Allied Expeditionary Force

The unified command directing the liberation of northwest Europe under General Eisenhower.

The Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) served as the central command for Allied operations in northwest Europe from February 1944 until the end of World War II. Led throughout its existence by American General Dwight D. Eisenhower, this headquarters coordinated the largest concentration of forces ever committed to a single operation on the Western Front. While often associated with the planning and execution of Operation Overlord, SHAEF managed a complex multinational structure comprising American, Free French, British, and Canadian armies. The organization evolved from initial plans drafted by Lieutenant General Sir Frederick E. Morgan into a functional machine that directed land, air, and naval forces across France and Germany until the war's conclusion.

Quick Facts

Primary affiliation

Allied Powers

Key command structure

Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF)

Major operations

Operation Overlord
Operation Neptune
Invasion of Southern France

Primary composition

US Army
British Army
Royal Air Force
US Navy
Canadian Forces
Free French Forces

Theater of war

Northwest Europe

Lore & Background

SHAEF was formally established in February 1944 at Camp Griffiss in Bushy Park, Teddington, London, where an adjacent street named Shaef Way and a gate called Shaef Gate remain today. Southwick House near Portsmouth served primarily as the naval headquarters for Operation Neptune, not as a SHAEF headquarters. The staff adopted the outline plan for Operation Overlord created by Lieutenant General Sir Frederick E. Morgan, Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander (Designate), and Major General Ray Barker.

Morgan had begun planning the invasion in April 1943, molding the strategy into its final version executed on June 6, 1944, a process shaped by Eisenhower and land forces commander General Sir Bernard Law Montgomery. As the breakout from Normandy progressed, SHAEF oversaw the creation of three Army Groups: the British 21st Army Group in the north under Montgomery, the US 12th Army Group in the center under Lieutenant General Omar Bradley, and the US 6th Army Group in the south.

The latter initially operated under the Mediterranean Theatre's AFHQ during the August 15, 1944 invasion of southern France before transferring command to SHAEF one month later. By December 1944, the headquarters had established itself at the Trianon Palace Hotel in Versailles, moving to Reims in February 1945 and finally to Frankfurt on May 26, 1945.

Reader's Guide

Its primary objective was the defeat of German forces in the west through coordinated amphibious landings, strategic bombing, and ground offensives. The headquarters managed a diverse coalition including US, British, Canadian, and Free French units under a unified command led by General Dwight D. Eisenhower. The structure included three main Army Groups: the British 21st Army Group (First Canadian Army, Second British Army), the US 12th Army Group (First, Third, Ninth, and Fifteenth US Armies), and the US 6th Army Group (French First Army, Seventh US Army).

SHAEF also directed all Allied airborne forces as a single army. Command moved from London to Versailles in December 1944, then Reims in February 1945, and Frankfurt by May 26, 1945. After the war, SHAEF was dissolved on July 14, 1945. Its legacy continued through US Forces, European Theater (USFET) and later NATO's Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), which adopted much of its structure starting in April 1951.