Days With Eisenhower
Three Years With Eisenhower. By Captain Harry C. Butcher, U.S.N.R. (Heinemann. 21s.) IT is mystifying how a man, apparently so little above the ordinary that he remained in the rank of major for sixteen years, should rise from lieutenant-colonel to five-star general in three and a quarter. Haw, in fact, was General Eisenhower singled out for his vital and
exacting appointment without even the experience and reputation that a previous command in battle would have given him? General
Marshall appears to have been mainly responsible for recognising the
exceptional merits of a junior major-general at the War Department and giving him his opportunity. If anyone has doubts that the choice was absolutely justified, this book should dispel them at once. In the original form it was a highly secret diary kept, at the instigation of the General, by his naval aide, Captain Butcher. It records the daily events at Supreme Headquarters from July, 1942, to July, I945, and, in truth, stretches all the way from the sublime to the ridiculous, from matters of first importance concerning the long
series of campaigns from Casablanca to Berlin, planned and executed under the Supreme Commander, down to gains and losses at cards. It lists the topics of the day, the domestic incidents at headquarters, the sayings and doings of Ike (as be is referred to in his officially sponsored diary) and those around him whether they be Presidents or dogs. In spite of considerable cutting, the book is still far too long ; it is full of inconsequential details that could never have been worth recording ; and it is unattractively written (haphazardly dic- tated is perhaps more apt), with much of it in disjointed sentences of American slang. But—and it is a big but—here is a picture of momentous events as seen from the very centre by those whose actions and decisions were making history, and its authenticity is never in doubt. While continually referring to military details, Captain Butcher does so too vaguely and incompletely to produce a thorough account of the campaigns ; and his success lies chiefly in the insight he manages to provide into the life and character of a great man, and the problems that he had to face as Supreme Commander.
General Eisenhower was the leading exponent of the doctrine of allied co-operation, or rather, unity—unity that disregarded nationality, unity in the single purpose of winning the war, unity that was something more than, a stage beyond, co-operation. It was his sine qua non for success. Among politicians and newspapermen. the public at home, the troops in the field, the staff at headquarters. and even top-rank commanders, rivalry and misunderstanding wet; always liable to spring up; to prevent it was a campaign against human nature, and against traditions and established procedure, which required continual and most strenuous efforts by everyone, and did not always achieve the objective. Every endeavour was made at Supreme Headquarters itself to unite all members of the staff intc one big happy family, yet the British and American officers ate and were billeted separately because, reputedly, the different messing and billeting systems and scales of rations made a combined mess impos- sible ; and the vast differences in pay and welfare services forced a clear division between the allies. Eaml pay for canal work was a maxim most inappiopriate at S.H.A.E.F.; a lieutenant, U.S.N.R., received three times the pay and allowances of his British opposite number. On free evenings the former dined at Claridge's_and spent a pound or two on drinks, while the latter drank beer at a pub and ate in cheaper and unrenowned establishments—with as much enjoyment perhaps, but the distinction remained. The Supreme Commander's theory,, if not alwrws effective in practice, came very near to achievement, and largely as a result of his own example. Captain Butcher seems to have been a brilliant pupil ; for, although full of the frankest opinions on matters of the day, written originally without thought pf subsequent publication, his diary is remarkably fair to the British and Russians and only slightl less so to the French. Among the most amusing passages are the reports and anecdotes about V.I.P.s (Very Important Personages), particularly Mr. Churchill, who visited the headquarters ; and among the dull, but nevertheless crucial, are the endless political wranr,1 trigs around Admiral Darlan and Generals Giraud and de Gaulle. When all is said, there are many things of interest and historical value hidden away in this book among the gossip and trivialities, which
are themselves sometimes entertaining. G. P. GI/rocs.
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