June 6, 1944 at 3 a.m. English Channel.
The greatest landing in history began here.
In the air, thousands of bombers, transport planes and fighter jets from British airfields roared through the strait and flew like swarms to northern France.
On the surface of the water, more than a thousand landing ships, transport ships, frigates... Cruise out of the important ports of southern Britain and speed towards the Normandy beachhead.
This was the Allied long-planned return to the European continent, Operation Overlord.
Another fierce battle with Nazi Germany unfolded from the beaches of Normandy...
Eisenhower, the commander of Operation Torch in North Africa, is now better than ever, and has become the commander-in-chief of the European Allies, holding the "Overlord" sword that will surely leave its name in history.
He still lives in the Telegraph House outside London, surrounded by his former north African cronies: Kay, Tiks and Smith.
But his self-confidence is stronger, a self-confidence that turns the tide of Europe.
Kay is still the Kai of North Africa, still so beautiful, so full of tenderness, to give Eisenhower sustenance, to warmth.
Kay was at Eisenhower's side when Operation Overlord was launched, along with the indispensable aide- Tiks and right-hand man Smith.
Eisenhower's mood at this moment was more nervous and agitated than when he commanded the Torch in Gibraltar, because he knew it was a battle that would move history forward.
However, he was not on the front line of the battle command, as he was in North Africa, and the first line of battle was his two capable men: Montgomery and Bradley, who did not disappoint Eisenhower.
The vanguard of Montgomery's 21st Army group landed smoothly at the three beachheads of "Sword", "Juno" and "Kim" in eastern Normandy, and soon formed a solid bridgehead.
At the same time, the U.S. general Bradley's 12th Army Group landed from two beachheads in western Normandy, "Omaha" and "Utah". Despite stubborn resistance, Eisenhower lived up to Eisenhower's expectations and captured the beachhead in time.
Two iron fists were then swung into the heart of France.
The Nazi general Rommel was indeed not idle, and he dispatched his troops in a hurry, going against the current, and even slowing down the hurried pace of Montgomery and Bradley for a while.
Just as the Mongol and Bu ii generals were gradually stalemated on the front line, Eisenhower played a trump card in time.
After the "fierce general" Patton lost his position from Sicily, he waited for the opportunity to return.
On August 1, Patton finally got his wish.
With Eisen's orders, Patton commanded the U.S. 3rd Army and quickly crossed the strait to join Bradley's regiment.
The long-awaited Patton did not live up to expectations, swinging his division to attack, suddenly breaking the deadlock, like an autumn wind sweeping away the leaves and sweeping the German army.
Rommel's wounded withdrawal from the front, coupled with Hitler's purge of Army officers involved in the assassination, made the German army on the Western Front worse and weaker.
The Allies could not have missed such a good opportunity, and they chased after and fought hard.
Montgomery's 21st cluster turned eastward and soon dissolved most of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Lux.
Not to be outdone, Bradley's 12th Group also swung its division eastward after the capture of Paris, pushing straight for Nazi territory.
At the same time, Eisenhower, with Kay, Tiks and a cadre of the high command, moved from London to the French city of Reims to personally supervise the battle.
The Allies leapt into Nazi territory.
In the cold winter, when the Allies were not paying attention, Hitler poured all his mobile forces into a sudden attack on Ardenne, the weakest of the Allied lines, which temporarily frustrated the Eisenhower plan. But with Patton's quick break, Hitler's offensive was crushed and the Allies still hurried eastward.
Montgomery's 21st Group was appointed as the main attacker, and Eisenhower was tasked with storming berlin, the Nazi lair, through the Ruhr, and to strengthen the U.S. 9th Army into Montgomery's cluster.
To this end, Montgomery has organized a series of major battles such as "Market - Garden", "Grenade", "Real" and so on.
The 21st Cluster of millions is steadily advancing deeper into Germany.
Soon, the wide, surging Rhine river was also left behind by them...
Simpson's 9th Army, as Montgomery's vanguard, slashed straight into Berlin.
In early April, Eisenhower abruptly ordered Simpson's 9th Army to Bradley.
But it didn't tell him to change the task.
So Simpson still bravely moved forward, and the swing was gradually approaching Berlin.
Just then, Simpson receives a phone call that surprises him...
On April 15, 1945, Simpson was in a very happy mood at this time. For days, he had been in a state of excitement. Because his 9th Army lived up to its expectations and successfully established two bridgeheads on the other side of the Elbe, he was less than 120 kilometers from Berlin.
Just then, Bradley's phone rang simpson's headquarters and asked him to fly to Wiesbaden immediately, and Simpson was puzzled, but he flew to Wiesbaden immediately. As soon as he got off the plane, Bradley was waiting for him at the airport, and Bradley said to him, "I will tell you frankly that your troops must stop advancing in place, that they cannot advance further east, and that the troops on the east bank of the Elbe will have to cross the river again." ”
Simpson listened, looked at Bradley wide-eyed, and cried out, "What? My God, where did this demonic command come from? You know, in 24 hours, I'll be in Berlin! ”
Bradley said solemnly, "This is an order from Eisenhower himself. ”
Hearing that it was the commander-in-chief himself, Simpson turned to Bradley and begged: "Can you negotiate with Ike again, Berlin is the most important target in this war, should it be given to the Soviets?" ”
Bradley also said in a helpless tone: "There is no room for negotiation." ”
Simpson stayed for half a day and said in a crying and laughing tone, "This is simply ugly!" ”
Bradley smiled bitterly. Simpson turned and walked toward the plane, but Bradley didn't hold back.
Without taking a few steps, the big general turned back to Bradley and said, "Head, I bet Ike did something stupid this time." ”
Eisenhower's decision to abandon Berlin was not a decision made only the day Simpson was ordered.
On the night of March 28, 1945, Eisenhower suddenly wondered if the plan to directly pound Berlin, as determined since the Normandy landings, was too naïve. As can be seen at a glance from the operational map, his troops are still 480 kilometers away from Berlin, separated by the majestic Harz Mountains and the mighty Elbe River. Zhukov's vanguard forces on the Eastern Front had already established a bridgehead on the Oder River, just 60 kilometers from the German Chancellery.
"There is no way to get into Berlin before the Russians." Eisenhower pondered.
"Moreover, Berlin itself has become an insignificant city, and the German heavy army has moved to the south." He went on to wonder, "If you point the main direction of attack at Berlin, it will not only make no sense, but it will also make the American troops unable to move because they are contained." It seems that the original plan to attack Berlin could no longer meet the requirements of the new situation and must be changed. ”
So he asked Kay to summon Chief of Staff Smith.
He entrusted his ideas and ideas to his right-hand man, and Smith believed that abandoning Berlin would help the U.S. military to develop its ambitions in southern Germany. The two hit it off and then discussed the next course of action.
After some thought, Eisenhower decided on a new Allied battle plan with a decisiveness rarely seen in the past.
The main thrust of the plan was to immediately change the direction of the Allied main attack from Berlin to Munich and Lebby to the southeast, to change the main attack from Montgomery's 21st Group to Bradley's 12th Cluster, and to this end to redeploy Simpson's 9th Army back to Bradley.com. Montgomery's 21st Group changed its mission to attack northeast, occupying The Baltic Sea's Palembang, Lubeck Bay, just north of Hamburg, cutting off german retreats in Denmark and Norway.
Chief of Staff Smith was quite pleased with the plan itself, but he reminded the Commander-in-Chief worriedly: "Ike, I fear the British will oppose this plan. ”
Eisenhower said: "Since the Normandy landings, I have been accommodating them, putting the British in the main offensive position, and the US army has been playing a supporting role for a long time. Now that things have changed, Berlin is no longer strategically important, and it's time for the U.S. and British forces to swap roles. ”
Smith sighed and added, "Monty certainly won't accept this arrangement." ”
Eisenhower raised his voice, "Beato, don't forget, I'm supreme commander. ”
Smith looked at Eisenhower in amazement and said darkly, "Ike seems to have changed as a person." ”
Eisenhower went on to say, "I'll send a report to Monty right away to see how he reacts." ”
Kay looked into his eyes, busy preparing paper and pencil, and Eisenhower dictated the telegram to Montgomery.
Subsequently, he felt that Stalin should be informed of his decision. Since the Russians must have entered Berlin first, why not be a good man and offer to cede Berlin to them.
Eisenhower then dictated a letter to the Supreme Commander of the Soviet Union, which was immediately sent by telegram to Major General Dean, the U.S. military representative in Moscow.
Montgomery was planning with great ambition the concrete steps of an attack on Berlin. On the morning of March 29, he received a telegram from Eisenhower. Just after glancing twice, he was immediately stunned by the contents of the telegram, and then he slammed the telegram on the table with a "snap" and angrily said: "Is this reasonable!" ”
In his telegram, Eisenhower spoke of his new battle plan and made it clear to Montgomery that once the siege of Ruhr was complete, he should return Simpson's forces to Bradley, and the 12th Army would launch a major attack on Leipzig. His mission was to protect the security of Bradley's north wing. How could this not make Monty angry.
Montgomery deliberately read out this telegram in front of his subordinates, and immediately set off a frenzy of accusations against the Americans in the staff of army group, and when Churchill learned of it, he felt that Eisenhower had done a big stupid thing, and he immediately called Eisenhower to question his neglect of the Berlin issue at this moment.
Soon after, Eisenhower called back, repeating his argument for making the decision and saying that letting Stalin attack Berlin would save tens of thousands of unnecessary casualties.
Almost at the same time, the commanders of the British army received an even more disturbing letter. The letter was a response from U.S. tri-service commanders to their British colleagues' insulting condemnation of Eisenhower's new decision. "Ike is the best judge in the near future in terms of the measures that should be taken to destroy the German army or their ability to resist," the letter said. His strategic conception was wise, which was conducive to the destruction of Germany as soon as possible. His new decision should therefore be fully supported. ”
There is no doubt that the letter strongly supports Eisenhower.
Churchill, who also received a copy of the letter, did not understand why Americans were so short-sighted in their political vision and saw only immediate military gains. On the afternoon of March 30, he sent back a long cable to Eisenhower, refuting Eisenhower's reasoning one by one:
First, what are the advantages of crossing the Elbe. The enemy's resistance weakens and advances as far east as possible.
The ceding of Berlin to the Russian army would have extremely serious political consequences, for all this would reinforce their already expressed conviction that they had fought the world.
Berlin is of great significance, and if Berlin falls, then most Germans will give up resistance.
Churchill's plan was to advance the 21st Army to the Elbe and capture Berlin.
Churchill then sent a long telegram to President Roosevelt. The cable said something that roughly meant:
First, Berlin remains of great strategic importance. The fall of Berlin would be the clearest sign of a fiasco for the German people.
If the Russians were to take Berlin again, they would think that they had played a decisive role in the victory, and that once this idea arose, there would be great trouble in the future.
Churchill believed that, from a political point of view, it was necessary to advance as far east as possible.
Eisenhower was relieved of his initial doubts, largely because his new plan was gradually supported by Marshall. So, after receiving Churchill's telegram, he responded with reason.
Churchill was heartbroken to see that Eisenhower still did not change his original decision in the slightest, but he felt that there was little point in such an argument. So he sent Ike a reasonable and friendly telegram:
Thank you again for sending such a kind telegram... But I still attached great importance to the question of the capture of Berlin. But if the cessation of Berlin to Storling becomes an immutable reality, I suggest that the Russians should be met as far east as possible...
Just as Churchill was tirelessly advising Ike, General Dean, who was far away in Moscow, was ordered to go to the Kremlin and give Stalin the letter from Eisenhower on the Berlin question that had been suppressed for several days.
After reading the letter, the marshal felt a burst of happiness in his heart, but he remained as quiet as usual, and said lightly: "Eisenhower's plan seems to be good." ”
They started talking about the situation on the Eastern Front. Finally Stalin said: "Eisenhower's plan for the main direction of attack is good, and this plan will enable us to achieve the most important goal: to cut Germany into two pieces." ”
The next afternoon, Stalin's telegram was sent to Eisenhower by Dean:
(1) The plan to divide the German army in two was in perfect harmony with the plan of the Soviet High Command;
Second, the Soviet Union would send secondary troops to attack Berlin.
Almost at the same time that Eisenhower received the Telegram from Dith in reply from Stalin, Churchill also knew the contents of the letter.
He knew that the raw rice was cooked to maturity and could not be changed. Not only is there no point in continuing to quarrel, but it will also hurt the harmony between brothers.
Eisenhower was victorious in this telegram war.
But in terms of foresight, Churchill seems to be superior.