General Eisenhower Is To Command Western Europe

Wanganui Chronicle, 20 December 1950, Page 5

General Eisenhower Is To Command Western Europe

Appointment Approved By 12 Atlantic Pact Nations

BRUSSELS, December 19 (Reed. 10.55 p.m.).—The Foreign and Defence Ministers of 12 Atlantic Fact nations today approved of the appointment of General Eisenhower as Supreme Commander of the Western Europe Defence.

General Eisenhower is 60. He commanded the combined British and United Expeditionary forces in the invasion of Europe, charged with the duty of crushing Hitlerlite Germany and bringing about the surrender of the Axis powers, Germany and Italy. His appointment as Supreme Coipmander of that great force which successfully carried out the invasion of Normandy on D Day, in June 1945. was announced by President Roosevelt in June, 1944. In March, 1942, General Eisenhower, then a Major-General, was given the appointment o£ Chief of the War Plans Division of the U.S. General Staff in Washington, ‘and later was Assistant Chief of Staff in charge of the Operations Division. Three months later he went to England to take command of the American Forces then being assembled and trained in Britain and Northern Ireland. His appoint-

ment to the supreme command In North Africa was made in November, 1942. General Eisenhower’s .whole career indicates that he will stick relentlessly to the task ahead. He is a natural fighter, a “soldier’s soldier,” and a shrewd organiser and brilliant strategist. The general is said to be dynamic, aggressive and restless. He has the gift of getting the best out of his subordinates, because he is big enough to leave them to do a job he has given them in their own way. In the North African campaign he showed outstanding powers of co-ordination, tact and administrative ability. He was General MacArthur’s assistant in building up the defence of the Philippines. Born in Texas, General Eisenhower is the son of a construction engineer. His family was originally German, but moved to Switzerland some 300 years ago and then migrated to America. Since World War II he has been head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff a position which he relinquished recently to General Omar Bradley, who was with him in command of Americans in finishing the war in Europe in 1945.