What If General Frank Andrews does not die in 1943?

what if Frank Andrews did not die in a plane crash on May3, 1943? At the time he was commander of European Theater of Operations United States Army. It has been suggested that he could have been placed in command of Operation Overlord instead of Eisenhower.

What do you think would have happened?
-Andrews remains as commander ETOUSA letting Eisenhower concentrate on planning and carrying out the campaign to liberate Europe.
-Marshall gives Overlord to Andrews and Eisenhower stays in London for the rest of the war
-Eisenhower stays on in the Med.
 
What was Churchill & Brookes attitude towards Andrews?
I am trying to find an answer to that but that is an excellent question.
Andrews was promoted to ETOUSA commander at the Casablanca Conference in Jan. 1943 and died five months later in May. My guess is that the British did not get a chance to get to know him before he was killed. Churchill could have still torpedoed Andrew's selection to Overlord commander later on.
 
Eisenhower was a favorite of Churchills. Otherwise I doubt he would have been considered for command of Op Torch & the follow up. Marshal regarded Eisnhowers work @ WPD superior to others & Ike may have remained in Washington into 1943.

Devers suceeded Andrews. He was sent back to the US briefly, then became Deputy to Alexander & designated commander of the future 6th Army Group. Its just possible Devers might have been nominated for command of SHAEF had Ike not been available in December 1943. I've tried to pin down the attitude of key British leaders towards Devers, but not found anything definative.
 
In my opinion Eisenhower still would have ended up as Supreme Commander. After May 1943 he still goes on to lead Sicily and the Italian operations so that will overshadow any other commander up for the job.

Coming from the aviation community I could see Andrews supporting the buildup of the Eighth Air Force. Perhaps he could be helpful in getting true long range fighters operational out of England. I think he would also clash with Eisenhower over sending Bomber Groups from England to the Med but I think they would have worked well together using the Eigth and Ninth Air Forces as a tactical force for softening up France for D-Day.

I wonder if Andrews would have become the next Chief of Staff at the end of the war rather than Ike?
 
I see in his bio Andrews started as a cavalryman. He had only slightly less actual ground warfare training than Eisenhower, which was not a lot. Ike did briefly command a infantry battalion and regiment. In both cases these men were valued for their ability to plan, organize, and execute complex tasks far above their peers. Also both had been noted for their understanding of stratigic concepts & the influence of politics on military strategy and operations. So its not like Andrews lack of hands on experience with ground combat at the tactical level would make him a inferior choice to Ike, Devers, or Marshal.
 
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I see in his bio Andrews tarted as a cavalryman. He had only slightly less actual ground warfare training than Eisenhower, which was not a lot. Ike did briefly command a infantry battalion and regiment. In both cases these men were valued for their ability to plan, organize, and execute complex tasks far above their peers. Also both had been noted for their understanding of stratigic concepts & the influence of politics on military strategy and operations. So its not like Andrews lack of hands on experience with ground combat at the tactical level would make him a inferior choice to Ike, Devers, or Marshal.
What would have happened to Devers in this scenario? Perhaps Marshall still sends him to the Med or he gets 1st Army or eventually 12th Army Group instead of Bradley?
 
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