Bradley is his gentleness. He was never known to issue an order to anybody of any rank without saying ‘please’ first.”

General George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff – “I sensed Eisenhower needed someone he could trust implicitly to act as his ‘eyes and ears’ in Tunisia. I sent him a list of officers but highly recommended Bradley.” Eisenhower immediately replied, “Go no further... get me Bradley!”

General George Patton – Although Patton frequently expressed ill feelings toward many of his senior commanders and peers, his subordinates never heard him say anything negatively about Bradley.

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