William Hood Simpson

William Hood Simpson

Infobox Military Person
name= William Hood Simpson
born= birth date|1888|05|18
died= death date and age|1980|08|15|1888|05|18
placeofbirth=Weatherford, Texas
placeofdeath=San Antonio, Texas
placeofburial= Arlington National Cemetery


caption=
allegiance=flag|United States of America
branch=United States Army
serviceyears= 1909–1946
rank= General
commands=Fourth United States Army XII Corps Ninth United States Army Second United States Army 30th Infantry Division 35th Infantry Division
unit=
battles= Moro Rebellion Mexican Expedition Battle of Saint-Mihiel (WW1)
Meuse-Argonne Offensive (WWI) Battle of Aachen (WW2) Operation Plunder (WW2) Operation Varsity (WW2) Operation Veritable (WW2
awards= Army Distinguished Service Medal (2) Silver Star Medal Légion d'honneur (France) Croix de guerre (France)
laterwork=
portrayedby=

Lieutenant General William Hood Simpson (May 18, 1888 – August 15, 1980) was a distinguished U.S. Army officer who commanded the U.S. Ninth Army in northern Europe, during World War II, among other roles.

William Simpson was born May 18, 1888, at Weatherford, Texas. After graduating from the United States Military Academy in 1909, he was commissioned into the infantry. Before US involvement in World War I, Simpson served in the US and in the Philippines, including the Mexican Punitive Expedition, in 1916.

He was promoted to Captain in May 1917 and served with the 33rd Division throughout World War I, receiving temporary promotions to Major and Lieutenant Colonel and becoming divisional Chief-of-Staff.

In the inter-war years, 1919 - 1941, Simpson filled staff appointments and attended military schools, both as student and as instructor. In mid-1940, he was appointed to command the 9th Infantry at Fort Sam Houston, Texas. Before US entry into World War II, he had commanded divisions and received promotion to temporary Major-General, taking 35th Division from Camp Robinson, Arkansas, to a training site in California.


SHAEF staff in 1945
Further promotions followed and in May, 1944, as a Lieutenant General, Simpson took his staff to Britain to organise the US 9th Army. This formation was activated as part of Omar Bradley's 12th Army Group, on September 5th at Brest, France. Brest was liberated on September 20.

The 9th Army joined the general advance and, after a month in the Ardennes the 9th was moved further north. In November, 1944 it broke through the Siegfried Line and advanced, in some of heaviest fighting of the war, to the Roer River. At this point the advance stalled, due to the threat posed by dams upstream.

After the Battle of the Bulge, the 9th Army remained with Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery's 21st Army Group for the final attack into Germany.

As part of Operation Plunder, the Rhine was crossed on March 24, 1945, north of the Ruhr industrial area and on April 19th the 9th Army made contact with Courtney Hodges' US 1st Army, making complete encirclement of the Ruhr. On 4 April, it had reverted to Bradley's 12th Army Group.

The Ninth was the first American Army across the Elbe, on April 12.

Simpson returned to the US in June, 1945. He undertook a mission to China in July and subsequently commanded the U.S. Second Army at Memphis, Tennessee. He retired in November 1946 and, on July 19, 1954 he was promoted to General on the retired list by special Act of Congress (Public Law 83-508).

General William H Simpson died on August 15, 1980, and is buried alongside his wife in Arlington National Cemetery.

Military decorations

External links

* [http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/whsimpson.htm Simpson's biography from the Arlington National Cemetery's website]
* [http://texashistory.unt.edu/search/?q=Simpson%2C+William+Hood&t=dc.subject Photos of William Hood Simpson] , hosted by the [http://texashistory.unt.edu/ Portal to Texas History]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • William Hood Simpson — General Años de servicio 1909 1946 …   Wikipedia Español

  • William Hood Simpson — (* 18. Mai 1888 in Weatherford, Texas; † 15. August 1980 in San Antonio, Texas) war ein US amerikanischer General und während des Zweiten Weltkriegs Oberbefehlshaber der 9. US Armee …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Hood Simpson — (18 mai 1888 – 15 août 1980) était un général de division américain qui a été à la tête de la 9e armée américaine durant la Seconde Guerre mondiale. Le général Simpson (assis sur la gauche) avec d autres généraux U.S. du …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Simpson (Familienname) — Simpson ist ein Familienname: Bekannte Namensträger Inhaltsverzeichnis A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Simpson — may refer to:*William Dunlap Simpson, Governor of South Carolina from 1879 *William Gayley Simpson *William Simpson (artist) (1823 ndash;1899) *William Hood Simpson, US general who commanded the US Ninth Army in Europe in World War II *William… …   Wikipedia

  • William Simpson — ist der Name folgender Personen: William von Simpson (1881–1945), deutscher Schriftsteller William Dunlap Simpson (1823–1890), US amerikanischer Politiker (South Carolina) William Simpson (Fußballfunktionär) (1894–1974), kanadischer… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Simpson — puede referirse a: Contenido 1 Lugares 2 Personajes 3 Personas 4 Universidades 5 Otros …   Wikipedia Español

  • Simpson (name) — Family name name = imagesize= caption= meaning = son of Simme region =Anglo Scottish origin =United Kingdom related names = footnotes = Simpson is an Anglo Scottish patronymic surname from the medieval masculine given name Simme . The earliest… …   Wikipedia

  • Simpson — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Pour les articles homonymes, voir Simson. Patronyme Le nom de Simpson est porté par plusieurs personnalités (par ordre alphabétique) : Ashlee Simpson …   Wikipédia en Français

  • William T. Sherman — William Tecumseh Sherman Pour les articles homonymes, voir Tecumseh (homonymie) et Sherman. William Tecumseh Sherman …   Wikipédia en Français

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”