Ernest J. Dawley

Ernest J. "Mike" Dawley (17 February 1886 - 10 December 1973) was a Major General in the United States Army, known for commanding VI Corps during Operation Avalanche. The VI Corps took part in the Allied invasion of Italy when it landed at Salerno on September 9, 1943, with the British X Corps under Fifth Army as part of Operation Avalanche. The stiffness of the German defences sorely tested VI Corps and it suffered heavy casualties before German attempts to throw the American force back into the sea were thwarted by the artillery of its 45th and 36th Infantry Divisions, strongly supported by naval gunfire, bombing and the approach of British Eighth Army from the south. Dawley was replaced by Fifth Army commander Mark Clark after Salerno, as he was judged to be "worn out".

During World War I, Dawley was the executive officer for the Saumur Artillery School in France.

After demotion at Salerno, Dawley was assigned as the commander of the Tank Destroyer School and Center in the U.S. before retiring in 1947.