Lewis H. Brereton
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Lewis Hyde Brereton (June 21, 1890 – July 20, 1967) was a military aviation pioneer and
lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
in the
United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
. A 1911 graduate of the
United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...
, he began his military career as a
United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
officer in the
United States Army Coast Artillery Corps The U.S. Army Coast Artillery Corps (CAC) was an administrative corps responsible for coastal, harbor, and anti-aircraft defense of the United States and its possessions between 1901 and 1950. The CAC also operated heavy and railway artillery ...
prior to
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, then spent the remainder of his service as a career aviator. Brereton was one of the few senior U.S. commanders in
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
who served in combat theaters continuously from the
Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...
attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...
to the
German surrender The German Instrument of Surrender (german: Bedingungslose Kapitulation der Wehrmacht, lit=Unconditional Capitulation of the "Wehrmacht"; russian: Акт о капитуляции Германии, Akt o kapitulyatsii Germanii, lit=Act of capit ...
, and he saw action in more theaters than any other senior officer. He began World War II as a major general commanding the Far East Air Force in the Philippines and concluded it as a lieutenant general in command of the
First Allied Airborne Army The First Allied Airborne Army was an Allied formation formed on 2 August 1944 by the order of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force. The formation was part of the Allied Expeditionary For ...
in Germany. Brereton commanded forces in four controversial events of the war: the destruction on the ground of much of the
United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
in the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
,
Operation Tidal Wave Operation Tidal Wave was an air attack by bombers of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) based in Libya on nine oil refineries around Ploiești, Romania on 1 August 1943, during World War II. It was a strategic bombing mission and part of ...
;
Operation Cobra Operation Cobra was the codename for an offensive launched by the United States First Army under Lieutenant General Omar Bradley seven weeks after the D-Day landings, during the Normandy campaign of World War II. The intention was to take adv ...
; and
Operation Market Garden Operation Market Garden was an Allies of World War II, Allied military operation during the World War II, Second World War fought in the Netherlands from 17 to 27 September 1944. Its objective was to create a Salient (military), salient into G ...
.Dr. Miller was a USAF historian. The title of his history of Brereton was part of a larger characterization of Brereton by a former subordinate, Major General Cecil F. Combs: "a cocky, aggressive, intelligent, experienced, pretty damn able commander." Brereton was one of the first military pilots of the United States Army, assigned to the
Aeronautical Division, U.S. Signal Corps The Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps, Appendix 2 (1907–1914) was the first heavier-than-air military aviation organization in history and the progenitor of the United States Air Force. A component of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, the Aeronaut ...
in September 1912. He was also one of five officers (the others being
General of the Air Force General of the Air Force (GAF) is a five-star general officer rank and is the highest possible rank in the United States Air Force. General of the Air Force ranks immediately above a general and is equivalent to General of the Army in the Unit ...
Henry H. Arnold Henry Harley Arnold (June 25, 1886 – January 15, 1950) was an American general officer holding the ranks of General of the Army and later, General of the Air Force. Arnold was an aviation pioneer, Chief of the Air Corps (1938–1941), ...
, Major Generals
Frank P. Lahm Frank Purdy Lahm (November 17, 1877 – July 7, 1963) was an American aviation pioneer, the "nation's first military aviator", and a general officer in the United States Army Air Corps and Army Air Forces. Lahm developed an interest in flying f ...
and Benjamin D. Foulois, and Brigadier General Thomas DeW. Milling) who were members of the United States Air Force and all of its progenitors, but the only one to do so on continuous active duty (Arnold, Lahm, Foulois, and Milling were all on the retired list when the USAF came into being).


Early life and career


Family and personality

Brereton was born in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
, in 1890, the second son of William Denny Brereton and Helen (Hyde) Brereton. The family moved to
Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
while Brereton's older brother, William Jr., was a
midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...
at the Naval Academy. His father was a successful mining engineer and a 4th-generation Irish-American. His mother was English and Episcopalian by birth. At the age of eight, Brereton suffered a recurring infection of the middle ear, purulent otitis media, which proved impossible to treat in the pre-antibiotics era. His personality characteristics were said to be "cool and thoughtful", able to "think rapidly on his feet", with a "quick, analytical mind". However, he was also said to have an "appropriate temper" and "able to swear in three or four languages", a "party-loving streak", and when referring to himself, to use the
third person Third person, or third-person, may refer to: * Third person (grammar), a point of view (in English, ''he'', ''she'', ''it'', and ''they'') ** Illeism, the act of referring to oneself in the third person * Third-person narrative, a perspective in p ...
. He had a reputation, especially among critics, for being hedonistic. Gen. Omar N. Bradley, who intensely disliked Brereton, was quoted by a biographer of
Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
as saying that Brereton was "marginally competent ... (and) more interested in living in the biggest French chateau".D'Este also asserts that Brereton was a "protected protégé" of Arnold's, but despite four decades as peers in the army, they in fact had no personal history and never served together in any capacity. However, from July 1942 to the end of the war, Brereton had a close association with and was well-regarded by
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
Air Marshal Sir Arthur Coningham, who found in him not just a fellow
bon vivant ''Bon'', also spelled Bön () and also known as Yungdrung Bon (, "eternal Bon"), is a Tibetan religious tradition with many similarities to Tibetan Buddhism and also many unique features.Samuel 2012, pp. 220-221. Bon initially developed in t ...
but an effective air commander on whom he could rely for efficient and competent cooperation."Mary" Coningham was frequently criticized for similar off-duty living habits throughout the war, like Brereton primarily by his detractors in the ground forces, which included Bradley. (Orange, pp. 144-145, 163, 221)


Aviation training

He attended St. John's College in Annapolis with the intention of entering
West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
, but unable to secure an appointment, he followed his older brother into the Naval Academy in 1907, graduating in June 1911, ranked 58th in merit in a class of 194. In March 1911, he submitted a letter of resignation effective on the date of graduation, listing
seasickness Motion sickness occurs due to a difference between actual and expected motion. Symptoms commonly include nausea, vomiting, cold sweat, headache, dizziness, tiredness, loss of appetite, and increased salivation. Complications may rarely include d ...
as a primary reason, and as a result, the Academy's Permanent Medical Examining Board rejected him for active duty. After two days as an
ensign An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign (also known as war ensign), used on warships, may be diffe ...
, his resignation was accepted. He applied for commissioning in the United States Army and was appointed a
second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...
in the Coast Artillery Corps on August 17, 1911, and went on active duty September 6 with the 118th Company CAC at
Fort Monroe Fort Monroe, managed by partnership between the Fort Monroe Authority for the Commonwealth of Virginia, the National Park Service as the Fort Monroe National Monument, and the City of Hampton, is a former military installation in Hampton, Virgi ...
,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
., entry "Brereton, Lewis Hyde" The next year he served in the 17th Company CAC at Fort Washington,
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
. In September 1912, he volunteered for detached service with the Signal Corps' Aeronautical Division to undertake flying training at the planned aviation school at
Rockwell Field Rockwell Field is a former United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) military airfield, located northwest of the city of Coronado, California, on the northern part of the Coronado Peninsula across the bay from San Diego, California. This airfield ...
,
San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
. He became the 26th serving officer so detailed. The lack of facilities at Rockwell forced most of his training to take place at the
Curtiss Aeroplane Company Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company (1909 – 1929) was an American aircraft manufacturer originally founded by Glenn Hammond Curtiss and Augustus Moore Herring in Hammondsport, New York. After significant commercial success in its first decades ...
in
Hammondsport, New York Hammondsport is a village at the south end of Keuka Lake, in Steuben County, one of the Finger Lakes of New York, United States. The Village of Hammondsport is in the Town of Urbana and is northeast of Bath. History Lazarus Hammond founded ...
during October 1912. Brereton returned to Rockwell in November, and after the Signal Corps Aviation School officially opened in December, passed the test qualifying him for a rating of Military Aviator on March 27, 1913, the 10th pilot to earn the rating.Brereton had to complete the required
Aero Club of America The Aero Club of America was a social club formed in 1905 by Charles Jasper Glidden and Augustus Post, among others, to promote aviation in America. It was the parent organization of numerous state chapters, the first being the Aero Club of New ...
's certification test twice because the first was not presented in the proper order to the ACA Secretary's satisfaction.
He began to train and instruct on
float plane A floatplane is a type of seaplane with one or more slender floats mounted under the fuselage to provide buoyancy. By contrast, a flying boat uses its fuselage for buoyancy. Either type of seaplane may also have landing gear suitable for land, ...
s but experienced two crashes, the first as pilot of a fatal crash of a
Curtiss F The Curtiss Models F made up a family of early flying boats developed in the United States in the years leading up to World War I. Widely produced, Model Fs saw service with the United States Navy under the designations C-2 through C-5, later ...
on April 8, 1913,1Lt. Rex Chandler, a student, was killed in the crash of Signal Corps No. 15 when he was knocked unconscious and drowned. and the second as an observer on May 21. At his own request, Brereton was relieved of aviation duties on July 3, 1913. He returned to the Coast Artillery Corps, posted to the 115th Company at
Fort Rosecrans Naval Base Point Loma (NBPL) is located in Point Loma, a neighborhood of San Diego, California. It was established on 1 October 1998 when Navy facilities in the Point Loma area of San Diego were consolidated under Commander, Navy Region Southwest ...
, on the
Point Loma Point Loma (Spanish: ''Punta de la Loma'', meaning "Hill Point"; Kumeyaay: ''Amat Kunyily'', meaning "Black Earth") is a seaside community within the city of San Diego, California. Geographically it is a hilly peninsula that is bordered on the w ...
peninsula across the channel from Rockwell. While stationed in San Diego, he married Helen Clason Willis on February 27, 1913, and subsequently had two children. In July 1916, he was promoted to
first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a s ...
and sent to the
Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...
to join the 1st Company, Fort Mills (138th Company CAC) on Corregidor. Less than two months later he requested to return to the Aviation Section, Signal Corps. Because of the "Manchu Law" regulating length of detached service away from an officer's permanent branch,The "Detached Service Law," familiarly known in the Army as the "Manchu Law," was a provision of the Army appropriations act passed by Congress on 24 August 1912 that required a ''Detached Officers List'' be kept by the Army to enforce its regulation limiting the amount of time an officer could spend away from the organization in which he was commissioned. Prior to passage of the act, detached service was limited by policy, using a regulation created and enforced by War Department General Order No. 68 (26 May 1911), issued in response to criticism of the forming of a General Staff in 1903, which many philosophically opposed in a standing army. The regulation was also intended to curb favoritism shown in embassy and other "soft living" assignments perceived as "homesteading," and affected many Army agencies and all aviation officers except those permanently assigned to the Signal Corps. The regulation varied in wording from year to year but all variations stressed that at least one-third of an officer's time in service be spent with a "troop unit." Regulations in succeeding years tended to be more complex and legalistic as challenges to the policy grew in the officer ranks, and after 1914, included all officers in the grade of colonel or lower. The regulation required an officer to serve troop duty in his "arm of the service" (branch) for at least two years in any six-year period. Leave, illness, and travel time did not count towards the two required years. The Manchu Law was rigorously enforced by the General Staff and was much hated by the field forces. It was suspended during World War I and repealed by the
National Defense Act of 1920 The National Defense Act of 1920 (or Kahn Act) was sponsored by United States Representative Julius Kahn, Republican of California. This legislation updated the National Defense Act of 1916 to reorganize the United States Army and decentralize ...
. The term arose in usage comparing staff officers sent back to their regiments to bureaucrats of the
Manchu dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
ousted by revolution in China at the same time.
Brereton first transferred to the
17th Field Artillery Regiment The 17th Field Artillery Regiment is a field artillery regiment of the United States Army first formed in 1916. History The 17th Field Artillery was constituted 1 July 1916 in the Regular Army at Camp Robinson, Wisconsin. Current Status of Reg ...
to qualify,''Register of the Army of the United States, 1921'', Adjutant General's Office, p. 1088The 17th Field Artillery had been constituted in July 1916 but was not yet organized, thereby providing a vacancy for Brereton to fill. The move allowed Brereton to be placed on the Detached Service List without waiting for a vacancy to open by removal from it of another Coast Artillery officer in the same grade. and was assigned to duty with the 2nd Aero Squadron, also stationed on Corregidor, on January 17, 1917. Returning to the United States in March 1917, he was assigned to duty in Washington, D.C., at the Aviation Section headquarters in the Office of the Chief Signal Officer.


Air Service in World War I

After
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
began, Brereton entered flying training a second time at
Hazelhurst Field Roosevelt Field is a former airport, located east-southeast of Mineola, Long Island, New York. Originally called the Hempstead Plains Aerodrome, or sometimes Hempstead Plains field or the Garden City Aerodrome, it was a training field (Hazel ...
,
Mineola, New York Mineola is a village in and the county seat of Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 18,799 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from an Algonquin Chief, Miniolagamika, which means "pleasant village". ...
. While in pilot training he was promoted to
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
on May 15, 1917, and his rating was revised to Junior Military Aviator on June 27.The law creating the Aviation Section in 1914 included a provision requiring three years' service as a JMA before being eligible for a Military Aviator rating, and all those previously awarded the rating were re-rated as JMAs. Following World War I, Brereton received his MA rating back for "distinguished service." (Davis, p. 678, note 50) During most of the remainder of 1917, he worked in the Equipment Division at Aviation Section headquarters under Col. Benjamin D. Foulois. In November, when Foulois was promoted to brigadier general and sent to France to command the Air Service of the AEF, he took with him over 100 members of his staff, including Brereton. Although initially sent to a
Services of Supply The Services of Supply or "SOS" branch of the Army of the USA was created on 28 February 1942 by Executive Order Number 9082 "Reorganizing the Army and the War Department" and War Department Circular No. 59, dated 2 March 1942. Services of Supp ...
unit, Brereton's JMA rating enabled him to enter advanced flying training at
Issoudun Issoudun () is a commune in the Indre department, administrative region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is also referred to as ''Issoundun'', which is the ancient name. Geography Location Issoudun is a sub-prefecture, located in the east ...
, which qualified him to take command of the 12th Aero Squadron on March 1, 1918.Miller (Part I) states that Brereton while on an inspection trip found the 12th Aero Squadron performing labor duties at the Amanty training center. Its commander expressed a preference for bombardment duty to Brereton, who arranged a transfer so that he himself could take command. His unit had no aircraft on his arrival, and he could only procure a dozen obsolete Dorand AR.IsThe "AR" stood for ''Avion Renault'', but American pilots quipped that it stood for "antique rattletrap". to fly until first-line Salmson 2 A2s became available. The 12th A.S. began combat operations from Ourches airdrome on May 3, patrolling the "
Toul Toul () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Geography Toul is between Commercy and Nancy, and the river Moselle and Canal de la Marne au Rhin. Climate Toul h ...
Sector" between
Flirey Flirey () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France. Birthplace of Rin Tin Tin Following advances made by American forces during the Battle of Saint-Mihiel, Corporal Lee Duncan, an aerial gunner of the U.S. Army A ...
and Apremont in support of the U.S. 26th Division Brereton and his pilots moved overland to Vathiménil to receive their Salmsons in the first week of June and carried out extensive operations between
Blâmont Blâmont () is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in northeastern France. Population Sights The Château de Blâmont is the medieval castle below which the city grew. See also *Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department *Flor ...
and
Badonviller Badonviller (; ) is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in northeastern France. Geography Climate Badonviller has a oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification ''Cfb''). The average annual temperature in Badonviller is . The aver ...
in the "
Baccarat Baccarat or baccara (; ) is a card game played at casinos. It is a comparing card game played between two hands, the "player" and the "banker". Each baccarat coup (round of play) has three possible outcomes: "player" (player has the higher score ...
Sector" for three weeks supporting the U.S. 42nd Division. Brereton left the 12th Aero Squadron on July 1, was promoted to major on July 2 and three days later became Air Service Officer to the
I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to: France * 1st Army Corps (France) * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French A ...
. When the U.S. 2nd Division attacked Chateau-Thierry in mid-July, Brereton flew the first artillery adjustment mission near Vaux with his old command. Chateau-Thierry brought him to the attention of Brig. Gen.
Billy Mitchell William Lendrum Mitchell (December 29, 1879 – February 19, 1936) was a United States Army officer who is regarded as the father of the United States Air Force. Mitchell served in France during World War I and, by the conflict's end, command ...
, who assigned him command of the Corps Observation Wing on August 28, supervising the observation groups of three corps, one army, and a French group, in preparation for the St-Mihiel Offensive. On September 12, 1918, while flying a troops-in-contact observation mission on the first day of the offensive, Brereton became involved in an air-to-air combat over Thiaucourt that earned him the
Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) The Distinguished Service Cross (DSC) is a military decoration awarded to ...
Citations/notations for both DSCs, both DSMs, SS, and LM are listed here. Mitchell, now the Chief of Air Service, Group of Armies and ''de facto'' commander of all U.S. air combat units, made Brereton his assistant for operations on October 26. Brereton was promoted to temporary lieutenant colonel on November 1. Less than 3 weeks before the end of the war, he proposed a plan to drop members of the 1st Division on the German-occupied city of
Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...
, in what would have been the first parachute airborne assault. While Mitchell supported the plan, General
John Pershing General of the Armies John Joseph Pershing (September 13, 1860 – July 15, 1948), nicknamed "Black Jack", was a senior United States Army officer. He served most famously as the commander of the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) on the Wes ...
shelved it. After the armistice, he was appointed chief of staff, Third Army Air Service, under Mitchell, on November 19, 1918, for occupation duty in Germany until February 1919.


Inter-war service

Upon his return to the United States in early 1919, he was assigned to the Office of the Director of Air Service, Major General Charles T. Menoher. When Menoher, acting under an executive order issued by President
Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...
, reorganized the office in March and established a "divisional system", Brereton was picked as Chief of the Operations Division, Training and Operations Group, again under Mitchell.War Department Special Orders 95-0, para. 110, 23 April 1919, awarded Brereton, Mitchell, and four other officers (Lt. Col. John N. Reynolds, Major Carl A. Spaatz, Major Melvin A. Hall, and Captain Reed M. Chambers) the rating of "Military Aviator" for "distinguished service" in France during the war, the only six awarded for service. When the Military Aviator rating was abolished in 1920, these six were permitted to keep it. (Davis, p. 678, note 50.) He remained there until December 1919, when he became an assistant military attaché for air at the U.S. Embassy, Paris, France, under Ambassador Myron T. Herrick. Brereton served in Paris until August 1922, where he learned "to speak French with a Parisian accent", and to "appreciate fine
wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
". On July 1, 1920, the date that the Air Service was given statutory existence as a combatant arm of the line, Brereton transferred from the Field Artillery in the permanent establishment rank of major, a rank he held for the next 15 years. Brereton became commanding officer of the 10th School Group on September 1, 1922 at
Kelly Field Kelly Field (formerly Kelly Air Force Base) is a Joint-Use facility located in San Antonio, Texas. It was originally named after George E. M. Kelly, the first member of the U.S. military killed in the crash of an airplane he was piloting. In ...
,
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
, responsible for the advanced flying training of pilot candidates. At Kelly, Brereton successively became Assistant Commandant of the Advanced Flying Training School, Director of Attack Training, and President of the Board of Attack Aviation. On February 5, 1923, while on an inspection tour, Mitchell relieved the inexperienced commander of the 3rd Attack Group, at that time one of only three combat groups in the Air Service, and replaced him with Brereton. During this period the 3rd Attack Group conducted field tests on the new
Boeing GA-1 The Boeing GA-1 (company designation Model 10) was an armored triplane. Designed in 1919, it was powered by a pair of modified Liberty engines driving pusher propellers. The first of the Engineering Division's heavily armored GAX series (groun ...
, a heavily armed and armored attack aircraft, ultimately determining it to be unfit for combat service. On September 16, 1924 he transferred to
Langley Field Langley may refer to: People * Langley (surname), a common English surname, including a list of notable people with the name * Dawn Langley Simmons (1922–2000), English author and biographer * Elizabeth Langley (born 1933), Canadian perform ...
as an instructor at the Air Service Tactical School for its 1924–1925 term.


Personal difficulties

On June 4, 1925, Brereton was named commanding officer of the 2nd Bombardment Group at Langley Field,In a practice common to the Army in that era, as commanding officer of the 2d Bomb Group Brereton was "dual-hatted" as commanding officer of the 15th School Group, an
Organized Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces. Since July 2020 ...
unit allocated to the Air Service Tactical School, and its 54th School Squadron. ()
and was summoned to Washington in November as associate counsel for the defense at the
court martial A court-martial or court martial (plural ''courts-martial'' or ''courts martial'', as "martial" is a postpositive adjective) is a military court or a trial conducted in such a court. A court-martial is empowered to determine the guilt of memb ...
of now-Col. Mitchell for insubordination.
Subpoena A subpoena (; also subpœna, supenna or subpena) or witness summons is a writ issued by a government agency, most often a court, to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of ...
ed as a witness in November 1925, he was not called to testify. In July 1926, the Air Service became the Air Corps in the aftermath of Mitchell's conviction and resignation from the service. During 1927, Brereton experienced a stressful amount of friction with superiors over his membership on technical boards, which required an inordinate amount of time from his command duties at 2nd BG. His 14-year marriage, never strong, was disintegrating and he developed a negative reputation for drinking. On April 7, the
Huff-Daland LB-1 The Huff-Daland LB-1 was an American biplane light bomber aircraft operated by the United States Army Air Service in the 1920s. Derived from the XLB-1 prototype bought by the Army in 1923, the LB-1 development aircraft was powered by a single ...
bomber he was flying crash-landed near the Back River after an engine quit during takeoff. Returning to Langley from maneuvers in Texas on May 28, Brereton was the copilot of the XLB-5 when it experienced catastrophic engine failure over
Reynoldsburg, Ohio Reynoldsburg is a city in Fairfield, Franklin, and Licking counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. It is a suburban community in the Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area. The population was 41,076 at the 2020 census. History Reynoldsburg was origina ...
, and crashed, killing a passenger who failed to parachute from the craft. Ten days later Brereton requested a medical leave of two months to deal with an "incipient ...
fear of flying Fear of flying is a fear of being on an airplane, or other flying vehicle, such as a helicopter, while in flight. It is also referred to as flying anxiety, flying phobia, flight phobia, aviophobia, aerophobia, or pteromechanophobia (although a ...
". Although a preliminary medical leave was granted, his wife left him to file for
divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the ...
in June 1927,Per Miller, Part II, Brereton's ''New York Times'' obituary stated that the divorce was not final until 1929. and he suffered "nervous anxiety, insomnia, and nightmares" from the strain. These culminated in the issuance of a reprimand for being
Absent Without Leave Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which a ...
for 24 hours in a misunderstanding over an assignment to lead an aerial escort for
Charles A. Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...
's return from France. In August 1927, after private treatment for his emotional problems, Brereton was restored to flying status by a flight surgeon, found not to be an
alcoholic Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomina ...
, and accepted into the
Command and General Staff School The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...
at
Fort Leavenworth Fort Leavenworth () is a United States Army installation located in Leavenworth County, Kansas, in the city of Leavenworth, Kansas, Leavenworth. Built in 1827, it is the second oldest active United States Army post west of Washington, D.C., an ...
,
Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...
, for which he had been rejected in 1919. He did poorly, and although he successfully completed the course, it was recommended that he receive no further advanced training. His post-graduation assignment to headquarters of the
First Corps Area 60px, First Service Command insignia The First Corps Area was a Corps area (effectively a military district) of the United States Army 1921-1942. It replaced the Northeastern Department, and was headquartered in Boston Army Base, Massachusetts ...
in New York City was cancelled by Maj Gen. Preston Brown, who felt he did not have the requisite social skills.Gen. Brown commanded the 2nd Division at Chateau-Thierry and had thought well of Brereton's command capabilities. Instead he was assigned to command of the
88th Observation Squadron The 436th Training Squadron is a non-flying training squadron of the United States Air Force. The 436th Training Squadron, located at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, is a geographically separated unit (GSU) within Air Combat Command’s 552nd Air ...
at
Post Field Henry Post Army Airfield is a military use airport located at Fort Sill in Comanche County, Oklahoma, United States. This military airport is owned by United States Army. Established as Post Field in 1917, it was one of thirty-two Air Service ...
,
Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...
, as well as instructor at the Army Field Artillery School at
Fort Sill Fort Sill is a United States Army post north of Lawton, Oklahoma, about 85 miles (136.8 km) southwest of Oklahoma City. It covers almost . The fort was first built during the Indian Wars. It is designated as a National Historic Landmark ...
, from July 1928 to August 1931.In this assignment, Brereton was also Aviation Officer to the inactive 5th Division from August 15, 1928, to February 15, 1929, when all divisional aviation services were demobilized throughout the Army. () While stationed in Oklahoma, Brereton remarried, to Icy V. Larkin, and his officer fitness reports, which had fallen to "average" during most of his time in the Air Corps, returned to "excellent".


Restoration of reputation

Between July 7, 1931 and June 20, 1935, Brereton served in the
Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...
. He concurrently commanded the 6th Composite Group, based at
France Field France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, and the Panama Air Depot. His superior in Panama was the same Gen. Brown who had rejected him for duty at First Corps Area headquarters, but Brereton's work performance reversed the general's earlier opinions and he received excellent ratings that restored the professional reputation nearly destroyed in 1927. On March 4, 1935, he received promotion to lieutenant colonel and became Air Officer,
Panama Canal Department The Panama Canal Department was a department (geographical command) of the United States Army, responsible for the defense of the Panama Canal Zone between 1917 and 1947. First U.S. Army presence The Isthmian Canal Commission and the Panama Ca ...
. Following his duty in Panama, Brereton returned to Fort Leavenworth for a four-year tour as the Chief of the Air Corps Subsection at the Command and General Staff School, for which he received temporary promotion to colonel. Brereton had only a few hours of instruction duty during each year's course, where the curriculum had not changed since 1926 and still emphasized horse cavalry. Nevertheless, Brereton received high ratings for efficiency and was recommended for higher command and staff duty, unlike a number of his Air Corps pupils, including future
Air Force Chief of Staff The chief of staff of the Air Force (acronym: CSAF, or AF/CC) is a statutory office () held by a general in the United States Air Force, and as such is the principal military advisor to the secretary of the Air Force on matter pertaining to th ...
Major Carl Spaatz. Brereton then began six and one-half years of successive command assignments, including seven tours as a commanding general. He took command of
Barksdale Field Barksdale may refer to: Places * Barksdale, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Barksdale, Texas, an unincorporated community * Barksdale, Wisconsin, a town ** Barksdale (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated community *Barksdale Air Forc ...
,
Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, in July 1939. His performance during joint maneuvers resulted in increasingly high ratings that led to a promotion to brigadier general on October 1, 1940. He transferred to
Savannah Army Air Base Hunter Army Airfield , located in Savannah, Georgia, United States, is a military airfield and subordinate installation to Fort Stewart located in Hinesville, Georgia. Hunter features a runway that is 11,375 feet (3,468 m) long and an Airpor ...
on October 25 to organize and command the 17th Bomb Wing (3rd and 27th Bomb Groups), was promoted to major general on July 11, 1941, and took command of the
Third Air Force The Third Air Force (Air Forces Europe) (3 AF) is a numbered air force of the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA). Its headquarters is Ramstein Air Base, Germany. It is responsible for all U.S. air forces in ...
at
MacDill Field MacDill Air Force Base (MacDill AFB) is an active United States Air Force installation located 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida. The "host wing" for MacDill AFB is the 6th Air Refueling Wing (6 ARW), assig ...
, Florida on July 29. That assignment was to have included participation in the
Carolina Maneuvers The Carolina Maneuvers were a series of United States Army exercises held around Southern North Carolina and Northern South Carolina in 1941. The exercises, which involved some 350,000 troops, was designed to evaluate United States training, logis ...
but on October 3, he was called to Washington D.C. to meet with the Chief of the Army Air Forces, Maj. Gen.
Henry H. Arnold Henry Harley Arnold (June 25, 1886 – January 15, 1950) was an American general officer holding the ranks of General of the Army and later, General of the Air Force. Arnold was an aviation pioneer, Chief of the Air Corps (1938–1941), ...
. There he was informed that he was relieved of command of Third Air Force to go the Philippines to command the Far East Air Force, which would be activated November 16, 1941. With war imminent, the assignment was crucial, and he replaced an aging brigadier general who had a penchant for drinking and suffered frequent bouts of malaria. General
Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...
, commanding in the Philippines, personally picked Brereton from three candidates.The other two candidates were Jacob Fickel, a long-time friend of Arnold's, and Walter H. Frank. Fickel commanded the
Fourth Air Force The Fourth Air Force (4 AF) is a numbered air force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). It is headquartered at March Air Reserve Base, California. 4 AF directs the activities and supervises the training of more than 30,000 Air Force Res ...
, while Frank headed Third Air Force's Interceptor Command (and became Third Air Force commander as soon as Brereton left for Washington). The general replaced was Henry B. Clagett, who had been sent to the Philippines in May specifically to prepare its air defenses for war. Clagett was both aware that war was near and hard-working, but, as Edmunds (p. 19) put it, "lacked the necessary elasticity of mind and body for realistic preparation for total war." Brereton was the youngest of this group of generals by at least four years. MacArthur remembered Brereton from World War I, when he had been chief of staff of the 42nd Division at the time Brereton's 12th Aero Squadron had supported it.
After being briefed on October 15 regarding his new responsibilities by Arnold, his staff, and General
George C. Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (December 31, 1880 – October 16, 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the US Army under Presidents Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry ...
, Brereton left Washington for San Francisco. Delayed by bad weather for 11 days at various points along the way,One of the delays was on
Wake Island Wake Island ( mh, Ānen Kio, translation=island of the kio flower; also known as Wake Atoll) is a coral atoll in the western Pacific Ocean in the northeastern area of the Micronesia subregion, east of Guam, west of Honolulu, southeast of To ...
on October 31, where he observed the B-17s of the
19th Bomb Group The 19th Operations Group (19 OG) is the operational flying component of the United States Air Force 19th Airlift Wing, stationed at Little Rock Air Force Base, Arkansas. Equipped with the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, the group provides part of Ai ...
land on their way to reinforce his new command. Traveling different routes, both arrived on Luzon on the same afternoon. ()
Brereton and his small staff finally reached Manila on November 4 aboard a Pan American Clipper. He met almost immediately with MacArthur and delivered to him a memorandum revising War Plan Rainbow 5 to authorize more aggressive action in the event of war, including offensive air strikes. He found that despite war warnings, the headquarters he inherited continued to operate under lax, peacetime conditions, in part because MacArthur and his staff did not expect war with Japan before April 1942. Airfield construction was behind schedule, many units were at half strength or less, a significant shortage of .50-caliber ammunition hampered training, and no equipment existed to provide oxygen to interceptor pilots, severely limiting operating ceilings. Brereton immediately instituted a wartime regimen."Cleaned house" is the phrase used by Miller (Part II). He had been in the Philippines less than two weeks when MacArthur sent him to Australia "for twelve precious days" to finalize plans for use of Australian bases in the event of war, disrupting his attempts to organize an effective air force. Nevertheless, his work in Australia resulted in the upgrading of several important airfields and the establishment of the "Brereton Route" for aircraft flying from Brisbane and Sydney to northern Australia and to the islands to the north. On his return, Brereton found the
Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engined heavy bomber developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). Relatively fast and high-flying for a bomber of its era, the B-17 was used primarily in the European Theater ...
es based at Clark Field lined up in orderly rows and ordered their immediate dispersal. On December 6, he sent half of the bomber force 800 miles south to
Mindanao Mindanao ( ) ( Jawi: مينداناو) is the second-largest island in the Philippines, after Luzon, and seventh-most populous island in the world. Located in the southern region of the archipelago, the island is part of an island group of ...
, but anticipating the imminent arrival from the United States of a second bombardment group, left the other half at Clark to make room for the expected reinforcements on the more distant airfield.


World War II


Far East

Shortly after word of the
attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii ...
reached the Philippines on December 8, 1941, Brereton urged immediate air attacks against Japanese bases on Formosa in accordance with the Rainbow 5 war plan and Brereton's own aggressive nature. However, Brereton was twice thwarted from seeing General Douglas MacArthur about bombing Formosa by MacArthur's chief of staff Richard K. Sutherland; Brereton sent his bombers and P-40 pursuit planes aloft to prevent them from being destroyed by air attack. Hours later, MacArthur initially denied permission for the attack, but then reversed himself minutes afterwards. Brereton ordered his bombers to return to base to prepare for the mission, and by then all fighters aloft had become short on fuel. While they were being fueled and armed for the afternoon mission, the bombers and many of the pursuit planes were caught on the ground when Japanese air units, whose takeoff from Formosa had been delayed for six hours by fog, attacked shortly after noon. Consequently, FEAF was largely destroyed on the first day of the war.Brereton claimed that MacArthur approved the attack. Neither Arnold, notoriously impatient and quick to fire commanders, nor MacArthur attributed any blame to Brereton during the war. MacArthur remained mute on the matter until after the war, when he denied any knowledge of a request for an attack, after publication of the ''Brereton Diaries''. Multiple Japanese landings on Luzon between December 10 and December 23 forced the defenders to withdraw into
Bataan Bataan (), officially the Province of Bataan ( fil, Lalawigan ng Bataan ), is a province in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. Its capital is the city of Balanga while Mariveles is the largest town in the province. Occupying the enti ...
peninsula. After the 14 surviving bombers of the B-17 force escaped to
Darwin, Australia Darwin ( ; Larrakia: ) is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. With an estimated population of 147,255 as of 2019, the city contains the majority of the residents of the sparsely populated Northern Territory. It is the smalle ...
just ten days into the war, and with only a handful of fighters remaining, FEAF was broken up as an organization on December 24 and moved by individual units into the peninsula. Brereton and his headquarters were ordered by MacArthur to evacuate south. With only two hours' notice, Brereton left Manila by
PBY Catalina The Consolidated PBY Catalina is a flying boat and amphibious aircraft that was produced in the 1930s and 1940s. In Canadian service it was known as the Canso. It was one of the most widely used seaplanes of World War II. Catalinas served w ...
for Java, where he was picked up by a B-17 and transported to
Batchelor Field Batchelor Airfield, is an airport located south of Batchelor, Northern Territory, Australia. The airport currently has no commercial air services; however, it is utilised by the Northern Australian Gliding Club and the Alice Springs Aero Club ...
, Australia, on December 29. The next day he dispatched 11 of the bombers to Malang on Java to conduct operations. In early 1942, Brereton was named Deputy Air Commander, under
Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
Air Marshal Sir Richard Peirse, of ABDAIR, a component of the short-lived ABDACOM unified command of Allied forces in Southeast Asia and the Southwest Pacific. He also resumed active command of FEAF. Brereton arrived on Java on January 10, 1942, and except for a nine-day period at the end of January when he acted as commander of United States Army Forces In Australia, remained until February 23, despite requesting relief from command on February 8 over "honest differences" with Peirse and demoralizing criticism from the British commander of ABDACOM, Gen. Sir Archibald Wavell.Except for the last two days of the Java campaign, the small combat force of ABDAIR was entirely American. Edmunds notes: "Seldom in the history of war have so few been commanded by so many." () Brereton received a cable from Gen. George C. Marshall on February 22 giving him complete freedom of action in the evacuation of himself and his headquarters from Java, including choice of destination, and he left for
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
via
Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
on February 24 before orders from Arnold to organize an air force in Australia could reach him. For his performance in commanding the FEAF, Brereton received his first award of the
Distinguished Service Medal Distinguished Service Medal (DSM) is a high award of a nation. Examples include: *Distinguished Service Medal (Australia) (established 1991), awarded to personnel of the Australian Defence Force for distinguished leadership in action * Distinguishe ...
on February 18, 1943. On March 5, 1942, now in
New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...
, Brereton took command of and began to organize the new
Tenth Air Force The Tenth Air Force (10 AF) is a unit of the U.S. Air Force, specifically a numbered air force of the Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC). 10 AF is headquartered at Naval Air Station Fort Worth Joint Reserve Base/Carswell Field (formerly Carswel ...
. In addition to setting up the new air force, Brereton was also ordered to prepare an air route for the resupply of China. On the night of April 2–3, 1942, he participated in the first bombing mission of the Tenth Air Force—conducted by an LB-30 and two B-17s, of which he co-piloted one of the latter—in an attack against Japanese warships at
Port Blair Port Blair () is the capital city of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India in the Bay of Bengal. It is also the local administrative sub-division (''tehsil'') of the islands, the headquarters for the district of South An ...
in the
Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands () are an archipelago in the northeastern Indian Ocean about southwest off the coasts of Myanmar's Ayeyarwady Region. Together with the Nicobar Islands to their south, the Andamans serve as a maritime boundary between th ...
in support of the British, for which he was decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross.Brereton may have flown as co-pilot because of a "pronounced loss of stereo-optic vision" diagnosed in 1937, per Miller, Part I. In June 1942, in response to the German threat to the
Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...
in North Africa, he was transferred to
Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
with the best bomber aircraft and crews then in India.


Middle East

In June 1942, Brereton was appointed commander of United States Army Middle East Air Forces. He formed a provisional bomb group from 19 Consolidated B-24 Liberators of the Halverson Detachment and the nine B-17s he had brought from India,The 1st Provisional Group became the 376th Bomb Group on October 31 and its B-17s were sent to the
Twelfth Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The command is the air component to ...
.
but it was forced to fall back to
Lydda Lod ( he, לוד, or fully vocalized ; ar, اللد, al-Lidd or ), also known as Lydda ( grc, Λύδδα), is a city southeast of Tel Aviv and northwest of Jerusalem in the Central District of Israel. It is situated between the lower Sheph ...
in Palestine. With the arrival of B-24s of the 98th Bomb Group at the end of July 1942, USAMEAF began to attack German depots in
Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
, the chief of which was
Tobruk Tobruk or Tobruck (; grc, Ἀντίπυργος, ''Antipyrgos''; la, Antipyrgus; it, Tobruch; ar, طبرق, Tubruq ''Ṭubruq''; also transliterated as ''Tobruch'' and ''Tubruk'') is a port city on Libya's eastern Mediterranean coast, near ...
, and ship convoys as far away as
Navarino Bay Pylos (, ; el, Πύλος), historically also known as Navarino, is a town and a former municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part of the municipality Pylos-Nestoras, of which it is t ...
in Greece. His small air force was reinforced by the 57th Fighter Group (P-40s) and 12th Bomb Group ( B-25s) in July and August, and Brereton drew heavily on the experiences of Coningham's
Western Desert Air Force The Desert Air Force (DAF), also known chronologically as Air Headquarters Western Desert, Air Headquarters Libya, the Western Desert Air Force, and the First Tactical Air Force (1TAF), was an Allied tactical air force created from No. 204 ...
. While the heavy bombers continued to operate from Palestine,On October 12, these were organized into Bomber Command, USAMEAF, consisting of 61 heavy bombers that included the Liberators of
No. 160 Squadron RAF No. 160 Squadron RAF was a Royal Air Force unit during the World War II, Second World War, when it flew for four years in a number of roles including Bomber, heavy bomber, Minelayer, minelaying, Aerial reconnaissance, reconnaissance, special ope ...
.
the mediums and fighters moved forward as the battle line advanced. On October 22, 1942, the U.S. Desert Air Task Force was formed with Brereton in command to support the British offensive at El Alamein and gain experience for arriving USAAF staff officers. By October 25, the small force under Brereton had flown 743 heavy bomber sorties and 259 medium bomber, dropping 806 tons of bombs. The heavy bombers used the campaign as a proving ground for tactics, particularly pattern bombing against maneuvering ships. When the headquarters of the U.S.
Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint De ...
was activated in Egypt on November 12, 1942, it replaced USAMEAF and all its temporary components, with Brereton still in command, and the heavy bombers returned to bases in Egypt. Beginning November 21, 1942, an advanced landing ground at Gambut was used to stage strategic bombing missions against
Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to: Cities and other geographic units Greece *Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...
and
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
. From January 31, 1943, Brereton had collateral duty as commanding general of the U.S. Army Forces in the Middle East (USAFIME) when Maj. Gen.
Frank M. Andrews Lieutenant General Frank Maxwell Andrews (February 3, 1884 – May 3, 1943) was a senior officer of the United States Army and one of the founders of the United States Army Air Forces, which was later to become the United States Air Force. ...
was reassigned following the
Casablanca Conference The Casablanca Conference (codenamed SYMBOL) or Anfa Conference was held at the Anfa Hotel in Casablanca, French Morocco, from January 14 to 24, 1943, to plan the Allied European strategy for the next phase of World War II. In attendance were ...
. Among the missions undertaken in 1943 by the heavy bomber units under Brereton's command was the minimum-altitude bombing of oil refineries at Ploieşti,
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
as part of
Operation Tidal Wave Operation Tidal Wave was an air attack by bombers of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) based in Libya on nine oil refineries around Ploiești, Romania on 1 August 1943, during World War II. It was a strategic bombing mission and part of ...
. Intelligence estimates predicted a 50% loss among the attacking B-24s, and in fact 30% (54 of the 178) were destroyed or written off. The raid fell short of bomb damage expectations but the bombing was very accurate and heavy damage (but not decisive) was inflicted that would have been greater had not many bombs failed to explode. Air Force historian Dr. Roger G. Miller wrote:
In August 1943, Operation Tidal Wave took place under Brereton's command. Plans for the low-level bombing raid on the Ploesti oil refineries in Rumania originated in the Air Staff, but Brereton determined that the attack would originate from Libyan rather than Syrian bases, trained the bomber force, and ably defended the controversial low-level concept.


Ninth Air Force

In January 1943, the "
Combined Bomber Offensive The Combined Bomber Offensive (CBO) was an Allied offensive of strategic bombing during World War II in Europe. The primary portion of the CBO was directed against Luftwaffe targets which was the highest priority from June 1943 to 1 April 1944. ...
" plan was approved by the
Combined Chiefs of Staff The Combined Chiefs of Staff (CCS) was the supreme military staff for the United States and Britain during World War II. It set all the major policy decisions for the two nations, subject to the approvals of British Prime Minister Winston Churchil ...
, calling for a force of 2,700 heavy bombers and 800 medium bombers based in England to attack German targets on the continent around the clock. In April, Maj. Gen.
Ira C. Eaker General (Honorary) Ira Clarence Eaker (April 13, 1896 – August 6, 1987) was a general of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Eaker, as second-in-command of the prospective Eighth Air Force, was sent to England to form and ...
, commanding the
Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Force ...
, submitted a plan to the USAAF requesting creation of a new tactical air force within the Eighth AF of 25 medium and light bomb groups to carry out the medium bomber portion of the CBO plan. His proposal was investigated and endorsed by a committee from Headquarters USAAF under Brig. Gen. Follett Bradley. At the same time but unrelated to the CBO, Gen.
Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
proposed a consolidation of the Ninth and
Twelfth Air Force The Twelfth Air Force (12 AF; Air Forces Southern, (AFSOUTH)) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command (ACC). It is headquartered at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base, Arizona. The command is the air component to ...
s in the Mediterranean Theater, and suggested that Brereton be reassigned to become deputy commander of the Allied tactical air force commanded by Coningham. Gen. Arnold instead offered Brereton a choice of assignments on July 31: a command in the United States, a position of responsibility in the Cairo headquarters of the new combined air force, or command of the new tactical air force being formed as part of Eighth Air Force. Brereton "with utmost eagerness" chose the new command in England. The Quadrant Conference in August, however, called for a combined tactical air force initially based in England that would eventually support Allied ground operations on the continent, the Allied Expeditionary Air Force. The AEAF would be distinct from strategic bombing and commanded by Air Marshal Sir
Trafford Leigh-Mallory Air Chief Marshal Sir Trafford Leigh-Mallory, (11 July 1892 – 14 November 1944) was a senior commander in the Royal Air Force. Leigh-Mallory served as a Royal Flying Corps pilot and squadron commander during the First World War. Remaining in ...
. The
Ninth Air Force The Ninth Air Force (Air Forces Central) is a Numbered Air Force of the United States Air Force headquartered at Shaw Air Force Base, South Carolina. It is the Air Force Service Component of United States Central Command (USCENTCOM), a joint De ...
under Brereton would become the USAAF component of the new force while Coningham was brought back from Italy to command the RAF component,
Second Tactical Air Force The RAF Second Tactical Air Force (2TAF) was one of three tactical air forces within the Royal Air Force (RAF) during and after the Second World War. It was made up of squadrons and personnel from the RAF, other British Commonwealth air forces ...
. In October the air units of the Ninth in Africa were transferred to other air forces and the several command headquarters of the Ninth sent to England. The Ninth was re-activated on October 16 using the medium bomber component of the VIII Air Support Command as its nucleus,VIII ASC stood down in anticipation of the rearrangement (and disbanding afterwards) and its 3d Bomb Wing, one of the original three wings of GHQAF, was redesignated 98th Bombardment Wing. The 44th Bomb Wing, still forming, was redesignated the 99th Bombardment Wing and also assigned to IX BC. A third wing, the 97th Bombardment Wing, was activated at the same time, but its light bomber groups were not assigned until the spring of 1944. and Brereton made his headquarters at Sunninghill Park, Berkshire. A temporary administrative "super-command" under Eaker ("USAAF in the UK", which in January was replaced by the
United States Strategic Air Forces The United States Strategic Air Forces (USSTAF) was a formation of the United States Army Air Forces. It became the overall command and control authority of the United States Army Air Forces in Europe during World War II. USSTAF had started as ...
) stood up at the same time to coordinate the administrative activities of the Eighth and Ninth, but when the AEAF was activated on November 1, Brereton took his operational orders from it. The Ninth Air Force was organized into three combat commands that employed all tactical functions of combat airpower: bomber, fighter and troop carrier. IX Bomber Command was an amalgamation of VIII ASC's medium bombers and two headquarters elements from the "old" Ninth, including the previous IX Bomber Command.
IX Fighter Command The IX Fighter Command was a United States Army Air Forces formation. Its last assignment was with the Ninth Air Force, based at Erlangen, Germany, wheret was inactivated on 16 November 1945. IX Fighter Command was the primary tactical fighter ...
was created out of the transferred headquarters of the Ninth AF and was basically a training organization for the subsequent tactical air commands.
IX Troop Carrier Command The IX Troop Carrier Command was a United States Army Air Forces unit. Its last assignment was with the Ninth Air Force, based at Greenville Army Air Base, South Carolina. It was inactivated on 31 March 1946. As a component command of the Ninth ...
was activated in England under a caretaker commander to organize and train its new units for
airborne operations Airborne or Airborn may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Airborne'' (1962 film), a 1962 American film directed by James Landis * ''Airborne'' (1993 film), a comedy–drama film * ''Airborne'' (1998 film), an action film sta ...
as they arrived in theater.IX TCC's first commander was Brig. Gen. Benjamin F. Giles. Two tactical fighter commands, IX and XIX Air Support Commands, were added to the organization on November 29, 1943.These were re-designated "Tactical Air Commands" on April 18, 1944. A third tactical air command, XXIX TAC, was created on September 15, 1944, under the command of Brig. Gen. Richard E. Nugent to support the
US Ninth Army The Ninth Army is a field army of the United States Army, garrisoned at Caserma Ederle, Vicenza, Italy. It is the United States Army Service Component Command of United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM or AFRICOM). Activated just eight weeks be ...
in its thrust into Germany. Ninth Air Force also had a sixth tactical command, IX Air Defense Command under Brig. Gen. William L. Richardson, created in July 1944 to defend 9AF airfields.
From the start Brereton benefited from a strong command team for his diverse tactical commands. Brig. Gen.
Samuel E. Anderson General Samuel Egbert Anderson (January 6, 1906 – September 12, 1982) was a United States Air Force four-star general who served as commander of the Air Materiel Command. Early life and education He was born in Greensboro, North Carolina ...
took command of IX Bomber Command.IX BC was renamed 9th Bombardment Division on August 30, 1944. Brig. Gen.
Elwood R. Quesada Elwood Richard Quesada, CB, CBE (April 13, 1904 – February 9, 1993), nicknamed "Pete", was a United States Air Force Lt. General, FAA administrator, and, later, a club owner in Major League Baseball. Early years Elwood Richard Quesada was bor ...
was assigned to command IX Fighter Command, and after Ninth Air Force moved to the continent, also IX TAC. On February 3, 1944, Brig. Gen.
Otto P. Weyland Otto Paul Weyland (January 27, 1903 – September 2, 1979) was a United States Air Force general and the post-World War II Commander of Far East Air Forces during the Korean War and of Tactical Air Command. Early life His family moved to Texas ...
arrived in England to take command of XIX TAC. To handle the troop carrier command, Brereton acquired Brig. Gen. Paul L. Williams, experienced in directing airborne operations in North Africa, Sicily and Italy, to take over IX TCC on February 25, 1944. During the winter of 1943–44 Ninth Air Force grew at an extraordinary rate. In the first six months under Brereton's command, October 16, 1943 to April 16, 1944, the Ninth Air Force expanded from 2,162 to 163,312 men. By the end of May, its strength was nearly 185,000, the Ninth's
order of battle In modern use, the order of battle of an armed force participating in a military operation or campaign shows the hierarchical organization, command structure, strength, disposition of personnel, and equipment of units and formations of the arme ...
included 45 flying groups, 160 squadrons and 5,000 aircraft. Organizationally it had added an engineer command,IX Engineer Command, under Brig Gen. James B. Newman, was a highly mobile force of 16 engineer aviation battalions in four regiments for constructing air landing grounds. an air defense command,IX ADC had a fighter wing and several night fighter squadrons for interception of attacking aircraft, but it primarily consisted of mobile antiaircraft and air warning battalions attached from the Army Ground Forces. and two tactical air commands, so that by
D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...
it had received and trained 11 medium bomb groups, 19 fighter groups, 14 troop carrier groups, and a photo-reconnaissance group. The number of personnel assigned to the Ninth Air Force was nearly 220,000, a total greater than that of the Eighth Air Force.Personnel totals included 23,000 in bomber command; 36,000 in fighter command; 30,000 in troop carrier command; 62,000 in IX Air Force Service Command; 23,000 in engineer command, and 43,000 in air defense command. (Craven and Cate III pp. 111-118; Kohn and Harahan pp. 66-84)


Operation Overlord

Brereton was promoted to lieutenant general in April 1944 as his units began a campaign of planned attacks against airfields (April 1), railway centers and rolling stock (April 1), coastal batteries (April 13), and bridges (May 7) in France preparatory to
Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operat ...
, the invasion of
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
by the Western Allies on June 6, 1944. When Leigh-Mallory proposed that an "Allied Tactical Air Force" be created to command both tactical air forces after D-Day, and that Coningham command it in addition to 2TAF, Brereton objected on the basis that the Ninth would be made subordinate to its RAF counterpart. Instead Coningham was assigned to command a temporary Advanced Headquarters of AEAF on the continent active during the initial phase of the campaign, where he and Brereton made a formidable command team for tactical air operations during the buildup of the Allied bridgehead. The
American airborne landings in Normandy The U.S. airborne landings in Normandy were the first U.S. combat operations during Operation Overlord, the invasion of Normandy by the Western Allies on June 6, 1944, during World War II. Around 13,100 American paratroopers of the 82nd and 1 ...
by IX Troop Carrier Command were the first United States combat operations of
Operation Neptune Operation or Operations may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity * Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory * ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Ma ...
, (the assault operation for Overlord). 13,100 paratroopers of the U.S. 82nd Airborne and
101st Airborne Division The 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) ("Screaming Eagles") is a light infantry division of the United States Army that specializes in air assault operations. It can plan, coordinate, and execute multiple battalion-size air assault operati ...
s made night parachute drops early on D-Day, followed by nearly 4,000 glider troops flown in by day in six missions. The divisions were assigned to support the
U.S. VII Corps The VII Army Corps of the United States Army was one of the two principal corps of the United States Army Europe during the Cold War. Activated in 1918 for World War I, it was reactivated for World War II and again during the Cold War. During b ...
in capturing Cherbourg (to provide the Allies with a port of supply) by blocking approaches threatening the amphibious landing at
Utah Beach Utah, commonly known as Utah Beach, was the code name for one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on June 6, 1944 (D-Day), during World War II. The westernmost of the five code-named la ...
, capturing exits off the beaches, and to establishing crossings over the
Douve River The Douve () or Ouve is a river, in length, which rises in the commune of Tollevast, near Cherbourg in the department of Manche. ''Ouve'' is considered its old name (''Unva'' in ancient texts): Ouve appears to have been misspelled over the cour ...
to assist the merging the two American beachheads. The assault did not succeed in blocking the approaches to Utah for three days. Numerous factors played a part, most of which dealt with excessive scattering of the drops. Despite this, German forces were unable to exploit the chaos. Many German units made a tenacious defense of their strongpoints, but all were systematically defeated within the week. A follow-up operation was scheduled in which one wing of IX TCC would deliver the British 1st Airborne Division to
Évrecy Évrecy () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions ...
on June 14 to support a breakout attempt by British armored forces ( Operation Wild Oats) but was so perilous that airborne and troop carrier commanders agreed to it only reluctantly. Crews were being briefed on June 13 when a strong German counterattack at Villers Bocage forced cancellation of the drop. Seven fighter groups moved to the continent shortly after the invasion, and by August all of the Ninth's fighter groups were operational in beachhead. Brereton had learned from Coningham and the Western Desert Air Force, and made a slogan of the Ninth that all units must "Keep Mobile".


Operation Cobra

In mid-July 1944, the
First United States Army First Army is the oldest and longest-established field army of the United States Army. It served as a theater army, having seen service in both World War I and World War II, and supplied the US army with soldiers and equipment during the Kore ...
became stalled in its operations in the Norman
bocage Bocage (, ) is a terrain of mixed woodland and pasture characteristic of parts of Northern France, Southern England, Ireland, the Netherlands and Northern Germany, in regions where pastoral farming is the dominant land use. ''Bocage'' may als ...
. Gen. Omar Bradley implemented
Operation Cobra Operation Cobra was the codename for an offensive launched by the United States First Army under Lieutenant General Omar Bradley seven weeks after the D-Day landings, during the Normandy campaign of World War II. The intention was to take adv ...
, a plan to end the near-stalemate by using massive air power to punch a hole in the strong German defenses near
Saint-Lô Saint-Lô (, ; br, Sant Lo) is a commune in northwest France, the capital of the Manche department in the region of Normandy.
, allowing the VII Corps to break through into the French interior. The key to the plan, at the insistence of Leigh-Mallory, was the use of heavy bombers to pattern bomb a small area of the defenses immediately before the start of the offensive, preceded by fighter-bomber attacks of IX TAC, and followed by attacks in the German rear by 11 groups of medium and light bombers of the Ninth Air Force. At a conference at AEAF headquarters at Stanmore on July 19, air commanders expressed serious reservations about the safety of U.S. troops, particularly their proximity to the target area, resulting in tactical compromises that ultimately proved inadequate. Poor weather delayed the attack until July 24, and a request for postponement another 24 hours was denied. After the aircraft began taking off, Leigh-Mallory vacillated before recalling the mission, and while some fighter-bombers completed their missions, the medium bombers did not take off from their English bases. The heavy bombers, however, were already in the air and did not receive the recall. Finding a severe ground haze over the target, most returned to base as instructed in their field orders, but others attacked, resulting in the bombing of American troops. Brereton and Quesada were near the front with Bradley to observe the results, and were nearly killed by errant bombs. The next day, July 25, Operation Cobra was finally launched as planned with a "maximum effort" by the air forces that included 559 sorties by fighter-bombers and 480 by medium and light bombers of the Ninth Air Force. Fighter-bomber attacks of the immediate front lines by eight groups of IX TAC, to a depth of , were generally excellent, but as air planners had predicted, created smoke and dust that obscured aiming points for the bombers at higher altitudes. The second day of heavy bomber attacks also resulted in further accidental bombings of American troops, particularly the 47th Infantry of the 9th Infantry DivisionCarafano, "The Ethics of Operation Cobra and the Normandy Breakout" and the 120th Infantry of the 30th Infantry Division. The latter was also attacked by B-26 bombers of the Ninth that dropped their bombs short of the German lines.Lt. Col. George gave the number as 42, but that was the total of all bombers mis-dropping on July 25. Richard Hallion, Chief Historian of the Air Force, set the figure at five in his 1994 monograph added to ''Army Air Forces in World War II''. In both days of bombing, approximately 3% of bombs fell within American lines, resulting in 111 killed and 490 wounded.The total does not include four airmen killed and 18 wounded on July 24 when one B-24 dropped its bombs on the 404th Fighter Group at landing ground A-5. (Carafano) Although not apparent at first, the air attacks succeeded in their objective of disrupting German formations and destroying their communications, facilitating the break-through. Brereton was awarded the
Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...
for his performance in commanding the Ninth AF during 1944.


First Allied Airborne Army

In July Gen. Eisenhower decided to implement tentative plans for a unified command of all British and American
airborne forces Airborne forces, airborne troops, or airborne infantry are ground combat units carried by aircraft and airdropped into battle zones, typically by parachute drop or air assault. Parachute-qualified infantry and support personnel serving in ai ...
and the troop carrier units needed to deliver them into battle, under an American commander, over the resistance of Leigh-Mallory, who opposed the separation of the troop carrier units from AEAF. Eisenhower nominated Brereton on July 16 to command the organization, based on his extensive and diverse combat command experience at the air force level, over Lt. Gen.
Frederick Browning Lieutenant-General Sir Frederick Arthur Montague "Boy" Browning, (20 December 1896 – 14 March 1965) was a senior officer of the British Army who has been called the "father of the British airborne forces". He was also an Olympic bobslei ...
, commanding the British I Airborne Corps, despite Browning being four months senior. After first suggesting (and having rejected) that the airborne troops be made a part of Ninth Air Force, Brereton accepted the command and was appointed August 2, 1944, as commander of the "Combined Airborne Headquarters", reporting directly to
SHAEF Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF; ) was the headquarters of the Commander of Allied forces in north west Europe, from late 1943 until the end of World War II. U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the commander in SHAEF th ...
. He turned over command of Ninth Air Force to Maj. Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg on August 8 and made his new headquarters at Sunninghill Park. Brereton recommended that the organization be called the
First Allied Airborne Army The First Allied Airborne Army was an Allied formation formed on 2 August 1944 by the order of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force. The formation was part of the Allied Expeditionary For ...
and despite personal friction between them, Browning became his deputy. On August 25 the IX Troop Carrier Command was assigned to the Airborne Army.


Operation Market-Garden

After alerts and cancellations of several airborne drops to cut off retreating German forces, Eisenhower on September 10 approved Montgomery's three-division airborne assault in the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
to be called ''Operation Market'', coordinated with a simultaneous ground offensive called ''Operation Garden''. The objective of the combined ''Operation Market-Garden'' was to seize a bridgehead across the
Rhine River ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...
at
Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both banks of ...
. The anticipated date of the operation (dependent on good flying weather) was September 14. Because that date was so close at hand, the plans of a large cancelled drop, ''Operation Linnet'', were revived and adapted to Market. Brereton, however, made key changes to the Linnet plan, first in restricting glider missions to "single-tows", that is, one tug aircraft towing one glider, whereas Linnet had contemplated a double-tow mission. A combination of poor weather, extensive resupply missions to the pursuing Allied armies, and anticipation of last-minute airborne drops cancelled virtually all training for IX TCC in August, as a consequence of which Brereton believed that untried and unpracticed double-tows were too hazardous. Brereton also decided that the operation, protected by massive air support from the RAF and the AAF, would take place in daylight, to avoid the dispersion experienced during both the
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...
and American airborne landings in Normandy in June. His decision was finalized when weather and other delays pushed back D-Day for the operation to September 17, which was the
dark moon The term dark moon describes the last visible crescent of a waning Moon. The duration of a dark moon varies between 1.5 and 3.5 days, depending on its ecliptic latitude. In current astronomical usage, the new moon occurs in the middle of this ...
. Finally, the shorter hours of daylight in September caused Brereton to refuse authorization for two lifts per day, and as a result of the limited number of troop carrier aircraft, the air movement of the Army required three consecutive days to complete. Weather intelligence had indicated four consecutive days of clear weather, but after the first day, operations were delayed or postponed because of fog, low clouds, haze, and other conditions of poor visibility over the bases in England, the planned routes to the Netherlands, and the drop/landing zones. Airborne operations on the first two days had been successful to an unexpected degree, but nevertheless the overall operation had begun to fall seriously behind schedule, and only grew worse as the weather deteriorated. The cancellation of a reinforcement lift of an American glider infantry regiment and a Polish paratrooper brigade on September 19 proved crucial to failure of the operation.


Operation Varsity

On October 17, 1944, after the completion of Market Garden, the staff of the First Allied Airborne Army learned that Gen. Bradley hoped to cross the Rhine River at
Wesel Wesel () is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is the capital of the Wesel district. Geography Wesel is situated at the confluence of the Lippe River and the Rhine. Division of the city Suburbs of Wesel include Lackhausen, Obrighove ...
, Germany, and on November 7 completed a study for an airborne operation by two divisions, ''Operation Varsity'', to support the endeavor. A number of factors delayed the target date to January 1, 1945, and the
Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive (military), offensive military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted fr ...
further disrupted the schedule. After the Allied counter-offensive in January, Eisenhower planned an assault over the Rhine in the same area, and Operation Varsity was revisited on February 10 with few changes in the outline plan. Its objective was to seize the low wooded heights overlooking the Rhine to prevent German artillery from disrupting bridging operations. The Anglo-Canadian
21st Army Group The 21st Army Group was a British headquarters formation formed during the Second World War. It controlled two field armies and other supporting units, consisting primarily of the British Second Army and the First Canadian Army. Established in ...
, commanded by
Field Marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, ordinarily senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army and as such few persons are appointed to it. It is considered as ...
Sir Bernard Montgomery, would cross the Rhine in ''
Operation Plunder Operation Plunder was a military operation to cross the Rhine on the night of 23 March 1945, launched by the 21st Army Group under Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery. The crossing of the river was at Rees, Wesel, and south of the river Li ...
''. Varsity would support the crossings by landing two airborne divisions of the Airborne Army's
US XVIII Airborne Corps The XVIII Airborne Corps is a corps of the United States Army that has been in existence since 1942 and saw extensive service during World War II. The corps is designed for Rapid deployment force, rapid deployment anywhere in the world and is ...
by parachute and glider behind the Rhine, near Wesel and
Hamminkeln Hamminkeln () is a town in the Wesel (district), district of Wesel, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the river Oude IJssel, Issel, approximately 10 kilometers north of Wesel and 15 km south of Bocholt, Germany, Bocholt. I ...
. A second U.S. airborne division was added to the original plan, but when it became apparent that the Airborne Army barely had enough troop carriers for two divisions, the third division was placed in reserve and then released altogether from the operation on March 6. The consequences of the poor weather during Operation Market led Brereton to plan for the delivery of both divisions in a single lift. On February 18, to establish a command post for the operation, Brereton moved the headquarters of First Allied Airborne Army to
Maisons-Laffitte Maisons-Laffitte () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the northern Île-de-France region of France. It is a part of the affluent outer suburbs of northwestern Paris, from its centre. In 2018, it had a population of 23,611. Maisons-Laf ...
, near Paris. In late February Montgomery set the date for Plunder/Varsity as March 24, which SHAEF approved on March 8.The date was advanced from March 31. On the afternoon of March 23, Brereton and Coningham, commanding all the cooperating air forces, made the final decision to launch Varsity when weather officers predicted clear weather the next day. Although the Germans had anticipated the assault and prepared positions for 10,000 defending troops, the unprecedented size of the airborne operation overwhelmed the defense. Using 300 double-tow glider sorties, a troop carrier group of 72 Curtiss C-46 Commandos, and three parallel ingress lanes, nearly 17,000 troops were concentrated in the objective area in less than four hours, using 540 planeloads of paratroopers and 1,348 gliders.


Post-war career and legacy

After serving continuously overseas in combat theaters since before the attack on Pearl Harbor, Brereton returned to the United States in May 1945 for assignment to Headquarters AAF at Washington, and in July was again given command of the Third Air Force. In January 1946, he was named commanding general of the First Air Force at
Mitchel Field Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territor ...
, New York. The following month he was assigned to the Office of the Secretary of War for duty with the Joint Chiefs of Staff Evaluation Board as observer for
Operation Crossroads Operation Crossroads was a pair of nuclear weapon tests conducted by the United States at Bikini Atoll in mid-1946. They were the first nuclear weapon tests since Trinity in July 1945, and the first detonations of nuclear devices since the ...
. From July 1947 to June 1948 Brereton was Chairman of the Military Liaison Committee to the
U.S. Atomic Energy Commission The United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by U.S. Congress to foster and control the peacetime development of atomic science and technology. President ...
, then became secretary general of the Air Board to his retirement on September 1, 1948. Brereton retired in the grade of lieutenant general. He divorced in February 1946 and married a third time. In 1946 William Morrow published his wartime memoirs, ''The Brereton Diaries'', which have been sometimes criticized as allegedly written after-the-fact to absolve Brereton of any blame for controversies, and created further friction with MacArthur and his acolytes. Brereton died on July 20, 1967, of a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
while in
Walter Reed Army Medical Center The Walter Reed Army Medical Center (WRAMC)known as Walter Reed General Hospital (WRGH) until 1951was the United States Army, U.S. Army's flagship medical center from 1909 to 2011. Located on in the Washington, D.C., District of Columbia, it se ...
recovering from abdominal surgery July 10. Dr. Miller reviewed both laudatory and condemnatory histories of Brereton and summarized his contribution to World War II:
As in the case of colorful figures ... little room seems to exist for neutral opinions about Brereton's reputation. Second, earlier historians generally have had a more favorable view of his performance; more recent historians have given him less credit for ability. Third, and closely related to the previous point, historians who have tended to give Brereton higher marks for competence, especially concerning the events in the Philippines, have largely been those ... who have written extensively on the history of air power. Fourth, an individual's view about Brereton's actions in the Philippines are generally the reverse of his view of Gen. of the Army Douglas MacArthur. Pro-MacArthur historians tend to condemn Brereton; anti-MacArthur historians are generally pro-Brereton. Many of the most serious assaults on Brereton's reputation have thus originated from those who have risen to MacArthur's defense.
and:
The evidence examined for this article suggests that Lewis Brereton was a capable commander and effective leader, but not a great general. He was a solid product of the U.S. military system prior to World War II, and as such was neither a star performer nor mediocre failure. He fits into that large middle ground of competent but unspectacular American officers who brought victory in World War II. Brereton had important strengths. In both world wars, he proved himself a brave, aggressive, and candid officer. Gen. Carl Spaatz (in his last Officer Efficiency Report on Brereton in 1946) justly described him as "personally fearless, forthright and given to firm and direct expression of his opinions regardless of the consequences to himself."


Awards and decorations

SOURCE: ''Biographical Data on Air Force General Officers, 1917–1952, Volume 1 – A thru L''    Command Pilot Badge   
World War II Victory Medal The World War II Victory Medal is a service medal of the United States military which was established by an Act of Congress on 6 July 1945 (Public Law 135, 79th Congress) and promulgated by Section V, War Department Bulletin 12, 1945. The Wo ...
   Grand Officer, Order of Orange-Nassau, with crossed swords (Netherlands)   Grand Officer, Order of Albert (Belgium)*    Commander, Order of Prince Danilo I (
Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...
)*      Commander and Officer of the Legion of Honor (France)*    Companion, Order of the Bath (CB) (Great Britain)    Croix de Guerre with three Palms (France)*    Combat Observer    Technical Observer    Junior Military Aviator    Military Aviator Badge *Decorations received for service in World War I. The ''officier'' of the Legion of Honor and one of the DSCs were awarded for World War I. The Purple Heart was awarded in 1932 after Brereton petitioned the Adjutant General to have it replace the Meritorious Service Citation Certificate he was awarded in 1918.


Distinguished Service Cross citation


Dates of rank

Official Register of Commissioned Officers of the United States Army, 1948. pg. 201.


Notes

Footnotes Citations


References

* * * Brereton, Lewis H. (1946). ''The Brereton Diaries: The War in the Air in the Pacific, Middle East and Europe, 3 October 1941 – 8 May 1945'' (New York: William Morrow & Co.) * Paper presented to the 2000 Joint Services Conference On Professional Ethics * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * CMH Pub 5-2 * Original publisher London: Methuen, 1990 * * USAF Historical Studies * No. 30: * No. 32: * No. 36: * No. 91: * No. 97: * No. 98: * No. 141: * Kohn, Richard H. and Harahan, Joseph P. (1946, 1984)
''Condensed Analysis of the Ninth Air Force in the European Theater of Operations''
Office of Air Force History.


External links

*
Lieutenant General Lewis Hyde Brereton, Official Biography at Inside AF.mil"A 'Pretty Damn Able Commander': Lewis Hyde Brereton, Part I"
Roger G. Miller, Winter 2000 ''Air Power History''
"A 'Pretty Damn Able Commander': Lewis Hyde Brereton, Part II"
Roger G. Miller, Spring 2001 ''Air Power History''

* ttp://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/brereton.htm Arlington National Cemetery on Lewis Breretonbr>Generals of World War II
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brereton, Lewis H. 1890 births 1967 deaths United States air attachés United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni United States Army Coast Artillery Corps personnel Military personnel from Pittsburgh St. John's College (Annapolis/Santa Fe) alumni United States Army personnel of World War I Burials at Arlington National Cemetery United States Naval Academy alumni Members of the Early Birds of Aviation Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Legion of Merit Recipients of the Silver Star Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States) Recipients of the Air Medal Commandeurs of the Légion d'honneur Illeists Recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1939–1945 (France) Honorary Companions of the Order of the Bath Grand Officers of the Order of Orange-Nassau Air Corps Tactical School alumni United States Army Air Forces generals United States Army Air Forces generals of World War II Military personnel from Pennsylvania