“And De Lattre says there is no chance of a recovery?”
Bedell-Smith shook his head.
“Then I see little choice, Walt. We have to acknowledge that we are now split, and move our units accordingly.”
Major-General Smith eased his aching back, both hands pushing in on his sides, his eyes not leaving the situation map.
“I understand, Sir. They have guaranteed Swiss neutrality, and we could use the border to ease our situation some.”
Eisenhower knew his man. There was a ‘but’.
“Sir, can we trust that? What if they decide to drive through Switzerland and into France or Italy beyond?”
The Allied Commander drew deeply on the cigarette and composed his reply.
“If we try and hold the line, what damage will be done, could be done? If we prepare to fall back now, then we can gain ourselves some breathing space, some time to establish.”
Ike moved closer to his Chief of Staff, who spoke candidly.
“Munich is lost, that we must accept, but we can form a line… Stuttgart to Ulm… and south on the Iller River to the border,” he pointed at the map, sweeping imaginary lines to better convey his words, “Dropping back onto the Austrian Border where natural defences will help us.”
Eisenhower could see that possibility, but the question of time was crucial and he put the question out there.
“That depends on who we can put in harm’s way to stop them, Sir.”
Ike shook his head.
“Not a lot immediately. We have one hell of a problem with the French.”
The CoS understood the ‘French’ issue only too well, but misconstrued the problem.
Eisenhower continued.
“Some of their units are simply not up to the job. The ones they formed from the FFI mainly.”
Smith could only nod as he had stated his reservations about the worthiness of these units in March, even with Germany in its death throes.
“Not only that but they changed the designation of one of their units, two to five, so we thought we had an additional armoured division because they didn’t make it clear.”
Smith was not a great lover of the Gallic allies.
“What else is coming to the party then, Sir?”
“The Germans, but they are not there at the moment.”
Eisenhower looked around before whispering conspiratorially.
“The Spanish, but again, not at the moment.”
General Smith frowned in surprise.
“I thought that was…”
He trailed off, reading the look in his commander’s eyes.
“I will bring you up to date on that one later, General,” stepping back as a written report was offered to him by a newly-promoted Major.
Eisenhower cast a swift eye at the report, intending to properly examine it later, but stopped in his tracks.
“Anne-Marie, is this accurate?”
Turning back to Eisenhower, the CWAC officer smiled.
“With regard to targets hit, the reconnaissance photography has not yet been done. With regard to the friendly casualties, wholly accurate, Sir.”
Eisenhower nodded, sharing her smile, and passed the report to Smith.
“According to that, our British cousins sent out seven hundred and sixty-four aircraft last night and all but six of them returned home. Six!”
By the standards of the German War, it was incredible. By the standards of the present conflict, it was the firmest indication yet that the night now totally belonged to the Allies.
Smith broke the momentary euphoria.
“What do the Swiss say, Sir? Do they trust this guarantee?”
Momentarily off track, Eisenhower looked puzzled, then realised that his CoS was back on subject number one.
“Yes they do Walter. Historically, no-one touches Switzerland, as you know, and it is the devil of a country to cross in peacetime, let alone with the Swiss Army nipping at your heels.”
Smith grimaced.
“It is a risk but if they do try it, the journey will be long and hard for them, giving us time to prepare something.”
The grimace seemed set to the man’s features, drawing concession from Eisenhower.
“If we cut out two of the newly arrived divisions to babysit the western Swiss border, that should be sufficient for us to take whatever risk this poses.”
“And our German Allies? What do they think of the possibility of more land in communist possession?”
On that Ike could speak with direct knowledge.
“They are already reconciled with the main defence line on the Rhine. They understand that we have to concentrate our assets as soon as possible, and need a secure defensive line from which to operate.”
“So, I must ask again, Sir. What else can we bring to this now?”
Smith’s uncompromising approach had served Ike well in the past and he welcomed the support the General brought to his headquarters.
“OK Walt. I can move 92nd Infantry, in fact they are already moving. The Brazilians are very keen to get involved for political reasons back home I think. They too are moving as we speak.”
“There are two tank-destroyer groups that can get there quickly and I am sure I can shake loose some armor support from both Devers and Alexander.”
“Can we trust the foot soldiers, Sir?”
“Truth is, I’m not sure, Walt. The Brazilians did well but were not badly tested. The 92nd did ok but, again, not as they will be tested now.”
“We need to give them some back-up then, Sir. What’s in the back pocket?”
“The Brits are moving two division but they won’t be quick enough. Our dough’s the same, unless I take risks and move in someone already tasked.”
Smith checked the map before he spoke.
“And the Eagles?”
It was Eisenhower’s turn to grimace. The 101st was the only unit in 18th Airborne Corps that was at full strength and had not seen any fighting in this war.
“I was keeping the 101st up my sleeve for offensive ops, Walt.”
Smith remained silent, pursing his lips, as much in a sign to Ike as it was a marker that his brain was working the problem.
Eisenhower pre-empted him.
“Is this where you tell me that if we don’t nip this in the bud, we may not have the offensive option?”
Major-General Smith enjoyed an excellent relationship with Eisenhower, but that didn’t mean he was going to push it too hard.
“The Eagles would have the ball for a week tops, Sir. After that, we drop them back into 18th Corps and rest them, ready for whatever you have in mind.”
Ike wondered if his CoS knew he had nothing presently in mind offensively, and had been talking in general and future terms.
“I think we may have told those boys something like that before, but,” sighing deeply, the decision made, “Ok. Cut the orders and get the machine working. Group the three divisions and hand them to Devers. I will speak with Jake directly.”
Smith started to wind up, dragging staff officers towards him as he began translating Eisenhower’s wishes into proper orders.
A telephone rang in the headquarters office of the 101st US Airborne Division, the legendary ‘Screaming Eagles’.
Within four minutes, telephones all over the camp were sounding, as the order was relayed from the top, cascading down through all levels of command.
The noise level increased as a camp of troops engaged in training and lectures transformed itself into an airborne division about to go into combat.
The new commander of 2nd Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment replaced the receiver and took a deep breath.