General Omar Bradley and Operation Cobra - Normandy 1944

[@therealuncleowen2588]

As an American, I just want to add a thought about Bradley growing up in rural Missouri. There are few places in the world that I've ever been to that felt more desolate and far from everywhere than southeastern Missouri. The one salvation for people there is the American public education system. The ability of a small town teacher, librarian, or possibly scout master to recognize a bright spark within a young person might have been the only thing separating a young person at that place and at that time from a life with very little opportunity to one full of opportunity. Whoever encouraged Bradley to take the West Point entrance test of the time did him a great favor. Once he gets there and his intelligence is recognized, in America, your background just doesn't really matter. Thank God for that. Bradley could as easily have run a gas station in a small town and never amounted to anything except a husband and father, noble in it's own way, but that test was probably his lone chance to begin the path which led him to become the man he managed to become. I'll rip on Missouri for a moment. To this day the rates of illegal drug usage in small towns in the American great plains are shockingly high. Having been there and left as soon as I could myself, the flat desolation of the place is very depressing. To me it was just visceral, instinctive, every moment I spent on that landscape was a downer. That was how I saw it and I wasn't the only person I knew who felt that way about it. Just my opinion. I'm sure many people love the place, I certainly didn't.

[@therealuncleowen2588]

I just looked it up and the person who encouraged him to take the West Point entrance exam was his Sunday School teacher. That is such a small town America story! For all we know, Bradley might not have known such an exam existed, knew he couldn't afford college, and might not have realized the military academies are tuition free. Thank heavens the Sunday School teacher knew about it. Then Bradley takes the exam and finishes second. Imagine if the guy who finished first hadn't decided not to go at the last moment. Somewhere in SE Missouri, his grandkids MIGHT know a family story about their humble granddad. "He was smarter than you think. You never saw him when he wasn't covered in grease from the railroad, but that didn't mean he was dumb. Took the West Point exam and came in second when they were only taking one. I've always wondered what he might have accomplished if he'd came in first and gone to West Point." I can't think of another story where someone as accomplished as Omar Bradley almost slipped through the cracks into absolute obscurity. Also, it does make me proud to realize West Point took someone from such humble origins and allowed him to make his way to high command.

[@reiniergroeneveld7801]

Interesting discussion of Bradley. I never realized that the Battle of the Bulge had such an impact on the relationship with Ike. I also enjoyed the point that it is not just a general’s personality that we need to look at, but that his staff plays a major role in how we see him.

[@michaelkenny8540]

Bradley's life-long hatred of Montgomery also stems from his command failure with Hodges. Despite his public face as an easy-going regular guy he was extremely vain and never got over any slights-real or imagined.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

Bradley never got over the fact that Eisenhower didn't trust him in the Ardennes preferring instead to call on Montgomery to do Bradley's job for him there.

[@executivedirector7467]

@@jimmarnell3964 Patton never commanded in the pays bocage so that's quite a claim. No one, British or American, really anticipated the effects of the bocage. I've read about it for decades but finally seeing it myself recently was just eye-opening.

[@stevenvassalli2408]

​@@executivedirector7467Bradley was not a good commander in battle. He was excellent with logistics but not with commanding solders. Always seemed surprised at new situations. He simply didn't have the ability to change tactics in the middle of a battle. A big reason for this is his G2 (intelligence) either did a poor or worse. General Patton had a great G2. And he learned to use his intelligence officers. He was very curious & concerned when his G2 began reporting about something going on leading up to the Bulge. Before his meeting at Vuldun he'd left his staffs making plans to head north.

[@jimwatts5192]

Howdy folks. Great presentation on an outstanding general. Lots of knowledge provided with clear maps and a coherent, focused presentation. One of the best shows so far.

[@georgecooksey8216]

Excellent discussion and presentation. Thank you Steven and Woody.

[@spidrespidre]

Thanks, Wood & Steve. Another fantastic show. You have already built an incredible library of histriography in the short time you've been streaming but the relationship with those in the live chat makes it all the more unique. And there doesn't seem to be much chance of you running out of guests and subject matter any time soon. There's no other channel remotely like it. I look forward to Steve's return on whatever you guys cook up. DTRH!

[@WW2TV]

I have nearly all my content sorted until at least January and my list of potential guests grows daily

[@spidrespidre]

@@WW2TV My mind continues to boggle

[@PorqueNoLosDos]

I love the space Steven was given to cover this great and under appreciated American. Bravo! Frankly could have used 2 more hours to go down more rabbit holes. Just brilliant

[@anthonychase4364]

Just caught up with this. Outstanding presentation. Thanks, Greetings from Australia.

[@Canopus44]

Another great show!! It is interesting that in 1967 Ike and Bradley were the last two living 5 Star generals. CBS News got them together and did a short interview (you can find it on youtube) in which they seemed pretty friendly with each other, so i wonder if they made up. Would be nice to think they did, but i guess we might never know.

[@philbosworth3789]

A good presentation by Steven on Omar Bradley, a general who doesn't get the coverage of other, more colourful/controversial generals of the period.

[@alanbrener2718]

Another excellent discussion with a great presentation by Steven Ossad.

[@k-9mantrailing324]

Excellent speaker with a lot of unknown, at least to me, information on Bradley. Who knew he and Ike fell out? Need to have Steve back. His presentation and speaking ability are outstanding.

[@michaelkenny8540]

Anyone who did any reading on Bradley's failure during The Bulge knows they 'fell out'. Its such a basic part of the story that it is amazing that it appears to be (deliberately?) ignored in most US accounts. I wonder why?

[@michaelkenny8540]

It would be interesting if more of the original planning for COBRA was discussed. In particular the date Bradley gave Montgomery for when he would start his attack. Then the reasons why Bradley was unable to get to his start line and delayed his offensive until GOODWOOD was over. The effects of Bradley's failure to keep to his original timetable must have had an impact on GOODWOOD but I never see anyone make that link.

[@markrunnalls7215]

That's an interesting point you never here about.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

Just as we never hear about the non pressure against St Lo in June which made taking Caen harder. The Germans could keep all their panzer divisions around Caen because the Americans basically gave up on St Lo in June.

[@victornewman9904]

Not strictly true. When Bradley reported to Monty that he couldn't deliver on time and needed to reorganise, Monty gave him the time.

[@michaelkenny8540]

@@victornewman9904 That does not alter the fact Bradley was unable to launch COBRA and the date he had agreed with Montgomery. Sources differ but Bradley had initially given a July 19 or 20 date and Monty went ahead with his part of the attack (on the 18th) without the expected support of a diversion in the east. Its entirely possible such a distraction would have allowed a GOODWOOD breakthrough. Perhaps you know the reason for Bradley's failure and could flesh out exactly where he went wrong.

[@michaelkenny8540]

@@bigwoody4704 43 days? Why but is a trifle compared to the 77 days Patton spent on his a*se outside Metz.

[@stuarthart3370]

I've often wondered how could the allied breakout could fail, with the soviet forces pressing in from the east. Thanks for all the effort and for a great video.

[@sheldrake6]

A great show today filling in details on a general both well known and little understood. I will be getting the booK!

[@joshuawilliams2643]

Love your work. Always high quality

[@WW2TV]

Much appreciated!

[@stephenbrooks4713]

Great show I really enjoyed it

[@jammininthepast]

General Maurice Rose....fantastic!

[@fredmauren5301]

Great show. I look forward to the Mickey Marcus book. I watched “Cast a Giant Shadow” a few weeks ago.

[@marvinrogers4491]

Great video

[@jammininthepast]

Thank you Paul....

[@Paul-talk]

'Top Secret' by Ralph Ingersol, Bradley's liason officer with Monty, and others. He was in England with Devers for the Overlord planning in 43. Ingersol's take on yank-brit relations is a deep one, and, in a remarkable final chapter, extreenly fair and lucid. He gives a "Bradley" POV i've found nowhere else. The book was published in 46. A fabulous read - and surprising.

[@WW2TV]

An excellent book, but written of course before Ultra and before many of the major players had given their views. I have maybe 30 books that cover the Falaise Gap and everyone interprets the dynamics between Ike, Monty, Bradley and Patton differently, let alone Symonds and Maczek who barely get a mention

[@Idahoguy10157]

Bradley wasn’t adverse to blaming others. British, 8th USAAF, his subordinates, INTEL corps, Montgomery

[@davidlavigne207]

Thanks for such an interesting look at the life and career of such a pivotal figure in WW2 history. The facts brought out by the author of General Bradley's time at West Point participating in sports such as baseball and football, which are team sports was important. Whereas General Patton participated in Olympic and equestrian sports which stress individual expertise, Bradley chose to be a team player. This served him well in his role as a Corp and an Army Commander during the war. Perhaps that was why he felt so disappointed with Ike's decision to split his command with General Montgomery during the Ardennes Offensive. He must have felt somewhat betrayed by Eisenhower and thought "Why are you taking me out of the game coach?" Just a thought.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

Well don't forget that Bradley was somewhat dithering when the Germans opened up their Ardennes offensive and even by the 4th day Bradley was still not really getting a grip of the situation so in frustration Eisenhower turned to Montgomery, and Montgomery immediately took it by the scruff of the neck and began making important decisions the very next day, such as pulling back from St Vith to superior defensive positions etc.

[@michaeldunne338]

@@lyndoncmp5751 By the fourth day the battles below/along Elsenborn Ridge were pretty much settled, in favor of the Americans. If Stephen Zaloga is correct, that is where the schwerpunkt of the entire offensive was supposed to take place (to get to Antwerp). There were a couple of fruitless attacks by Germans in that area on the 21st and 22nd of December, but basically, three main spearheads (or three of the Rollbahns) were checked, possibly debilitating the entire invasion - and certainly handicapping operations of Sixth Panzer Army - by the strength of American forces on that northern shoulder. Now maybe that characterization of the schwerpunkt is not completely accurate, or overemphasized, say when considering possibilities of advancing from Malmedy / Stavelot, and through Spa (and considering the kind of initiative / flexibility Germans had been able to demonstrate). However, seems much had been accomplished in the first four days on the northern shoulder that essentially hobbled the advance(s) of Sixth Panzer Army.

[@brucealbert4686]

A very good channel

[@Anderle52134]

Excellent

[@marksheetz7488]

Loud & clear

[@zainmudassir2964]

I imagined they threw Cobras at the Germans to scare them. Good interview

[@provjaro]

Brilliant

[@mliittsc63]

Something impossible to calculate, but should still be considered: how many men could die through reluctance to risk friendly-fire casualties? In order for an operation like Cobra to succeed, the US forces have to reach the devastated area quickly. They have to be near where the bombs are falling. How many could have died if the Germans were able to move into the bombed area? I've seen a lot of different casualty figures on the bombing, and they seem lower than was likely to result from a frontal assault into the bocage.

[@executivedirector7467]

That was Bradley's thought exactly. There were ~140 US KIA due to friendly fire but there probably would have been many more than that had they tried to mount a conventional attack against Panzer Lehr. Awful decision to have to make but there it is.

[@nickdanger3802]

At 1.28.40 Command passed to Monty because Bradley's "communications shattered".

[@Paul-talk]

Well, Ingersol is a very special kind of witness. Do you recall his last chapter defending the British point of vie? Remarkable. I am a great Churchill fan by the way.

[@WW2TV]

It's been a while since I read it to be honest. I'm a wartime Churchill fan and there's much to admire about him on a personal level, but there's also lots to see from a negative point of view too

[@Paul-talk]

...what about "Top Secret" by Ralph Ingersol?

[@gary5272]

Yes, you are loud / clear

[@Thumpalumpacus]

Bradley: solid.

[@jmccallion2394]

sound is good!

[@WW2TV]

Yep we got there. The first stream was bizarre

[@jmccallion2394]

@@WW2TV Great Woody, clarity is everything, I remember the vid on the German occupation of Poland a couple of weeks back the feedback was atrocious !! Keep up the good work!!

[@WW2TV]

@@jmccallion2394 Yep, that was the dark old days of WW2TV. It's amazing since then how streaming software and gear has improved

[@markrunnalls7215]

Just a point I heard about.. now please can I convey to the American members here in the audience and I don't ever wish to sound disrespectful, but I did recall at a certain point during the battle for Tunisia that a Brit officer popped across to the American lines n said, look if you can't fight, than you have no business here!! But at the same time one has to look at the big picture that for any officer, war can take its toll, I recall Horrocks when he ordered Cleve to be bombed, he said I felt a murderer...

[@executivedirector7467]

LOL. I am sure there was a British senior officer, and it may have been Alexander, who said of Fredendall words to the effect that "This dope cannot be the best guy you have to command II Corps". And Fredendall *was* awful. But the next command level up was 1st Army, led by the equally useless Anderson, a British officer. There was plenty of incompetence to share.

[@Paul-talk]

but the Cherbourg capture was part of the Overlord plan since well before the invasion. The army was under orders to take it. It was Bradley who conceived the breakout while Monty was failing on the left flank.

[@WW2TV]

Monty wasn't failing on the left flank. He was attriting the German Armour

[@redemptivepete]

A friend if my late father (British) lost count of the number of times he was bombed by the Americans!

[@pr44pr44]

right.

[@pr44pr44]

​@@WW2TVbe real.. that was the post facto excuse. Its not what he said he was going to do, its what he said he did, but it wasn't even true or Mortain would not have happened

[@pr44pr44]

​@@redemptivepete friendly fire was a killer all through and everywhere in that missile war... 😢

[@Paul-talk]

Well, Churchill is s human being, who did nothing but be involved in important events, and he was highly scrutinized. I adore him. He is such a foll. I've read everything he wrote. I concidder him THE great hero of the 20th century. As for Bradley, he is vastly underrated. He did not lead the greated army group in all history for nothing.

[@Paul-talk]

doll - greatest... one used to be able to drlite or correct mesdages. Now my message box goes black when I write! yputube is falling apart...😢😢

[@WW2TV]

Now Simpson and Truscott are underrated in my opinion, but I think Bradley is given a fair assessment by most. I always feel he was good without being great, which is no bad thing, true greatness being rare

[@jim99west46]

Bradley, a general who could only inspire himself.

[@WW2TV]

Hmm, not sure I sgree

[@jim99west46]

@@WW2TV seriously, theres no buzz for him at least in the US. After the war he was put in charge of fixing the Veterans Administration and that didn't go well. Marshall had a very thin bench to call from during the war. Bradley was not a drunk or a womanizer as so many officers were then so at the minimum he brought some sober competence. As for his OCS weapons company instruction etc .A senior sergeant could have put that together, we are just talking about mortars and machine guns to support a infantry battalion.

[@executivedirector7467]

@@jim99west46 I don't know what "no buzz" means but for many decades he was a much-admired officer. Nowadays not many people, even professional soldiers, could name more than a handful of WW2 generals.

[@MegaBloggs1]

there is a great deal of argument of who proposed the strike area of cobra-this video does not resolve that question

[@Paul-talk]

I think Bradley is the greatest. The reason's this is not regognizedvis easy to see. It's like why Marlborough wa and is, not recognized.

[@WW2TV]

If I have learned one thing hosting WW2TV, it is that throw out the names of a few Generals and every historian has different views on them. And usually they won't be persuaded otherwise. This channel has Monty haters and lovers, Patton haters and lovers etc among the regular viewers and it's always interesting hearing their views.

[@michaelmccotter4293]

Those that are competent or even very competent are seldom,........ more like never, known as great. Certainly competent is good. I agree, Brad was a good General.

[@WW2TV]

Agreed Michael. Being just "good" is often seen (unfairly) as somehow a failure compared to being "great"

[@Paul-talk]

...hmmm...well, the fact is, some generals were better than others! So not everyone is right. 😊 Bradley has been abnormally low on boosters starting with the war itself. Furthermore he himself kept the press away. I say he doesn't get the credit he deserves. . Top Secret is worth reading. I read it through a second time as soon as I finished it. I thinkk its a fair and convincing book, to say nothing of all the stuff he tells that you get nowhere else 😉

[@Idahoguy10157]

Something to remember about Patton was his personal wealth and upper class family. Compare that Eisenhower & Bradley who came from humble backgrounds. Both of whom going to West Point gave them an opportunity for an education. Both supported families on meager interwar army salaries. Compared to Patton they were paupers. Patton could rub other officers the wrong way flaunting his lifestyle.

[@executivedirector7467]

Agreed, that's a really important back story.

[@Paul-talk]

Attriting Getman armor? ...don't you mean getting all the British armor destroyed?

[@WW2TV]

Have you read any modern books on the Normandy campaign? The British being slow and the Germans being efficient is very much old-school thinking from the 80s - Hastings, D'Este etc. Modern interpretations are much kinder to the DUKE forces and critical of the Germans. Try John Buckley, James Holland etc for a better assessment. How many British Armoured divisions were "destroyed" in Normandy and how many German? How many German Armoured Divisions did the Americans face in June and July?

[@Bullet-Tooth-Tony-]

@Paul-talk Attriting German armour means "writing it down" which the Operations of Epsom, Bluecoat and Goodwood indeed did achieve. The Germans lost around 326 tanks altogether.

[@jimmarnell3964]

The Royal Navy, a long with the US Navy, let the Axis forces escape from Messina to the Italian boot.

[@MegaBloggs1]

the germans did not coordinate at carentan-the 116th ss panzergrenadier was late and lacked infantry-which they could have picked u if they coordinated with the 6th parachute regiment-von der hedyte went too early

[@Digmen1]

The sound level of your guest is very poor. Hard to listen to.

[@WW2TV]

I just ran this though my audio software and both voices are coming out at the same level for me

[@MegaBloggs1]

the americans use the bocage as an excuse for their failure to take st lo-surely they realised that the ridge to the west was critical

[@executivedirector7467]

If you've walked through the region you will see it was a defender's paradise. Not only the bocage hedges themselves, but most of the Cotentin peninsula is very low-lying, often flooded naturally or artificially. There is no way to employ massed mechanized forces there; it's a terrain that only Infantry-and-artillery can fight on. Very few roads, so, the defenders can easily cover the few routes of possible advance with small units themselves. The problem is frankly not that dissimilar to the route of advance during MARKET/GARDEN. There was more than one road, of course, but not a lot, and the terrain is brutal.

[@Paul-talk]

Monty intended his effort to be the main one. The notion that he was "attriting German armor"is a cover for the failuer and waste of this tactics. He did indeed attrit tge armor, bu . Bradley saved the situation when he got round south of Caen, ... then Monty ordered him to stop, thus the gap. Shameful.

[@WW2TV]

I'm not following you at all. Bradley went nowhere near Caen and the a envelopment was explicitly ordered by Montgomery on 8th August, following a telephone conversation on that day with Eisenhower (and with the agreement of Bradley, although Mongomery and Bradley had misgivings about the shorter agreed envelopment, rather than a longer envelopment on the Seine/Loire. However, this was basically Eisenhower’s decision - to go for the shorter envelopment rather than the longer one

[@Paul-talk]

Eisenhower had little to do with it. He was strugging to keep peace in the coalition. This history is really messed up.There was constant political trouble between tthe yanks and brits Hitler knew this - otherwise the Bulge plan would have been uber-stupid.

[@WW2TV]

I have to ask, what are you basing this all on? Of course Eisenhower was involved. Which book or documentary are you referencing? There was very little major political trouble between the UK and USA by mid 44. The difficulties had been ironed out after Torch. It seems you have a sensationalist view of this with a narrow-minded view of Monty too

[@ToddSauve]

@@WW2TV He may be young and overly enthusiastic in his assessment of what was possible given the opposition and available armour. Or he may be an American troll that only shows up to shoot his mouth off. I've seen more than a few of those here and thankfully you toss them off the channel rather quickly. There are some trolls from the British/Canadian side as well, but way more from the Americans in my experience. People with some knowledge of what has come out of Kew in the last 30 years generally do not say stupid things like that. Those who rely on mostly American material from the 1980s back to the war do. 🤷‍♂

[@billballbuster7186]

Bradley was one of the worst US Generals ever, but was one of several protected by Eisenhower for political reasons. Bradley lost 135,000 men in Normandy compared to 83,000 British. However the British fought the bulk of the German forces, while Bradley was only had one major objective, Cherbourg defended by only 35,000 German Infanty. Then at Hertgen Forrest, Bradley lost another 55,000 men, described as a "Defeat of the first Magnitude". It was no surprise that with defeat looking the Americans in the face at the Battle of the Bulge, Bradley was sidelined in favor of Monty. It was the US 1st and 9th under Monty that defeated the German advance. In truth Monty thought American Generals were butchers, they knew it and used every opportunity to discredit him.

[@WW2TV]

When you went in two guns blazing with that comment. I do'n't think you'll find many historians who agree

[@billballbuster7186]

@@WW2TV Am I wrong about Bradley's losses? At the Battle of the Bulge Bradley was in the rear with the gear and thats were Ike kept him. Before Bradley, Fredendall was a disaster in North Africa, but Ike promoted him to a cushy Stateside job, go figure!

[@lyndoncmp5751]

Don't forget Lorraine. That was the biggest allied failure of autumn 1944. Ok, Patton made a pigs ear of it but overall it was under Bradley. 52,000 combat and over 30,000 non combat casualties and objective still not achieved.

[@billballbuster7186]

@@lyndoncmp5751 The Lorraine campaign was all the worse because Patton had been ordered to rest his army because of fuel and supply issues. Instead Patton sent his troops in on foot. Metz was a meat grinder despite the German defending troops being of very low quality. American Generals lost huge numbers of men in NW Europe through their poor tactical skills. But many so called historians totally ignore the facts.

[@Bullet-Tooth-Tony-]

@@bigwoody4704 With a casualty total of under 9,000 men, Market Garden would have been classed by the Soviets and German's as merely a minor skirmish. Why does Bradley seem to get away with the Battle Of Hurtgen Forest almost scott free? It had nearly 4 times the number of casualties as M-G (33,000), just to capture some trees.

[@itub4715]

ARE OMAR BRADLEY IS MUSLIM?

[@WW2TV]

No of course not

[@itub4715]

@@WW2TV But why is his name Omar? Also, what was his religion?

[@WW2TV]

@@itub4715 He was a regular Christian from the USA, his ancestors were from England

[@itub4715]

@@WW2TV THANKS

[@Paul-talk]

COMMUNICATIONS WERE NOT SHATTERED. read Top Secret.

[@WW2TV]

Which is in Ossad's bibliography

[@TheFreshman321]

Bradley was out of his depth during WW2.

[@WW2TV]

Based on what?

[@WW2TV]

@@thevillaaston7811 Although, the Falaise Pocket and Ardennes battles were victories

[@WW2TV]

@@thevillaaston7811 My problem with comments like Bradley being out of his depth, is it is just too binary. If I have learned just one thing hosting these shows, its that putting any of these commanders under either a positive heading like genius or brilliant or negative like idiot or, as you say, out of the depth is just not nuanced enough. Bradley, like all the others, had good days and bad days. I'm a big fan of Bradley in Cobra, less so in the Pocket. In terms of having experience, that IMHO doesn't necessarily matter. Ramsay had very little actual Naval Command, but masterminded Dynamo and Neptune. There is a big list of successful commanders with little combat experience.

[@executivedirector7467]

The officer who planned and executed the single most successful US Army operational-level offensive of WW2 (COBRA) was out of his depth? I don't think so.