Sold – Dwight D. Eisenhower World War II Letter to Omar Bradley

From 1941 to 1944 America and its Allies pursued the goal of defeating "Germany First." Their strategy rested on a key assumption – ultimately there would have to be a massive invasion of northwest Europe aimed at the heart of the Axis empire. This would reduce German pressure on the Soviet Union by creating a true "second front" in Europe, and trap Germany between the Soviets in the east and the Americans and British in the west.

The invasion of the continent was to be launched from England, and was a go-for-broke action, with Eisenhower, its commander, saying "This operation is not being planned with any alternatives. This operation is planned as a victory, and that’s the way it’s going to be. We’re going down there, and we’re throwing everything we have into it, and we’re going to make it a success."

In the summer of 1942 the first major units arrived in the England from the United States, and throughout 1943 American troops continued to pour in, as did materiel. By D-Day, there were about 1.5 million Americans, with their vehicles, stores and ammunition in England, mainly concentrated in the southern portion. The total population of England at the time was just 35 million, with perhaps 20 million in the south, so about one person in fourteen in southern England was American (that would be the equivalent of 20 million Britains in the U.S. today).

American servicemen were everywhere it seemed. Mainly, they were warmly welcomed and cooperation between the Allies was high, but everyone had heard the sardonic maxim that the problem with the American troops was that they were “Oversexed, overpaid, and over here.” The U.S. leadership was concerned that the American presence not be obtrusive, obnoxious or obstructive, and as this letter shows, took every measure to be perceived as good neighbors.

Omar Bradley was commander of the U.S. First Army. He had been a classmate of Eisenhower’s at West Point in the famed class of 1915, which came to be known as "the class the stars fell on" because so many of its members became generals. Bradley had Eisenhower’s complete trust; Ike considered him indispensable. When a delicate diplomatic issue arose that required Americans to be seen as grateful guests and not interlopers, Ike wrote Bradley about it.

Typed Letter Signed on his engraved Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Force letterhead, April 10, 1944, to Lt. General Bradley (whom he addresses informally as “Dear Bradley”). “My attention has been invited by the British authorities to the grave risk of a serious water shortage in the south and east of England which has been caused by an abnormally dry winter. Apparently, even if there is a heavy rainfall during the next few weeks, the deficiency will not be made up before summer comes. Will you please issue the necessary instructions to everyone under your command that the strictest economy must be exercised in the use of water, particularly in the above mentioned areas. We must be especially careful since the existing shortage is aggravated by the numbers of U.S. personnel now serving in the U.K., and I want to be very careful to avoid criticism, and to be sure that existing water resources are husbanded.”

This is the only war date letter of Eisenhower to Bradley we have ever seen, and illustrates the extent of Ike’s determination to keep his English hosts happy. It is also a wonderful memento of the preparation for D-Day, which occurred just two months later.