Thiago S.’s Reviews > Eisenhower in War and Peace > Status Update

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

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.