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"It gave the Japanese people a reason to believe they were fighting for something more than national aggrandizement. “If Japan had declared it was fighting only to add territory,” remarked Koshu Itabashi, a student at the outset of the war, “I don’t believe we ever could have gone as far as Borneo.

But when the prime minister suggested that the Allies destroy specific German cities in a tit-for-tat reprisal, Eisenhower refused. 32 A week later, when the British chiefs of staff proposed using poison gas against the launch sites, Ike blew his stack. “Let’s for God’s sake, keep our eye on the ball and use some sense,” he told Air Chief Marshal Sir Arthur Tedder.

The sea was choppy, although not so rough as at the British beaches. But there was close-in cloud cover at Omaha that precluded low-level air support. Misfortune intervened to the extent that Allied intelligence failed to notice that the German 352nd Infantry Division, a veteran unit back from the Russian front, had taken up position directly athwart Omaha.a

“I am a younger man than you, I am a sailor, and there is nothing I would like better than to go to sea,” said the King. “But I have agreed to stay home. Is it fair that you should then do exactly what I should have liked to do myself?… If the King cannot do this, it does not seem to me right that his Prime Minister should take his place.” 107

Bedell Smith reported afterward that the confidence of the troops in the high command was without parallel, thanks to Monty. “They thought he was a friendly, genuine person without any traces of pomposity.”

“You carry the burden of responsibility for OVERLORD,” Marshall replied. “If you feel that the operation can be carried out with the same assurance of success with Hodges in command instead of Patton, all well and good. If you doubt it, then between us we can bear the burden of the present unfortunate reaction.” 77

When Eisenhower took his leave, he told de Gaulle that he did not know what “theoretical position” Washington would take, but “I will not recognize any other authority in France than yours.”

Incredible as it seems in retrospect, the 36th Division elected to forgo a preparatory naval barrage to soften enemy defenses. “I see no point to killing a lot of peaceful Italians and destroying their homes,” said Major General Fred L. Walker, the division commander. 22 Clark supported that decision.

For Ike, Pantelleria was a watershed. In his mind, it confirmed his strategic judgment and gave him the confidence he needed for the future. The stakes had been trivial, but the outcome could not have been more significant.

After Kasserine, British planners began referring to American troops as “our Italians.” Tommies called GIs “Alice.”

As the troops made their way inland, the fighting intensified. The French were standing their ground. The battle was heaviest at the ports of Algiers and Oran. In the port of Algiers, French coastal batteries sunk an American destroyer, and there was fierce fighting in the harbor itself.

The Rock of Gibraltar, three square miles of Jurassic limestone, a British colony since 1704, was the only territory on the continent of Europe still occupied by the Western Allies.

Even among those who thought a direct assault by land forces would eventually become necessary,” said Ike, “the majority believed that definite signs of cracking German morale would have to appear before it would be practicable to attempt such an enterprise.”

As chief of OPD, it fell to Eisenhower to translate FDR’s “Hitler first” strategy into a battle plan. The prevailing wisdom—on both sides of the Atlantic—was that a cross-Channel attack would be sheer madness.

The voyage was a long one, and the Queen put in to Rio de Janeiro to refuel. It was spotted by an Italian agent who radioed Rome that the vessel, “with about 15,000 soldiers aboard,” had left port and was steaming eastward across the Atlantic. “For the next week we lived in terror,” said Ike. 12 When the ship arrived safely in Melbourne, the War Plans Division breathed a collective sigh of relief.

The discussion became heated. Years later it was still fresh in Eisenhower’s mind. “I said, ‘General, you have been a four-star general. This is a proud thing. There’s only been a few who had it. Why in the hell do you want a banana country giving you a field-marshalship?’ Oh, Jesus! He just gave me hell.”

Only in that way will confidence be inspired; will it be possible to do some of the obvious things for speeding recovery, and we will be freed from the pernicious influence of noisy and selfish minorities.” 85