Why was Eisenhower chosen to be Supreme Allied Commander in Europe?

Question

Dwight D. Eisenhower "Ike", graduated from West Point in 1915 ranked 61st in a class of 164 better known for his abilities on the football field than in the classroom. Upon graduation from West Point he seriously considered a civilian life, rather than pursuing a commission. He spent WWI in the United States in a logistics position, and was not sent to Europe. In the interwar period he again considered leaving the military and a career which he considered at a dead end.

At the beginning of WWII his rank was lieutenant colonel. When his friend George Patton was given a field command, Eisenhower asked for a position on Patton's staff which was denied by United States Army Chief of Staff George Marshal.

The position George Marshal ultimately appointed Ike to was Supreme Allied Commander Europe (Eisenhower was appointed December 1943), an advancement over nearly 400 more senior officers.

My question is: Why was Ike, with no combat experience, chosen to lead? How had he transformed his career from logistical support to the fast track during peace time? Were their any specific postings, commanding officers, personal decisions which were instrumental in this transformation? Where had he first come to the attention of George Marshall?

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From Jos in the Comments:
The idea that (in the above question) a mediocre ltn-col is told he's in the running for the 5 star general position is preposterous.

There were actually two occasions where Eisenhower was nearly placed on Patton's staff. Both times Marshal interceded. The first time was Sept 1940 the second time was April 1942.

The first occassion, Patton asked Ike if he would be interested in a subordinate command position.

General Ike: A Personal Reminiscence by John Eisenhower page 46-47
Patton had no intention of remaining a brigadier general, however, nor did his friend George Marshal, Chief of Staff, intend that he do so. By Sept of 1940 Patton was daily expecting to take command of the entire 2d Armored Division, not just a single brigade. In the process of finding officers to staff his new command he wrote to Ike, his old friend from twenty years earlier, suggesting that the latter request transfer from the Infantry to the Armored Corps, specifically to Patton's 2d Armored Division.

Ike was pleased and flattered. At the time his sights were set only on commanding a regiment in the coming war, and an armored regiment sounded even more exciting than the 15th Infantry. He responded immediately and enthusiastically. "I suppose it's too much to hope that I could have a regiment in your division," he (Eisenhower) wrote, "because I'm still almost three years away from my colonelcy. But I think I could do a damn good job of commanding a regiment."

two weeks later Patton followed up with word he would request Ike as chief of staff. Patton finishes his letter with the flourish: "Hoping we are together in a long and BLOODY war."

The exchange, of coarse, came to nothing, because Ike's services were considered too important at other, higher echelons--successively as chief of staff at 3d Infantry Division, IX Corps.

The Second Time was in April of 1942

Two Generals Apart: Patton and Eisenhower
Patton and Eisenhower's next meeting came in April of 1942. Prior to this meeting, both men competing for the same position as commander of the European campaign, a position which Eisenhower later received. Before he received this position Eisenhower wanted to do something different. He wanted to join his old friend, who was to go to war while Eisenhower was sitting in a desk job. Eisenhower wrote to Patton, "Maybe I'll finally get out of this slave seat, so I can let loose a little with you. By that time you'll be the ‘black jack' of the damn war." Eisenhower wanted to join Patton on the front lines. He was hoping he would be sent there by Army Chief of Staff, George Marshall (1880-1959), however, he was given the rank of Major General and the position of the United States Commander of the European front (June of 1942).

Eisenhower would be advanced to Supreme Allied Commander Europe Dec 1943.

Answer 1

I may be wrong, but I don't think George Marshall ever spoke about his reasons for promoting Eisenhower (although he did prepare a series of biennial reports for the Secretary of War between July 1939 & June 1945.

Holbrook W. Yorke, a librarian at the United States Military Academy Library, compiled a bibliography for Eisenhower in 1990. This was one of a number of commemorative activities carried out for the centenary of Eisenhower's birth.

Another document produced for that anniversary was a biography written for the US Army. Most of what follows has been extracted from this document, supplemented with information from Eric Sixsmith's Eisenhower as Military Commander.

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In 1930 Eisenhower was appointed as special assistant to General Douglas MacArthur, who was then Chief of Staff. He wrote MacArthur's speeches, lobbied politicians and prepared a number of studies of military mobilisation, and especially of the development of air power in relation to land battles. Eisenhower accompanied MacArthur to the Philippines from 1935 to 1939, and continued to impress his commander.

On his return to the United States, Eisenhower briefly commanded a battalion of the 15th Infantry and later became Chief of Staff of the 3rd Infantry Division at Fort Lewis.

We know Eisenhower was appointed Assistant Chief of Staff in charge of the Operations Division under General George C. Marshall who was Chief of Staff. We know that Marshall explicitly requested Eisenhower for his staff in the immediate aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor. Eisenhower accompanied Marshall to the Arcadia Conference in Washington from 22 December 1941 to 14 January 1942. At the Arcadia Conference,

"... the United States and Great Britain confirmed their "Germany first" strategy and created the Combined Chiefs of Staff to direct the war. Winston Churchill, who met Eisenhower at the conference, was impressed by his trenchant assessment of the European situation."

• [Source: Dwight David Eisenhower - the Centennial]

Shortly after the Arcadia Conference, Eisenhower was appointed as chief of the War Plans Division (which would become the Operations Division). His role there was to draft the basic strategy for the war against the Axis. He was tasked with producing a memorandum outlining the general strategy that the Allies should pursue, for the benefit of the President and the Combined Chiefs. The document that Eisenhower had produced:

"... was in effect a precis of the next three years of the war."

• [Source: Dwight David Eisenhower - the Centennial]

Although the report contained nothing new,

"The cumulative effect of Eisenhower's staff work in the War Department and his dealings with the British convinced General Marshall that this was the man to take command of American forces in the European Theater. On 25 June 1942, he designated Eisenhower Commanding General, European Theater, with headquarters in London."

• [Source: Dwight David Eisenhower - the Centennial]

However, it's not quite true to say that:

"The position George Marshal had in mind for Ike was Supreme Allied Commander Europe"

since that position didn't actually exist when Eisenhower was posted to London.

Another critical factor was that Eisenhower was also extremely good at working with people. He:

"... persuaded the British to accept it in lieu of the committee system to which they were accustomed. His personal qualities played a large part in gaining acceptance of a much more centralized and powerful Allied command than had existed in World War 1. Men instinctively trusted him, and his measured approach to command reinforced a conviction that he was an honest broker whose central purpose was the defeat of the enemy, rather than the pursuit of any national agenda."

• [Source: Dwight David Eisenhower - the Centennial]

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In essence, he had the trust of General Marshall in the United States, and also of Winston Churchill and the senior Britsh military staff. He had the political skills that he had acquired while working for MacArthur in Washington, and a clear understanding of the strategy that should be pursued (after all, he had drafted it!). He was the logical choice for Supreme Allied Commander Europe when the need for that role was recognised.

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Sources

• Sixsmith, Eric Keir Gilborne: Eisenhower as Military Commander, Stein and Day, 1973
• U.S. Army: Dwight David Eisenhower - the Centennial, Washington, 1990

Answer 2

The organizer of the American army was one George C. Marshall, a "civilian" General who was perhaps better known for his diplomatic achievements (e.g. the Marshall Plan as Secretary of State), than for his military prowess.

The one thing that the U.S. Army excelled in was logistics, that is, supplying its troops. That made the U.S. Army very good, even though its soldiers and officers were no better (and possibly worse) than anyone else's. American units won battles because they had more air and artillery support, and ammunition supplies than those of other armies, even though they didn't do that well on the (rare) occasions where they were only "equally" armed.

With the possible exception of George Patton, Marshall's appointments distinguished themselves on the logistical rather than tactical side: Dwight Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, Mark Clark, Lloyd Fredenall, and others. The last two proved to be tactically inept commanders, Eisenhower and Bradley were adequate in this regard, and Patton was the standout in this group; his Third Army advanced further and faster than any other American army.

Answer 3

Ike was selected because he was a good politician: he could work with the British well.

At the end of December 1941, for example, he accompanied Marshall to the Arcadia Conference at which the United States and Great Britain confirmed their "Germany first" strategy and created the Combined Chiefs of Staff to direct the war. Winston Churchill, who met Eisenhower at the conference, was impressed by his trenchant assessment of the European situation...

The cumulative effect of Eisenhower's staff work in the War Department and his dealings with the British convinced General Marshall that this was the man to take command of American forces in the European Theater. On 25 June 1942, he designated Eisenhower Commanding General, European Theater, with headquarters in London.

Answer 4

When in the Navy, we were told that up to the rank of Captain (Army Colonel) advancement was because of accomplishment. But once you became an Admiral (Army General) advancement was through politics.

Eisenhower's advancement seems to have been largely political all the way. Impressing Winston Churchill would certainly have been a BIG factor in Ike's promotion to the position. Also, in multinational operations, over-all command has traditionally gone to the country with the largest number of troops, so the Command would have to be an American General.