Courtney Hodges

Courtney Hodges
Hodges as a lieutenant general, 1944
Born	(1887-01-05)5 January 1887 Perry, Georgia, United States
Died	16 January 1966(1966-01-16) (aged 79) San Antonio, Texas, United States
Buried	Arlington National Cemetery
Allegiance	United States
Service / branch	United States Army
Years of service	1906–1949
Rank	General
Service number	0-2686[1]
Unit	Infantry Branch
Commands	First United States Army Third United States Army X Corps Army Ground Forces Infantry School, Fort Benning 2nd Battalion, 6th Infantry Regiment
Battles / wars	Philippine–American War Post-war insurgency Border War[2] Pancho Villa Expedition World War I Hundred Days Offensive Battle of Saint-Mihiel[2] Meuse-Argonne campaign[2] World War II Operation Overlord Normandy landings Operation Cobra Falaise pocket Siegfried Line campaign Battle of Hürtgen Forest Battle of Aachen Operation Queen Battle of the Bulge Western Allied invasion of Germany Operation Lumberjack Battle of Remagen Battle of the Ruhr Pocket
Awards	Distinguished Service Cross Army Distinguished Service Medal (3) Silver Star Bronze Star Medal Complete list
Spouse(s)	Mildred Lee Buchner ​ (m. 1928)​

General Courtney Hicks Hodges (5 January 1887 – 16 January 1966) was a decorated senior officer in the United States Army who commanded First U.S. Army in the Western European Campaign of World War II. Hodges was a notable "mustang" officer, rising from private to general.

Born in Perry, Georgia, he began studies at the United States Military Academy but dropped out after failing Geometry. He joined the Army in 1906 as a private, rapidly advanced into the noncommissioned officer ranks, and obtained a commission after passing a competitive examination in 1909. As a young man, Hodges served under Colonel John J. Pershing in the Pancho Villa Expedition and became part of the first rescue mission in U.S. military aviation history when he helped save a stranded aviator. He was a battalion commander in France during World War I, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism.

In 1943, he was sent to England to serve under General Omar Bradley. Hodges was deputy commander of First Army during the D-Day invasion. Two months later, he was appointed First Army's commander. Under Hodges, First Army had 18 divisions, the most under the immediate command of any general in the European theater of World War II. First Army liberated Paris, was the first Allied army to enter Germany, and cut Nazi Germany in two by advancing east to link up with Soviet forces who advanced west.^[3]