Profession: British WWII General
Biography: Dempsey was one of Britain's most accomplished and highly regarded generals during World War II, popular with both his superiors and his subordinates. He first entered the British Army aged 17 during World War I and was wounded during a German offensive in France. In the interwar period, he served with the Army in Persia, Iraq, South Africa and at various military schools in England.
During World War II he had a close relationship with British commander Bernard Montgomery. After commanding a brigade in France in 1940, he trained troops in England until 1942, and then commanded XIII Corps during the invasions of Sicily and Italy.
Dempsey commanded the Second Army during the invasion of Normandy in 1944. During the battle for Normandy his army made rapid advances across French territory, and later into the conflict he was the first British commander to cross the Rhine river into Germany, on 23 March 1945.
Born: December 15, 1896
Birthplace: New Brighton, Cheshire, England
Generation: Lost Generation
Star Sign: Sagittarius
Historical Events
- 1944-06-01 Allied generals Bernard Montgomery, George S. Patton, Omar Bradley, Miles Dempsey and Harry Crerar meet in Portsmouth, England just prior to D-Day
- 1944-08-13 Allied generals Bernard Montgomery, Miles Dempsey and Omar Bradley discuss a future breakthrough in the European theatre during World War II
- 1945-03-23 Lt. Gen. Miles Dempsey becomes the first British commander to cross the Rhine during the Allied invasion of Germany
Leslie Groves
Martin Dempsey
Myles Standish
Alexander Patch
Georgy Zhukov
Omar Bradley