The Steel Wave - Jeff Shaara [59]
“I disagree with that most vigorously, sir. I believe I am the most capable and most experienced American battlefield commander in this theater of the war.”
Eisenhower thought, Yes, I’m sure that’s exactly what you believe. And you may be right, dammit.
“General Marshall has left the matter in my hands. He is fighting like hell for you in Congress, George. You’ve called in every favor you ever had. What do I do here? Can you convince me this won’t happen again? You’ve been told to keep your mouth shut, and still—off you go!” Patton seemed to sag, his shoulders drooping. “If I keep you here, how can I be sure this won’t happen again?”
Patton stood suddenly and moved around the side of the desk. Eisenhower was amazed to see tears. He couldn’t help himself but stood as well, amazed that Patton kept coming, his arms out, wrapping them around Eisenhower’s shoulders.
“Dammit, Ike, I am so sorry about this.”
He put his head on Eisenhower’s shoulder, the silver helmet rolling off his head, tumbling with a loud clatter onto the floor. Patton was sobbing noisily now, and Eisenhower felt helpless, had no idea what to do. Then Patton stood back, red-eyed, wetness on his cheeks.
“I will not let you down, sir. If you allow me to keep my place in Operation Fortitude and my command of the Third Army, I will give every effort to the job. I am grateful to you and to General Marshall for standing behind me. There are forces at work around us, forces that would undermine our good efforts—” Patton stopped short, seeming to know he had taken it too far.
Eisenhower thought, That’s right, George. Shut the hell up. But there still were the tears, Patton’s amazing show of contrition. This is bull, Eisenhower suddenly realized. All of it. This is pure drama, a well-rehearsed speech. He put a hand on his own shoulder, felt the wetness, saw Patton composing himself, the helmet still conspicuously on the floor.
“Control yourself, dammit. The fact is I need you. There are too many weak links, too many variables in this operation that could destroy it. I’m worn out from wrestling with the Bomber Barons, and I’ve got to go see Churchill about God knows what. For now, you’ve kept your job. But don’t get comfortable. The vultures are circling, and for all I know the president might find the need to toss you out anyway. It’s an election year, you know.”
Patton stood straight. “Yes, sir. I will do what I am called upon to do.”
“Yes, you had damned well better do exactly that. Now pick up your damned helmet and go back to work.”
After long weeks of debates and absurd haggling with the Allied chiefs of staff, Eisenhower was finally given command over the tactical and strategic air forces, at least those forces that would be directly involved in the bombardments that affected Overlord. But a new debate arose, which had far greater consequences. There had been two primary schools of thought on how best to wage the ongoing air campaign. One side, led primarily by American general Carl “Tooey” Spaatz, called for the bombers to concentrate in an all-out effort to destroy Germany’s capacity to produce oil and gasoline, any petrochemicals that fueled the German military. Spaatz’s argument was that if Germany’s refineries and fuel plants were destroyed, the German army would grind to a halt. For Overlord, this meant that reinforcements would not reach key battlefields in time to prevent a solid Allied foothold.
The second argument focused on enemy transportation hubs and mobile facilities. This argument, championed by Eisenhower’s assistant commander, British air marshall Arthur Tedder, called for all-out destruction of rail lines, bridges, and key roadways, especially those routes that led from German industrial depots to the coastline. Tedder believed this kind of disruption would be far more effective in stopping the Germans from bringing their forces into play.
Eisenhower realized that both plans had considerable merit, though it was highly likely that the Germans had stockpiled enough fuel and oil