What the Arican public cares about is Bastogne. For most people, their concerns are simply what everyone else is talking about.
But for Eisenhower, the Supre Commander of the Allied Forces in France, his concern was the entire war—not just Bastogne, not just the Ardennes, but the whole Western Front.
Near noon that day, after finishing an inspection of the front lines, Eisenhower had already returned to Verdun in his command car. Throughout the journey, he kept pondering the situation in the Ardennes. This battle was too strange, with too many astonishing elents.
One of the most surprising things was the sudden appearance of a mysterious group of German commandos wearing Arican uniforms behind U.S. lines. They gave false orders, attacked supply convoys and officers' vehicles, and cast an unprecedented shadow of fear over the Allied rear.
This sense of fear had already spread as far as Paris. The morning before last, as he was about to leave, the colonel in charge of his security insisted he ride in an armored car.
"I have solid intelligence, General," the colonel said, sowhat agitated.
"Otto Skorzeny has already dispatched special commando teams in U.S. uniforms to assassinate you."
Since the outbreak of war, Skorzeny had been sending commandos in Arican uniforms behind U.S. lines to...
It created a great deal of chaos and resulted in the deaths of many officers. That's precisely why everyone was so anxious—after all, nobody could tell whether the Arican soldiers in front of them were the real deal or imposters.
Amidst this confusion, so people swore they had seen several German paratroopers sowhere. Allegedly, these n were now heading toward Paris, with the aim of assassinating the Allied Supre Commander.
However, Skorzeny's commando unit could only have a limited effect and could not change the overall situation. While pondering the situation in the Ardennes, Eisenhower's car drove into Verdun. A little after 11 a.m., he entered a conference room. He looked at the people gathered before him in a semicircle, each with a solemn expression.
"The current situation, although it may seem a bit overwhelming, is really nothing to worry about," Eisenhower said.
"We should treat this as an opportunity, not a disaster."
He glanced around at the attendees again.
"There's no need for everyone to look so grim. Rember, our strength is three tis that of the Germans."
General Patton imdiately grinned, revealing his tobacco-stained yellow teeth.
"Goddamn it," Patton said, "we could just let those sons of bitches try to fight their way to Paris. We'll cut off their retreat and then chew them up!"
Patton's crude words broke the tense atmosphere, and everyone's faces lit up with smiles.
Eisenhower shook his head.
"No, under no circumstances can we let the enemy cross the use River. Hodges's situation is very serious, and we have to face that fact. We must launch a diversionary attack imdiately; otherwise, the First Army's defensive line could completely collapse. George,"
He turned to Patton,
"I want you to take over Luxembourg. How soon can you get there?"
"I can go now," Patton replied crisply.
"You an today?"
"I an as soon as this eting is over."
"How soon after that can you launch an attack, George?" asked Omar Bradley.
"Forty-eight hours."
Eisenhower frowned. Patton, who was currently attacking the Germans in the Saar region, would have to make his troops pivot ninety degrees. Forty-eight hours seed unlikely.
"Is that enough ti?"
"Don't worry about the ti," Patton said with a hearty wave of his hand. "Ike, trust , I'll be there on ti."
As soon as he finished speaking, the attendees murmured among themselves. So thought Patton was boasting; others, like Bradley, were pleased by his confidence.
Patton, at ease, lit a cigarette and pointed to the large "bulge" on the Ardennes map.
"Bradley, the Krauts have really stuck their heads into the at grinder this ti."
He raised his fist.
"This ti I've got them by the throat, and I'll be sure to cut off their retreat."
Even Eisenhower couldn't help but smile.
"All right, George," he said, "don't attack before the 10th, and not after the 11th." Then he raised a finger in warning:
"Rember, this attack has to be solid—absolutely solid."
Patton waved a hand dismissively.
"I'll be in Bastogne before the 13th."
Eisenhower then warned him again about the ferocity of the German offensive, and turned to Devers, the commander of the army group south of Bradley.
"Jake," he said, "you need to spread your forces out to fill the big gap George will leave in the north. If you co under attack, pull back imdiately—even if you have to fall all the way back to the Vosges Mountains, that's fine."
As soon as the eting ended, Patton had a staff officer call his chief of staff, General Gay. Before leaving Nancy that morning, he had already drawn up three plans to resolve the Ardennes crisis, assigned each a code word, and briefed Gay. Within minutes, based solely on a single code word over the phone, Patton's troops in the Saar region began to pivot north toward the Ardennes.
After everyone left, Eisenhower stepped closer, pointing to the new fifth star on his uniform.
"You know, George," he said with a smile, "every ti I get a promotion, soone attacks . Now, a lot of people are blaming for the Ardennes."
"To hell with them, Ike," Patton replied with a laugh. "Every ti soone attacks you, I have to co bail you out. This ti is no different. Don't worry about the Ardennes—with here, the Krauts are going to get chewed to pieces."
A few hours later, Pierre in Bastogne received Eisenhower's telegram. After reading it, he chuckled.
"All right, reinforcents are on the way!"
"Who's leading them?"
"Patton!"
Pierre smiled.
"When that guy fights, he always goes all out—never any hesitation or half-asures. With him here, we don't have to worry about the Aricans slacking off…"
The commander's words made Sun Delin laugh.
"Sir, I told you—Pat…"
"If Bastogne is so important, the Aricans will definitely do everything they can to rescue it."
Pierre shook his head at this assessnt and said, "You don't understand. Sotis, so problems aren't just purely military matters."
If he didn't distrust the Aricans, why would he have spent over a hundred thousand dollars in the U.S. waging a dia campaign? Wasn't it all to make sure Eisenhower wouldn't abandon Bastogne?
That guy was never a pure soldier—he was a politician first, and a military man second. If he decided to sell them out, they'd be in real trouble.
Facts proved that this public opinion campaign was indeed effective.
"Chief Pierre, do you think the Allies can defeat the Germans this ti?"
The operations officer's question made Pierre pause for a mont before he replied, "Don't worry. The Germans will attack until their last drop of fuel!"
Once the tanks run out of gas, can the German offensive really continue?
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