Montgomery dies June 6 1944
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Alexander is the obvious choice...you're not bringing Bill Slim back from Burma. Horrocks would be my second choice.
Horrocks is too junior. The 2nd Army commander, Dempsey, might be a temporary stand-in for the British and Canadian forces.
But perhaps Eisenhower would need to oversee the direction of the Allied Ground Forces in Normandy. Until a new commander would be agreed and brought to the UK or Normandy. Which could be Alexander unless an American of equivalent rank is in Britain. MacNair?
Might be less coordination between the US and Commonwealth forces. Which could delay the Breakout or alter its form. Could Dempsey change how the British and Canadian offensives fared? I'm dubious but he was so much in Montgomery's shadow that it's hard to know.
ps Nightmare thought - they couldn't choose Mark Clark?
The could choose Clark, but it is unlikely, he is also in Rome, screwing around instead of cutting off the withdrawal of the entire german army in Italy. They needed, very much, from a political perspective for there to be a British officer in a very high profile role in the early days of the landings even though it was a temporary posting (the plan had always been for Ike to take over the Ground Force Commander role on September 1st, something that put Monty in High Dungeon).
Alexander had actually been considered for the slot initially but Lord Alanbrooke didn't think he was up to it. He was in Italy on D-Day, so he would be off the table, at least until he could get to England and be fully briefed in. That is the real problem, finding a very senior officer who is fully briefed and can be plugged straight into the slot. While All of Ike's senior deputies for Overlord were British, Monty was the only Army officer.
Overall the best bet for immediate replacement seems to be Dempsey, He was the the overall commander for the Commonwealth forces participating in the landing so he knew what was what despite being junior.
I've been having a quick look through who might have been available and I agree that Dempsey would be the best instant replacement. Alanbrooke might have considered it and would have been acceptable. The bit that makes my hackles rise with unease is that Churchill might have gotten very excited and wanted to appoint one of his favourites. He kept wanting to appoint Viscount Gort to a field command and after May 1940 I can only shudder with horror and retreat from that concept rapidly.
It depends in what role? As ground commander or in his British role? I frankly have a HARD time seeing any other British officer getting put in as overall ground commander at that point. It is one thing putting the “No one British” general in as ground commander. It is another thing to put in a second British officer who is junior to him to replace him, It is to blatant politics. You may get a scramble where an American moves into that position and give a different position of note to a British officer.
The 'Overall Ground Commander' role was only a temporary tasking until forces built up. The obvious replacement is Bradley who was the commander of the American forces on the beach. It does create a political problem with the command structure that the allies had established where the two nations alternated command levels in an organization. But given that the overall ground commander was a temporary tasking until the SHAEF(forward) could be established on the continent and that the situation was unplanned they might violate the alternating levels policy.
If Bradley was chosen the question is would he transfer 1st Army to someone else (Hodges, Patton?) earlier than planned and just move to 12th Army Group once enough troops were ashore and SHAEF(forward) transferred to Normandy?
I imagine that Dempsy would take over Commonwealth forces immediately and as the forces ashore grew he could revert to his Army Command and someone brought in for 21 Army Group or he could be retained in 21 AG and someone else selected for 2nd Army.
If Bradley was chosen the question is would he transfer 1st Army to someone else (Hodges, Patton?) earlier than planned and just move to 12th Army Group once enough troops were ashore and SHAEF(forward) transferred to Normandy?
I imagine that Dempsy would take over Commonwealth forces immediately and as the forces ashore grew he could revert to his Army Command and someone brought in for 21 Army Group or he could be retained in 21 AG and someone else selected for 2nd Army.
I imagine you personally would have wanted General Douglas MacArthur to be in charge.
Only if he gives up his U.S. citizenship and is part of the British Army. That would set up close to the same situation as existed IOTL.I imagine you personally would have wanted General Douglas MacArthur to be in charge.
Patton was WAY too junior. He was a Regular Army 2 Star with a wartime bump to three stars. He was also not fully briefed.
That is the big stumbling block. There is zero time to get someone up to speed on the most complex amphibious assault that had ever been attempted. Whoever is selected has to know all the pieces. That means Dempsey or someone else from SHAEF who'd been living inside the planning for months.
Sorry, No I meant did Patton kill Monty? I agree he’d not be the right replacement perhaps just the vehicle to remove an impediment.
Probably Bradley - he's in the loop for the D Day planning so will be up to speed. Whether he's up to the job is another matter as I don't know enough about how well he interacts with the military of other countries. The Battle for Normandy consisted of attritional fighting in the British/Canadian sector, dragging in the panzer divisions whilst the US forces built up and secured the kick off points for a breakout and attempted encirclement of the opposing German forces.
Could Bradley have survived the increasing British/Canadian casualty lists whilst the US forces appeared to be doing comparatively little?
Could Bradley have survived the increasing British/Canadian casualty lists whilst the US forces appeared to be doing comparatively little?
Clark or Alexander (in fact almost certainly Alexander)
No one else had the experience to be trusted with the job
Bradley maybe but he is far inferior to Clark and Alexander and I fear that he would be shown up earlier than he was
No one else had the experience to be trusted with the job
Bradley maybe but he is far inferior to Clark and Alexander and I fear that he would be shown up earlier than he was