None the less, Rainbow’s war had got off to an excellent start.
Chapter 59 – THE WITHDRAWAL
“One minute can decide the outcome of the battle, one hour – the outcome of the campaign, and one day – the fate of the country.”
All morning the reports had flooded in, a village lost, a unit overrun, and a myriad of information from hard-pressed commanders desperately trying to salvage their units from the maelstrom.
Some units stood and fought, others simply withdrew under pressure. Some ceased to exist in defiant defence, whilst yet others ran away.
The staff of SHAEF were desperately trying to bring together the big picture so that their General could make informed choices, rather than trying to fire fight each individual report that arrived from his senior commanders.
Rather surprisingly for Eisenhower, it was Bradley that was least forthcoming with information, the normally genial and calm general clearly rattled by what was happening to his units.
It had taken all morning to establish that 12th Army Group’s frontline had been badly broken, Soviet units seemingly pouring through and driving hard into the heart of the Allied Occupation Zone.
Having just got off the phone with General McCreery, Eisenhower savoured the positives of the call. Soviet attacks had taken place, but not at the heavy level of Central Germany, and not with the same effectiveness. Leastways, not in and around Hamburg. Hannover was under heavy pressure and the British General did not expect to hold beyond that evening. But still McCreery’s report was better than any of the others Eisenhower had endured so far that day.
Opening his third pack of cigarettes, the commanding General examined the situation map, seeing the front sundered at Kassel, Frankfurt, Geissen, Heilbronn and Ingolstadt, the red markers seemingly breeding on the map before his eyes, as tired staff placed up the markers of processed reports.
A red-eyed staff Major attracted Ike’s attention and gestured towards the telephone, mouthing the word ‘Bradley’
“Eisenhower.”
“Ike, this is Omar. We can’t stop them.”
‘Well that is pretty unequivocal’, thought Ike.
“Go on, Brad.”
“If my brief is still to preserve my force, I have no choice but to conduct a controlled and rapid withdrawal, and to be frank, for some of my units it may be too late already Ike.”
“You must preserve your force, that order still stands Omar. You’ve been updated about Ingolstadt I hope?”
“Yes Sir. Depending on where they go, I don’t believe they will be a problem for me just now.”
Drawing quickly on his cigarette, Eisenhower focussed on the map to his front.
“So, what do you propose, Brad?”
“The Rhine.”
“The Rhine?”
“Has to be, Ike.”
Eisenhower’s eyes took in the situation, assessing distances from enemy forces to the Rhine, new units arriving at French ports, others available in France, bringing everything together in his mind.
“No good for the British, Brad, no good for the Germans,” Eisenhower shook his head at the inanimate object in his hand, “No good at all.”
“I understand, Ike. We have to hold the Ruhr in any case, that is a must, so we can establish a defensible line from there up to Bremen, I hope.”
“There’s not as much going on with McCreery at the moment. He should hold for now.”
“Regardless, I need to start pulling back now, and to cut the orders, now,” Eisenhower didn’t care for the school teacher emphasis his General used but let it go, “It means abandoning large areas of Germany to the Russians and the Council ain’t gonna like it, Ike, but if I’m gonna have enough Army to kick them back again then it has to be done…”
“…And done now?” Eisenhower completed the sentence.
“Yes, Sir, it surely does.”
A few staff officers had stopped what they were doing and were looking at Eisenhower, aware from his posture and expression that the day was about to take a different turn.
“No.”
Bradley was actually physically shocked.
“Sorry Brad, but I cannot give up that much ground without a fight. There are other natural lines of defence we can dig our heels into.”
“Yes Sir, but none with the worth of the Rhine.”
“But none the less of worth, General.”
Eisenhower consulted a small map on the table in front of him.
“Too much ground. We can hold them for some time on other lines, Brad. Dropping back to the Rhine in one hit removes other options. I can’t sanction that.”
“I’m not proposing a mass bug out, Ike. A controlled and fighting withdrawal back to the Rhine, to give myself time to beef up the defences.”
“I can buy into that, General, but ceding the ground only when absolutely necessary. There will be other lines to hold, before the Rhine, and I will tell the Council that we will hold them as best we can whilst we prepare the Rhine. Combat engineers have been working hard, but we are light on mines from the reports I see.”
Bradley clearly wanted to make certain of his remit, ignoring the point to ensure he understood fully.
“So can I look to drop back on the Rhine?”
Eisenhower wanted to make sure his man understood his orders.
“A fighting withdrawal, establishing more defensive lines and holding on to them for as long as is possible, pulling out only to preserve your force. Not a general bug-out to the Rhine. Am I clear, Brad?”
“Yes Sir.”
“How long can you keep the Reds away from the Rhine river line for?”
“Mainz worries me. It’s the shortest route, and we seem to have half the Red Army committed around Frankfurt and Giessen. I think a minimum of three days for them to get there, but I can hold Mainz for now, Sir.”
“Right. Make sure you tie in on your flanks, liaise with McCreery and Devers, particularly work out the plans with Devers, as the join between you is crucial, Brad.”
A swift look at the sheet of paper on his coffee table and Ike continued.
“I will cut three of the newly arrived infantry divisions to your command immediately. Details to follow.”
“Thank you for that, General, but twenty-three would be needed right now.”
“Would that I had them to send you, Brad.”
“The Germans?”
Eisenhower overcame an automatic reluctance.
“I am speaking with the Council this afternoon.”
“Good, cos I’m sorry to say we need those sonsofbitches right now. Put some of them in the field soon and we can free up some assets and start thinking about hitting back.”
Something stirred in Eisenhower’s memory as he sought more tobacco. Lighting up, his mind suddenly clicked.
“Did you see that report on those unusual attacks in the Pacific, Brad?”
Momentarily confused by the curve ball his commander had thrown, Bradley switched his train of thought.
“Yes, Sir, I did. Anthrax bombs and infected fleas that carry Bubonic Plague; nasty business, Ike.”
“Just thinking out loud here but, as the Japs and Russians are allies; do you think that there could be a possibility that they might have given the Reds something in return for the tanks and guns?”
A pause suggested that the ramifications were being swiftly processed.
“Possibly so, but I can’t see it. The Soviets are advancing into our areas, whereas the Japs used the nasties to mess up areas under our control. But it will pay to consider the possibility, Ike.”