The Danger Zone (DZ)

In this part your going to meet the man who defied Bradley and Patton in Brittany. A man as described by David Irving as literally having a mouthful of steel.Tag words: Bradley; Patton; Brittany; Brest; David Irving; Troy Middleton; Russell Weigley; Eisenhower’s Lieutenants; Carlo d’Este; A Genius for War; Third Army; French Forces of the Interior; 6th Armored Division; Generalleutnant Hermann B. Ramcke; David Irving; The War Between the Generals; American VIII Corps; Montgomery; 29th Division; HMS Warspite; Lieutenant General William H. Simpson; US Ninth Army; Proverbs 16:18; Hank Cox; The General Who Wore Six Stars; Rick Atkinson; Liberation Trilogy; The Guns at Last Light;

Do you remember Tubthumping? It was a popular song by Chumbawamba released in 1997. If you can’t remember it, let me give you the chorus, then I’m sure you’ll remember the song – I get knocked down, but I get up again. You’re never going to keep me down. I think Eisenhower and his lieutenants were about to find out that that song was the song for Hitler’s Germany of 1944 in the West. And then some. Hitler’s Germany was a phoenix that rose from the ashes on the Western front in 1944 after it had been pounded into impotence after the Allied breakout from Normandy in July/August 1944.Tag words: Tubthumping; Chumbawamba; Hitler; phoenix; Eastern Front; Carlo d’Este; Eisenhower; Field Marshal Walter Model; Russell Weigley; Eisenhower’s Lieutenants; Volksgrenadier divisions; General der Panzertruppen Otto von Knobelsdorff; Patton; US Third Army; A Genius for War; Daniel Yergin; Napoleon; unforgiving minute; David Irving; The War Between the Generals; Bradley; Roosevelt; Morgenthau; Montgomery; Marshall; Kay Summersby; D-Day; 21st Army Group; Lieutenant General Morgan; COSSAC; Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander; Normandy; Nigel Hamilton; Monty: The Battles of Field Marshal Montgomery; Operation Cobra; General Devers; 6th US Army Group; US 12th Army Group; Shellburst; SHAEF; Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force; Martin Creveld; Supplying War; Chester Wilmot;

For over 50 days the Allies had been bottled up in their bridgeheads at Normandy. And then, suddenly, they weren’t. The road to Germany was open. All they had to do was drive into the Third Reich, seize Berlin, and bring about the downfall of Adolf Hitler and his gang – and all of this in 1944 – or so it seemed. What was the feeling at the top when the entirely unexpected breakout happened in July when Operation Cobra burst out of the bridgehead?Tag words: Normandy; Third Reich; Adolf Hitler; Operation Cobra; Mortain; Chief of the Imperial General Staff; CIGS; Sir Alan Brooke; War Between the Generals; David Irving; Carlo d’Este; Eisenhower: A Soldier’s Life; Eisenhower; Russell Weigley; Eisenhower’s Lieutenants; Nigel Hamilton; Monty: The Battles of Field Marshal Montgomery; General Devers; General Bradley; Major General Kenneth Strong; SHAEF; Patton; Colonel Oscar Koch; Westwall; Siegfried Line; Churchill; Lieutenant General Brehon Somervell; Robert P. Patterson; General Marshall; General Bedell Smith;

On 19 October 1944, Spaatz flew on to Luxembourg to visit Bradley. Bradley told him he planned to start his big offensive toward the Rhine on November 10. Spaatz wanted it sooner than that. Hitler's jet fighters were appearing in growing force, and they threatened to drive Spaatz's daylight bomber formations from the skies. "To maintain our present air supremacy over the Hun," warned Spaatz, "will cost the strategic air force about forty thousand crew members . . . . So it's essential for the armies to get to the Rhine as quickly as possible so that we can secure additional airfields for our fighters."David Irving wrote in his book The War Between the Generals.Tag words: Spaatz; General Bradley; Hitler; David Irving; The War Between the Generals; Russell Weigley; Eisenhower’s Lieutenants; Luftwaffe; Bf 109s; Fw 190s; Messerschmitt 163; Me163;Messerschmitt 262; Me262; Ar 234; Bedell Smith; Battle of the Bulge; Bastogne; Field Marshall Mongomery; Nigel Hamilton; The Battles of Field Marshal Montgomery; Los; liaison officers; Hodges; 21st Army Group; Eisenhower; Brigadier Williams; Major General Strong; General Simpson; Patton; General Collins; 7th U.S. Armored Division; 106th U.S. Infantry Division; Horrocks; SHAEF; General Middleton;

The Germans had launched their massive Ardennes offensive on the morning of 16th December. Bradley had brushed it off as a spoiling attack.… by Sunday afternoon, December 17, Bradley had conceded misjudgment in his previous evening's modest estimate of the enemy effort. "This is Rundstedt's all-out attack," Bradley now announced. "Pardon my French — " he said over the situation map, " — I think the situation justifies it — but where in hell has this son of a bitch gotten all his strength?" – Russell Weigley wrote in his book Eisenhower’s Lieutenants. It was a good question.Tag words: Ardennes offensive; Battle of the Bulge; General Omar Bradley; Russell Weigley; Eisenhower’s Lieutenants; The Morgenthau Plan; Dexter White; Stalin; Churchill; Sean McMeekin; Stalin’s War; Roosevelt; Goebbels; Hitler; Eisenhower; General Marshall; Volksgrenadier divisions; Luftwaffe;

In his book Retreat from Moscow, David Stahel relates:If the German troops retained a general measure of faith in their commanders, this is not to say it came without qualifications. The most common complaint was the absence of winter clothing, which by early December 1941 was a criticism that had been dragging on for two months. The extent of the problem justified, in the starkest of terms, a questioning of faith in the German leadership.….According to Colonel Wilhelm von Rücker, attached to the planning staff of the quartermaster-general's office, "a few hundred additional trains would have had to be sent" to meet the needs of the troops for the coming winter. Not only was there not the transport capacity for winter equipment, but also other high-priority matériel, such as fuel and ammunition, were already failing to arrive in the required quantities, and the quartermaster-general had to have known this.By November 13 Wagner had had a complete change of heart and acknowledged there were nowhere near enough trains reaching Army Group Center, meaning the urgently requested winter clothing could only be transported to the front at the expense of other suppliesNow I can understand if you’re saying what has this got to do with Bradley, the GI’s General and the war in North Western Europe. I’m going to have to tell you that the answer is everything. Tell me if the American position with the American troops in Europe in late 1944 sounds similar.Tag words: Retreat from Moscow; David Stahel; Bradley; GI General; Hank Cox; The General Who Wore Six Stars; ComZ; frostbite; Major General Robert Littlejohn; Eisenhower; Ardennes offensive; David Irving; The War Between the Generals; Carlo d’Este; A Genius for War; Nigel Hamilton; The Battles of Field Marshal Montgomery; Otto Skorzeny; Patton; 12th Army Group; trench foot;

“He was really a moron”. Which of Eisenhower’s generals said that, and who was he referring to. Stick around and I’ll tell you.Tag words: Eisenhower; Rick Atkinson; The Guns at Last Light; Bradley; Carlo d’Este; US 12th Army Group; Lt. Gen. Courtney Hicks Hodges; Bedell Smith; Forrest Poague; American First Army; General George S Patton Jr; Geoffrey Perret; There’s a War to be Won; Hürtgen Forest; Life magazine; Wilderness campaign; Argonne campaign; Russell Weigley; Eisenhower’s Lieutenants; 28th Division; the Bloody Bucketeers; Field Marshal Walter Model; Hitler’s Fireman; Major General Dutch Cota; General Gerow; Shermans; Panthers; Panzer IV; Ernest Hemingway; Hank Cox;  The General Who Wore Six Stars;

If you’ve ever read the Grimms Brothers fairy stories of Hansel and Gretel or Snow White, then you’ll already have a really good feel for the dark, sinister Hürtgen Forest that Omar Bradley’s First Army entered in September 1944. Journalist, William Walton, of Time/Life magazines told its story in the 1stJanuary 1945 issue of Life magazine, under the headline “A Gloomy German Woods Takes Its Place In U.S. History Beside The Wilderness And The Argonne.This fight is essential in understanding the character and military skills of Omar N. Bradley, and I’m going to start to tell that story right now.Tag words: Brothers Grimm; Hürtgen Forest; Omar Bradley; US First Army; Time/Life magazines; The Wilderness; The Argonne; David Irving The War Between the Generals; Hank Cox; The General Who Wore Six Stars; Rick Atkinson; The Guns at Last Light; Roer River; Russell Weigley; Eisenhower’s Lieutenants;

It was Omar Bradley who, during the campaign by Patton’s Third Army in Brittany who said to Troy Middleton, the commander of the VIII Corp who was fretting over Patton’s orders to take Brest as quickly as possible:Some people are more concerned with the headlines and the news they'll make than the soundness of their tactics. I don't care if we get Brest tomorrow or ten days later. If we cut the peninsula, we'll get it anyhow. But we can't risk a loose hinge.This indicated a fundamental difference between the way of war conducted by Bradley and Patton, the commander of the Third Army who had been foisted on an unhappy Bradley.Montgomery, who had been the first to realise that the ports in Brittany no longer mattered in the war being fought against Germany after the collapse of its army after Cobra, didn’t issue an order to Bradley not to send Patton’s entire Army into Brittany to take the ports, but he did make it clear that he thought a single Corp could do the job, and with doubts that even that would be needed. So how did Bradley handle the whole Brittany thing?Tag words: Omar Bradley; Patton’s Third Army; Troy Middleton; Brest; Brittany; Montgomery; Operation Cobra; Russell Weigley; Eisenhower’s Lieutenants; German Army; Overlord; Normandy; General John Shirley Wood; Tiger Jack; American Rommel; Quiberon Bay; Chateaubriant; Carlo d’Este; A Genius for War;

From 27 July 1944, as the Americans began to achieve a surprisingly spectacular breakout, beyond everyone’s wildest dreams as Operation Cobra gained a good head of steam, Monty perceived that the situation that had been planned for before the D-Day invasion had now totally changed. He told Alanbrooke, the Chief of the Imperial General Staff: the main business lies to the east.That is the Allies armies must now race to the bridgeless Seine River to trap the German armies and prevent their escape. But that wasn’t what the pre-D-Day invasion plans had required. What to do Stick with the original planning, regardless of the reality on the ground, or race the Germans to the east?Tag words: Operation Cobra; D-Day; Alanbrooke; Chief of the Imperial General Staff; Russell Weigley; Eisenhower’s Lieutenants; B. H. Liddell Hart; Patton; Martin Creveld; Supplying War; General Lee; COM Z; Overlord; 3rd Army; Bradley; Marshall; Eisenhower; Montgomery; War As I Knew It; Rick Atkinson; Liberation Trilogy; The Guns at Last Light; Carlo d’Este; Max Hastings; Hank Cox; John Kennedy Ohl; Supplying the Troops; Brigadier General Joseph. T. McNarney; Goldthwaite Dorr; G-4; Brehone Burke Somervell; Services of Supply; SOS; Army Service Forces; ASF; Battle of the Bulge;

Nigel Hamilton, in his book The Battles of Field Marshal Montgomery, wrote about Montgomery’s concerns of the hopeless preparations being undertaken for the cross channel invasion. His concern was that no overall ground force commander had been appointed. Nigel Hamilton wrote what Monty’s feelings were about this in May 1943, more than a year before the invasion took place:"A cross-Channel operation is being envisaged," he complained to the Director of Military Operations at the War Office; "various planning staffs are at work; no outline has been produced by the Commander who is to take charge of the operation, because no Commander has been appointed. The staff of the Commander have been appointed and they are busily engaged in planning; but none of them have fought in this war and they know nothing about the battle end of the problem," he protested. "A further point is that the Commander, when appointed, has got to create his fighting machine and train his forces for the battle. This takes time, and it is not being done."There seems to be no one person in England who knows what is wanted, who says so quite clearly, and who has such prestige and fighting experience that everyone will accept his opinion and get on with it. Until such a person is appointed to "take hold" of the Army in England, we will do no good."At present there are too many people in England who think they know what is wanted; but they all disagree with each other; and they have got the basic set-up wrong; and they bellyache about nonessentials; they do not really know what are the essentials" — at which Monty listed the essentials of modern war as he saw them: namely the need to win air superiority; the necessity for good and simple army planning; the seizing and retaining of the tactical initiative once ashore; targeting the vital hinges in the enemy's defensive layout; regrouping, if necessary, to capture or outflank those hinges; and appointing only commanders with terrific "drive" and energy.….Only General Marshall in Washington had the necessary vision and commitment to the cross-Channel attack to bring back to England an experienced field commander at the end of the Sicilian campaign — Omar Bradley.Tag words: Nigel Hamilton; The Battles of Field Marshal Montgomery; Monty; General Marshall; Omar Bradley; Forrest Pogue; Operation Overlord; Eisenhower; Patton; Dominick Graham; Shelford Bidwell; Coalitions, Politicians and Generals; General Alexander; Sicily; Oliver Leese; Carlo d’Este; A Genius for War; Ernie Pyle; GI General; The Soldier’s General; Operation Cobra; Falaise Gap;

Was there fake media in January 1945? Was it Montgomery that said what sent the Americans into a blind rage, or was it Nazi disinformation (and so long ago)? What Monty really said, did it cause the Americans to meltdown because it was false, or because it was true? Is it harder to get along when you’re winning than when you’re losing? Luckily for you I’ve got all of the answers.Tag words: Montgomery; Battle of the Bulge; Bradley; Patton; Churchill; Nigel Hamilton; The Battles of Field Marshal Montgomery; SHAEF; Russell Weigley; Eisenhower’s Lieutenants; Ardennes; Eisenhower; Carlo d’Este; David Irving; The War Between the Generals;  Chester Wilmot; BBC;

A good commander surrounds himself with the most talented people to make it easier to achieve his mission. The goals that Eisenhower and Monty wanted to achieve were very different and are reflected in the men they chose to surround  themselves with. Monty’s Chief of Staff was "Freddie" de Guingand. He’d filled that role in the 8th Army when Monty first took command of it on 15thAugust 1942. He was a staff officer when Monty arrived and was not certain he would. Out with the old, in with the new. Fortunately there was a history between them. Monty knew and respected him going back to 1922. Nigel Hamilton in The Battles of Field Marshal Montgomery, gives this little detail of de Guingand that was, in December 1944, going to save Monty’s skin:De Guingand was a man few could dislike, with tremendous joie de vivre, an immensely fertile mind — and a natural charm which Monty did not, himself, possess.Tag words: Eisenhower; "Freddie" de Guingand; Monty; Montgomery; Nigel Hamilton; The Battles of Field Marshal Montgomery; Carlo d’Este; Russell Weigley; Eisenhower’s Lieutenants; Battle of the Bulge; Bradley; David Irving; The War Between the Generals; Lt. Cdr. Harry C. Butcher; Bedell Smith; Marshall; Churchill; Roosevelt;

It was the coldest winter in Europe for as long as anyone could remember. The Battle of the Bulge was at its height. Monty finished telling his boss, Eisenhower, that he now had to do something that was impossible for him to do. Eisenhower was feeling as low as he could go. The American leadership shared Bradley’s view about the sudden resurgence of German strength: "Pardon my French . .. but where in hell has this son of a bitch gotten all his strength?" Monty, always lacking completely in self awareness, then took the one idiot step that seemed to guarantee something remarkable - that he’d be sacked.Tag words: Battle of the Bulge; Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery; Eisenhower; Bradley; Field Marshal Alanbrooke; Patton; 12th Army Group; Carlo d’Este; Nigel Hamilton; in The Battles of Field Marshal Montgomery; SHAEF; Dominick Graham; Shelford Bidwell; Coalitions, Politicians and Generals;

What was so remarkable about General Omar N. Bradley’s exhortation on Christmas Day to Field Marshal Montgomery to immediately attack the north side of the German salient created during the Battle of the Bulge? Would you support what Bradely recommended?Tag words: General Omar N. Bradley; Field Marshal Montgomery; Battle of the Bulge; Eisenhower; Chief of the Imperial General Staff; Alan Brooke; Russell Weigley; Eisenhower’s Lieutenants; Carlo d’Este; Ultra; Frederick Winterbotham; The Ultra Secret; Christmas Day; Nigel Hamilton; The Battles of Field Marshal Montgomery; Major "Bill" Williams; Patton; Third Army;

As General Bradley travelled to a meeting with Montgomery, in the thick of the Battle of the Bulge, he was puzzled to see the Hollanders, Bradley’s description of them, walking on the sidewalk in holiday dress. How strange was that? The Nazis had just launched a massive attack. There was a real chance that these people would again have their Nazi masters return, but here they were, all dressed up. Bradley got an explanation from his chief of staff, Chet Hansen. What was it?Tag words: General Bradley; Montgomery; Chet Hansen; Battle of the Bulge; Eisenhower; Patton; Third Army; Bastogne; Otto Skorzeny; Mussolini; Carlo d’Este; A Soldier’s Story; Nigel Hamilton; The Battles of Field Marshal Montgomery; David Irving; The War Between the Generals;

Which general was it, who called Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery a tired little fart? Was it Eisenhower? Perhaps General Omar N. Bradley? Or was it General George S Paton Junior?Tag words: Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery; Eisenhower; General Omar N. Bradley; General George S Paton Jr; Normandy bridgehead; David Irving; The War Between the Generals; General Somervell; LeRoy Lutes; 12th Army Group; Battle of the Bulge; Carlo d’Este; SHAEF; Churchill; Nigel Hamilton; The Battles of Field Marshal Montgomery; Bedell Smith; Major Hansen; Stars and Stripes; Twelfth Army Group; President Roosevelt; Bronze Star; A Soldier’s Story;

Someone said of Monty’s arrival at US First Army’s headquarters in December 1944 that it was like "Christ come to cleanse the temple." Do you know who said that and why? What does it even mean?Tag words: Monty; Montgomery; Christ come to cleanse the temple; Matthew 21:12-13; Battle of the Bulge; Adolf Hitler; Eisenhower; Bradley; Patton; narrow front; broad front; Nigel Hamilton; The Battles of Field Marsal Montgomery; Albert Speer; Erich von Manstein; Sichelschnitt; David Irving; The War Between the Generals; Fifth Panzer Army; Sixth SS Panzer Army; Dunkirk; Carlo d’Este; 7thUS Armoured Division; St Vith; Matthew Ridgeway; General Marshall; James Gavin; 82nd AirborneDivision;

True or false. Montgomery penned a pamphlet called Notes on High Command in War which he provided to King George VI, General Marshall as well as to leaders and commanders all over the world, often accompanied with a photograph of himself, and a request for a return photograph of the recipient.Tag words: Montgomery; Monty; Bedell Smith; Eisenhower; Bradley; Nigel Hamilton; Monty: The Battles of Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery; Rommel; the "Desert Fox"; General Brooke; Churchill; 8th Army; Claude Auchinleck; General Alexander; Edgar “Bill” Williams; Operation Husky; General Patton; Operation Goodwood;

To some it was a stupid thing that Monty did. But by God did it inspire the men he lead?Tag words: Monty; Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery; Betty Carver; Major General Sir Percy Hobart; 79th Armoured Division; Hobart’s Funnies; Nigel Hamilton; Monty: The Battles of Field Marshal Montgomery; 8th Army; Basil Liddell Hart; German Army; Bedell Smith; 9th Australian Division; Denis Johnson; Battle of El Alamein; de Guingand; Omaha Beach;