Everyone remembers the principal players in World War II: Adolf Hitler, Winston Churchill, Joseph Stalin, and Franklin Roosevelt. What many people fail to remember is that there are a number of other famous people that affected the outcome of the war. Below are a few of the people that contributed greatly to World War II and its final outcome:
Charles De Gaulle was instrumental in holding the African front against the German advances. The former undersecretary of war fled France to form the Free French Forces movement in London, and he played a part in holding French colonial territories in Africa.
Karl Doenitz was the man in charge of the campaign by the German U-boats to prevent supply shipments sent by the US from reaching the UK. Winston Churchill was heard to remark that this was the most worrisome aspect of the war, but unfortunately Doenitz was not as successful as Hitler had hoped. However, once Hitler committed suicide in the last days of the war, Doenitz became Germany's last Fuhrer until the war ended 9 days after his ascension.
Dwight D. Eisenhower was a general in World War II that went on to become the President of the United States. He was first given the control of the European theatres in the middle of 1942, but he soon took control of North African landings. He eventually became Commander of the Allied Forces in Africa in February of 1943, and successfully invaded Sicily and Italy. He was the person responsible for keeping Gen. Montgomery and other Allied commanders working smoothly together and was renowned for his skill at handling operations of the combined Allied forces. He was the person ultimately responsible for the success of D-Day and the Normandy landing in June of 1944, which led to the eventual triumph of Allied forces on the European continent.
World War II, Men, De Gaulle, Doenitz, Eisenhower