The Supreme Commander: The War Years of Dwight D. Eisenhower

824 Pages·2012·4.26 MB·English

by  Stephen E. Ambrose

Stephen E. Ambrose
THE SUPREME COMMANDER
Stephen E. Ambrose wrote twenty books on military affairs and
foreign policy. Early in his career he was an associate editor of The
Eisenhower Papers, and he later went on to publish the definitive,
three-part biography of Eisenhower, as well as many bestselling
books of military history, including Band of Brothers and Undaunted
Courage. He died in 2002.
Also by Stephen E. Ambrose
Halleck: Lincoln’s Chief of Staff (1962)
Upton and the Army (1964)
Duty, Honor, Country: A History of West Point (1966)
Eisenhower and Berlin, 1945: The Decision to Halt at the Elbe (1967) Crazy
Horse and Custer:
The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors (1975) Ike’s Spies: Eisenhower
and the Espionage Establishment (1981) Pegasus Bridge: June 6, 1944
(1985)
Nixon, Vol. 1: The Education of a Politician, 1913–1962 (1987) Nixon, Vol.
2: The Triumph of a Politician, 1962–1972 (1989) Eisenhower: Soldier and
President (1990)
Nixon, Vol. 3: Ruin and Recovery, 1973–1990 (1991)
Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from
Normandy to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest (1992) D-Day: June 6, 1944—The
Climactic Battle of World War II (1994) Undaunted Courage: Meriwether
Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West (1996)
Citizen Soldiers: The U.S. Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge to
the Surrender of Germany—June 7, 1944–May 7, 1945 (1997) Americans
at War (1997)
The Victors: Eisenhower and His Boys: The Men of World War II (1998)
Comrades: Brothers, Fathers, Heroes, Sons, Pals (1999) Nothing Like It in the
World: The Men Who Built the Transcontinental Railroad, 1863–1869
(2000) The Wild Blue:
The Men and Boys Who Flew the B-24s Over Germany (2001) To America:
Personal Reflections of an Historian (2002) This Vast Land:
A Young Man’s Journal of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (2003)

FIRST ANCHOR BOOKS EDITION, JANUARY 2012
Copyright © 1969, 1970 by Stephen E. Ambrose
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Anchor Books, a division of Random House,
Inc., New York, and in Canada by Random House of Canada Limited, Toronto. Originally
published in hardcover in the United States by Doubleday, Inc., New York, in 1970.
Anchor Books and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.
Portions of this work were first published in the following periodicals: American History
Illustrated, “The Big Appointment” and “Eisenhower’s Greatest Decision,” copyright © 1968, 1969
by Historical Times, Inc., respectively; The National Observer, “Nailing Down D-Day Details”;
American Heritage, “A Fateful Friendship,” copyright © 1969 by American Heritage Publishing
Co., Inc.
The maps in this volume appeared in Crusade in Europe by
Dwight D. Eisenhower, copyright © 1948 by Doubleday & Company, Inc.
The Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress.
eISBN: 978-0-30794663-8
www.anchorbooks.com
Cover photograph: Hollandse Hoogte/Redux.
Cover design by Base Art Co.
v3.1
For Moira with love
Preface
This is the story of a soldier. It is told in his terms. I have attempted to
describe General Eisenhower’s wartime service, his major decisions and
activities, and the results from within his frame of reference. For the
most part, I examine the alternatives as he saw them, seldom trying to
suggest how things might have been done differently or what other
approaches to problems were possible. What I have tried to do is to pull
together the many facets of his service and to give some sense of the
scope of his responsibilities.
This work does not attempt to analyze some basic questions. I do not
pretend to deal with the political or moral aspects of the war; with few
exceptions, Eisenhower did not try to set policy. He believed that his
function was to carry out the policies created by his superiors. Even had
Eisenhower not seen himself as an agent and tried to be more active in
the formation of policy, it is unlikely that he would have changed much
in the basic approach taken by the British and American governments in
fighting the war, for he accepted—indeed, heartily endorsed—the mostly
unquestioned assumptions held by the governments. As he saw it, he was
given a job to do and he did it. How he did it is the subject of this work.
My hope is that it conveys some sense of the magnitude of the task
Eisenhower undertook and met, a feeling for the extraordinary charm
and deep integrity of the man, a conception of the way in which he
operated, a recognition of the manner in which he weighed alternatives,
made decisions, and saw to the enforcement of his orders, and some
understanding as to the way his decisions affected the outcome of the
war.
My debts are deep. Dr. Alfred D. Chandler, Jr., editor of the
Eisenhower Papers, was a constant source of encouragement. Dr. Forrest
Pogue read the entire manuscript, patiently helped me to avoid pitfalls,
and generously gave of his great knowledge of the American high
command in World War II. Dr. Robert A. Divine read the chapters
dealing with Eisenhower’s role in Franco-American relations and
provided many useful suggestions. Sir Ian Jacob went through all the
chapters, a laborious task in itself, and added to his labors by giving me
not only general criticism but also comments drawn from his personal
experience, which were always illuminating. In addition, he was kind
enough to lend me his personal diary, on which I drew heavily.
The staff of the Eisenhower Project at the Johns Hopkins University,
especially Miss Joyce Daidakis and Miss Nellie Wahbe, kept me at the
typewriter when I wanted to go duck hunting. Mr. Edwin Alan
Thompson, the chief researcher for the Project, provided me with
information and documents from sources known only to him. Mrs.
Elizabeth Smith was more than an outstanding typist; she was a stern
critic and is a good friend. Mrs. Lois Sacks and Mrs. Jean Sample assisted
by, among other things, making the work seem worth the effort. I only
wish I could properly express my thanks to each member of the staff.
I doubt very much that I could have completed this work without the
aid of the staff of the Eisenhower Project; I know that I would not have
finished without the support of Joseph P. Hobbs, the assistant editor of
the Eisenhower Papers. He read and minutely criticized the first draft of
each chapter, which more often than not led to a complete
reorganization and revision of the chapter. His great knowledge of
General Walter Bedell Smith, whose biography he is writing, and of the
events and issues of World War II, was absolutely indispensable to me.
Through hundreds of lunch hours and thousands of coffee breaks, he has
given me the benefit of his insights and discoveries. I hope that someday
I can find a way to repay him.
The dedication is to the one who makes it possible for me to
undertake and complete a task. More important, she makes it all
worthwhile.
Stephen E. Ambrose
Naval War College
Newport, Rhode Island
December 1969
Contents
Cover
About the Author
Other Books by This Author
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Preface
Maps: (By Rafael Palacios)
BOOK ONE
The First Two Years
PART I: WASHINGTON TO LONDON
[December 1941—June 1942]
Chapter 1: DEBACLE IN THE PACIFIC
Chapter 2: ESTABLISHING THE ORGANIZATION AND THE STRATEGY
Chapter 3: “BOLERO”: THE BUILD-UP IN ENGLAND
PART II: LONDON TO GIBRALTAR
[June 1942—December 1942]
Chapter 4: THE THEATER COMMANDER
Chapter 5: THE BLACKEST DAY IN HISTORY
Chapter 6: THE TRANSATLANTIC ESSAY CONTEST
Chapter 7: PREPARING THE “TORCH”
Chapter 8: THE INVASION OF NORTH AFRICA
Chapter 9: THE DARLAN DEAL
Chapter 10: THE FIRST CAMPAIGN
PART III: OPENING THE MEDITERRANEAN
[January 1943—July 1943]
Chapter 11: CONFERENCE AT CASABLANCA
Chapter 12: KASSERINE PASS
Chapter 13: CLIMAX IN TUNISIA
Chapter 14: THE LOCAL POLITICAL MESS
Chapter 15: PREPARING “HUSKY”: MARCH—JULY 1943
Chapter 16: SICILY
PART IV: THE ITALIAN CAMPAIGN
[July 1943—December 1943]
Chapter 17: THE BEGINNING
Chapter 18: THE ITALIAN SURRENDER NEGOTIATIONS
Chapter 19: SALERNO
Chapter 20: STALEMATE IN ITALY
Chapter 21: THE BIG APPOINTMENT
Chapter 22: PREPARING FOR “OVERLORD”
Chapter 23: EPILOGUE: EISENHOWER ON THE EVE OF “OVERLORD”
BOOK TWO
Supreme Commander, Allied Expeditionary Force
PART I: THE PREPARATION
[January 1944—June 1944]
Chapter 1: “WE CANNOT AFFORD TO FAIL”
Chapter 2: THE “ANVIL” DEBATE
Chapter 3: THE TRANSPORTATION PLAN
Chapter 4: LE GRAND CHARLES AND OTHER POLITICAL PROBLEMS
Chapter 5: WORRIES OF A COMMANDER