Hodges, Courtney (1887-1966)

US general; one of the most competent, if not so well-known, US commanders of World War II. He organized the US landings on Omaha and Utah beaches on D-Day and succeeded Bradley in command of 1st Army August 1944. By October he had led the army through Luxembourg and Belgium, broken through the Siegfried Line, and captured Aachen. He held and eventually repulsed the main thrust of the German attack in the Battle of the Bulge and went on to cross the Rhine and link up with 9th Army in encircling the Ruhr pocket.

He was chief of military intelligence until 1942, when he took over the Replacement and Training organization for a short time before moving to take command of X Corps. He was promoted to lieutenant-general 1943 and became deputy commander of the US 1st Army under General Bradley.