Why Are Alexander's Actions Important

a. World War I. Promoted to captain on February 7, 1915, Alexander returned to the Western Front. That fall, he took part in the Battle of Loos where he briefly led the 1st Battalion, Irish Guards as acting major. For his service in the fighting, Alexander was awarded the Military Cross. The following year, Alexander saw action during the Battle of the Somme. Engaged in heavy combat that September, he received the Distinguished Service Order and the French Légion d'honneur. Elevated to the permanent rank of major on August 1, 1917, Alexander was made an acting lieutenant colonel shortly thereafter and led the 2nd Battalion, Irish Guards at the Battle of Passchendaele that fall. Wounded in the fighting, he quickly returned to command his men
In Italy. Consolidating their position ashore, Allied forces commenced advancing up the Peninsula. Due to the Apennine Mountains, which run the length of Italy, Alexander's forces pushed forward on two fronts with Clark in the east and Montgomery in the west. Allied efforts were slowed by poor weather, rough terrain, and a tenacious German defense. Slowly falling back through the fall, the Germans sought to buy time to complete the Winter Line south of Rome. Though the British succeeded in penetrating the line and capturing Ortona in late December, heavy snows prevented them from pushing east along Route 5 to reach Rome. On Clark's front, the advance bogged down in the Liri Valley near the town of Cassino. In early 1944, Eisenhower departed to oversee planning of the invasion of Normandy. Arriving in Britain, Eisenhower initially requested that Alexander serve as the ground forces commander for the operation as he had been easy to work with during earlier campaigns and had promoted cooperation among Allied
Finally breaking through at Cassino in mid-May, Allied forces surged forward and pushed Field Marshal Albert Kesselring and the German Tenth Army back to the Hitler Line. Breaking through the Hitler Line days later, Alexander sought to trap the 10th Army by using forces advancing from the Anzio beachhead. Both assaults proved successful and his plan was coming together when Clark shockingly ordered the Anzio forces to turn northwest for Rome. As a result, the German Tenth Army was able to escape north. Though Rome fell on June 4, Alexander was furious that the opportunity to crush the enemy had been lost. As Allied forces landed in Normandy two days later, the Italian front quickly became of secondary importance. Despite this, Alexander continued pushing up the peninsula during the summer of 1944 and breached the Trasimene Line before capturing