I guess Ike probably deserves the title for Allied military commanders, but there were quite a few good ones out there.
Don't guess Soundbreaker, pick the best guy and be prepared to explain WHY he was so good!
I am surprised that the great US adminstrators are not on the list.......Nimitz, and Marshal in particular. These men were the architects of the US victory.
Marshall is on the list, Parsifal. As I mentioned, he picked Ike for Supreme Command - and put Europe back together quick enough to check Stalin.
But soldiers shape both the battle and the peace - and George Marshall as military leader and Churchill as political leader would be my choice.
MM
Ok, I am going to shock some more sensibilities here... The US
Strategic Command was the
WORST of all the Allies, and if the American plans had been follow instead of the British, there is a good chance of the Allies LOSING the war in the ETO.
However, first off, I'm going to give top marks to Marshall as
administrator as Parsifal mentioned, for building up the Army, annd also top marks for re-building Europe, as mentioned before.
However he was poor at
Military planning
The
"Top 4" US leadership.
1.) Sec. of War - Stimson.
2.) Chief of the Army - Gen. Marshall
3.) Head of the Navy - Adm. King
4.) US Air Force - Gen Arnold
As Sec of State, Stimson closed down the US cryptoanalysis program, as he said "Gentlemem don't read each other's mail"
After the attack on Pearl Harbour, he was considering defending the Rocky Mountains if Japan invaded the west coast...
Both Stimson Marshall were solidly if favor of a direct 1942 attack in France,{Sledgehammer} to "Help the Soviets". This plan was an unmitigated disaster, and would have actually made things WORSE for the Soviets. In later years, Eisenhower {who had been asked to draw up the plan} was honest enough to admit that the planned attack was hopeless, and by taking up to a quarter-million casualties, may have prompted the US Congress to withdraw from the European war.
For preparation for Torch, Marshall wanted to mount an attack against only against the Atlantic coast, gaining only a single port, {Casablanca}, and then use the rickety French built railway to supply the entire army over 1,000 miles distant. The British insisted that the ports of Oran Algiers be attacked at the same time, to prevent the defenders from destroying port facilities, and to provide 2 more ports over 400 miles farther East.
Admiral King was perhaps the worst of the US leaders, his refusal to organize convoys, or to allow any coastal blackouts doomed hundres of thousands of tons of Allied shipping. Even when shipping companies offered to provide maritime air patrol, he refused to allow it.