American generals who helped pave the way to victory in Europe gather at Twelfth Army Group Headquarters, Bad Wildungen, Germany, on 11 May 1945. Seated in front row are, left to right, William H. Simpson; George S. Patton Jr.; Gen. Carl A. Spaatz, commanding general, U.S. Army Strategic Air Forces; Dwight D. Eisenhower; Omar N. Bradley; Courtney H. Hodges; and Lt. Gen. Leonard T. Gerow, commanding general, Fifteenth U.S. Army. Standing in the rear are, left to right, Brig. Gen. Ralph F. Stearley, commanding general, Ninth Tactical Air Command; Lt. Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg, commanding general, Ninth Air Force; Lt. Gen. Walter B. Smith, chief of staff, Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Forces; Maj. Gen. Otto P. Weyland, commanding general, Nineteenth Tactical Air Command; and Brig. Gen. Richard E. Nugent, commanding general, Twenty-ninth Tactical Air Command. (NARA photo)
