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Page 10 of 14
I can add historical knowledge about this page.
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OCR
2/13/54, Reel 3, Track 2, 10
or -- it comes from observations which I have made, and may be wholly wrong.
This thing, I think, dates from and stems from the Civil War. And I think
it grows out of the disastrous history of the Northern Armies in the Civil
War, being directed first of all by Winfield Scott and then by General Halleck,
with interventions by President Lincoln and various others, with quite catas-
trophic results, some/of which came from the intervention, some of which came
from the incapacity of the generals; finally leading to the general despair
of President Lincoln and the appointment of General Grant as the commander
and
in chief of all the armies given complete operational control, with
no more directions from Washington as to what to do, with the resulting success-
partly through that operation, partly through the exhaustion of the South.
But this has led, in the United States military establishment, to a. doctrine
which is really a doctrine of the deepest ingrained, religious fervor, that
the theater commander is in charge and he is complete and final, that his
instructions are the most general instructions imaginable. I think, although
think
I
do not know this as a fact
seen the instructions which were issued
to General Eisanhower for the landing in Europe, and I think they were one
certain
sentence,
which
was
"You
will
land
on
the
coast
of
France
between
such
and
such.
dates, and destroy the forces of the enemy opposealto you. n I think that's
that he was told to do, and he was given certain forces which limited his
is all
operation, but I think that/he was told and that was all he was ever told
members
ARCHANDS
ADMIN
from Washington. I don't think they told him how to fight the Battle of the
us.
or
Bulge, how to do anything of these things. That's
what he was told.
whether ?
DR. FEIS:
This isn't perhaps contradictory of that, but supplementary, but where there
has been a most elaborate 200-page plan, outlining every landing, outlinging
the distribution of forces, provision of time schedule, which the combined
chiefs had passed, and to which he was committed.
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"ocrText": "2/13/54, Reel 3, Track 2, 10\nor -- it comes from observations which I have made, and may be wholly wrong.\nThis thing, I think, dates from and stems from the Civil War. And I think\nit grows out of the disastrous history of the Northern Armies in the Civil\nWar, being directed first of all by Winfield Scott and then by General Halleck,\nwith interventions by President Lincoln and various others, with quite catas-\ntrophic results, some/of which came from the intervention, some of which came\nfrom the incapacity of the generals; finally leading to the general despair\nof President Lincoln and the appointment of General Grant as the commander\nand\nin chief of all the armies given complete operational control, with\nno more directions from Washington as to what to do, with the resulting success-\npartly through that operation, partly through the exhaustion of the South.\nBut this has led, in the United States military establishment, to a. doctrine\nwhich is really a doctrine of the deepest ingrained, religious fervor, that\nthe theater commander is in charge and he is complete and final, that his\ninstructions are the most general instructions imaginable. I think, although\nthink\nI\ndo not know this as a fact\nseen the instructions which were issued\nto General Eisanhower for the landing in Europe, and I think they were one\ncertain\nsentence,\nwhich\nwas\n\"You\nwill\nland\non\nthe\ncoast\nof\nFrance\nbetween\nsuch\nand\nsuch.\ndates, and destroy the forces of the enemy opposealto you. n I think that's\nthat he was told to do, and he was given certain forces which limited his\nis all\noperation, but I think that/he was told and that was all he was ever told\nmembers\nARCHANDS\nADMIN\nfrom Washington. I don't think they told him how to fight the Battle of the\nus.\nor\nBulge, how to do anything of these things. That's\nwhat he was told.\nwhether ?\nDR. FEIS:\nThis isn't perhaps contradictory of that, but supplementary, but where there\nhas been a most elaborate 200-page plan, outlining every landing, outlinging\nthe distribution of forces, provision of time schedule, which the combined\nchiefs had passed, and to which he was committed."
}