Dwight D. Eisenhower
Perang Dunia II (1939-1945) > Komandan Sekutu Tertinggi dan Operasi Overlord

Pada bulan Desember 1943, Presiden Roosevelt memutuskan bahwa Eisenhower – bukan Marshall – akan menjadi Panglima Tertinggi Sekutu di Eropa. Bulan berikutnya, ia melanjutkan komando ETOUSA dan bulan berikutnya secara resmi ditunjuk sebagai Komandan Tertinggi Sekutu dari Pasukan Ekspedisi Sekutu (SHAEF), melayani dalam peran ganda sampai akhir permusuhan  di Eropa pada Mei 1945. Dia didakwa dalam posisi ini dengan perencanaan dan pelaksanaan serangan di pantai Normandia Sekutu pada Juni 1944 dengan nama sandi Operasi Overlord, pembebasan Eropa Barat dan invasi jerman.
Eisenhower, as well as the officers and troops under him, had learned valuable lessons in their previous operations, and their skills had all strengthened in preparation for the next most difficult campaign against the Germans—a beach landing assault. His first struggles, however, were with Allied leaders and officers on matters vital to the success of the Normandy invasion; he argued with Roosevelt over an essential agreement with De Gaulle to use French resistance forces in covert and sabotage operations against the Germans in advance of Operation Overlord. Admiral Ernest J. King fought with Eisenhower over King's refusal to provide additional landing craft from the Pacific. Eisenhower also insisted that the British give him exclusive command over all strategic air forces to facilitate Overlord, to the point of threatening to resign unless Churchill relented, which he did. Eisenhower then designed a bombing plan in France in advance of Overlord and argued with Churchill over the latter's concern with civilian casualties; de Gaulle interjected that the casualties were justified in shedding the yoke of the Germans, and Eisenhower prevailed. Dia juga harus dengan terampil mengatur untuk mempertahankan layanan George S. Patton yang sering nakal, dengan menegurnya dengan keras ketika Patton sebelumnya telah menampar bawahannya, dan kemudian ketika Patton  memberikan pidato di mana dia membuat komentar yang tidak pantas tentang kebijakan pascaperang.
The D-Day Normandy landings on June 6, 1944, were costly but successful. Two months later (August 15), the invasion of Southern France took place, and control of forces in the southern invasion passed from the AFHQ to the SHAEF. Many thought that victory in Europe would come by summer's end, but the Germans did not capitulate for almost a year. From then until the end of the war in Europe on May 8, 1945, Eisenhower, through SHAEF, commanded all Allied forces, and through his command of ETOUSA had administrative command of all U.S. forces on the Western Front north of the Alps. He was ever mindful of the inevitable loss of life and suffering that would be experienced on an individual level by the troops under his command and their families. This prompted him to make a point of visiting every division involved in the invasion. Eisenhower's sense of responsibility was underscored by his draft of a statement to be issued if the invasion failed. It has been called one of the great speeches of history:
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