David Irving The War between the Generals The real trouble with the Yanks is that they are com- pletely ignorant as to the I am tired of dealing with rules of the game we are play- a lot of prima donnas. By ing with the Germans. You God, you tell that bunch that play so much better when if they can’t get together and you know the rules. stop quarrelling like children, – Field Marshal Sir I will tell the Prime Minister Bernard Montgomery to get someone else to run this damn war. n – General Dwight D. Eisenhower God, I wish we could forget our egos for a while! – Lieutenant General Everett S. Hughes Books by David Irving Und Deutschlands Städte Starben Nicht (with Günter Karweina) The Destruction of Dresden The Mare’s Nest The Destruction of Convoy PQ.17 The Memoirs of Field Marshal Keitel (translator) Accident. The Death of General Sikorski The Virus House Formula 1: The Art & Science of Grand Prix Driving, by Niki Lauda (translator) Breach of Security (with Prof. D C Watt) The Service. The Memoirs of General Reinhard Gehlen (translator and editor) The Rise and Fall of the Luftwaffe Hitler und seine Feldherren Hitler’s War The Trail of the Fox The War Path Der Nürnberger Prozess Mord aus Staatsräson Wie Krank War Hitler Wirklich ? Uprising! One Nation’s Nightmare: Hungary 1956 The War between the Generals The real trouble with the Yanks is that they are com- pletely ignorant as to the I am tired of dealing with rules of the game we are play- a lot of prima donnas. By ing with the Germans. You God, you tell that bunch that play so much better when if they can’t get together and you know the rules. stop quarrelling like children, – Field Marshal Sir I will tell the Prime Minister Bernard Montgomery to get someone else to run this damn war. n – General Dwight D. Eisenhower God, I wish we could forget our egos for a while! – Lieutenant General Everett S. Hughes Von Guernica bis Vietnam The Secret Diaries of Hitler’s Doctor Adolf Hitler: The Medical Diaries Der Morgenthau-Plan 1944/45 (documentation) Churchill’s War vol. i: The Struggle for Power Göring. A Biography Hess: The Missing Years Führer und Reichskanzler Das Reich hört mit Deutschlands Ostgrenze Hitler’s War & The War Path (updated, one-volume edition) Die Nacht, in der die Dämme Brachen Der unbekannte Dr. Goebbels (1938 diary ed. and transcribed) Apocalypse 1945. The Destruction of Dresden Goebbels. Mastermind of the Third Reich Nuremberg, the Last Battle Churchill’s War, vol. ii: Triumph in Adversity Banged Up: Survival as a Political Prisoner in 21st Century Europe in preparation: Churchill’s War, vol. iii: The Sundered Dream Heinrich Himmler Excerpts from The Patton Papers –, by Martin Blumenson, are reprinted by kind permission of Houghton Mifflin Company. Copyright © 1974 by Martin Blumenson Copyright © 1981 by David Irving; first published in August 1981 by Congdon & Lattès, Inc., Empire State Building, New York, NY 10001 and distributed by St Martins Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010, and simultaneously in Canada by Thomas Nelson & Sons Ltd., 81 Curlew Drive, Don Mills, Ontario m3a 2r1, this edition is Copyright © 2010 Parforce UK Ltd All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher. Inquiries should be addressed by email to Permissions, [email protected]. This edition: ISBN.1-872197-28 Focal Point Publications Printed in the United States of America Focal Point Classic Edition Details of first edition: Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Irving, David John Cawdell, 1938 – The War Between the Generals 446+24p. 24cm. ISBN: 0865530157 World War, 1939-1945–Campaigns–Western Front. Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969. Montgomery of Alamein, Bernard Law Montgomery, Viscount, 1887-1976. Allied Forces. Generals–United States. Generals–Great Britain. D756.3 .I78 1981 940.54 / 12 19 Map by J. P. Tremblay The War Between the Generals “One of the most authentic and important books on World War II. . . . Detailed and fascinating . . . a meticulous piece of research . . . conspicuously unbiased.” — Baltimore Sunday Sun “The narrative is lively, the pace quick, and some of the battle episodes are gripping. The scene in which Brig. Gen. Norman ‘Butch’ Cota, an American assistant division commander at Normandy, strode about Omaha Beach under murderous fire to rally his troops, protect the wounded, and save the beachhead, is such an extraordinary tale, and told so effectively, that it left this reader clutching the book with excitement.” — Bradley F. Smith, Washington Post “Military history buffs will devour it and cherish it. Techni- cally it is perfect; beautifully edited and printed. As in the case of all of Irving’s books the writing is vivid; one can hardly put it down.” — Kansas City Times “Absorbing . . . startling.” — Los Angeles Times Book Review “Immensely readable.” — Martin Blumenson, Army Magazine n “The book relies upon previously unpublished materials. The book was reviewed as being highly readable and avoiding ‘muck raking.’” — A secret report furnished to the Canadian Government in 1991 by the Board of Deputies of British Jews A man of great If you want to end the mediocrity. war in any reasonable — General George time, you will have to re- S. Patton Jr. about General Omar Bra- move Ike’s hand from the dley control of the land battle. — Sir Bernard Montgomery about General Dwight Eisen- hower A third-rate general. He never did anything or won any battle that any other general could not have won as well or bet- If the unhelpful ter. British attitude — General Omar Bradley about continues, then Sir Bernard Montgomery I will go home. — General Dwight Eisenhower One thing that might I feel sorry for help win this war is to get the man. He someone to shoot King. had it within He’s the antithesis of co- his grasp to be operation -- a deliber- one of the leg- ately rude person -- which endary heroes means he’s a mental bully. of his nation. I — General Dwight Eisenhower fear he has hurt about Admiral Ernest King himself badly. — Eisenhower on Montgomery Eisenhower, though supposed to be running the land battle, is on the golf links at Rheims -- entirely My dear Ike detached and ... I fear you have lost taking practi- many friends in England. cally no part in Yrs. ever, Monty. the running of the — Montgomery to Eisenhower war. — Sir Alan Brooke, Chief of the Imperial General Staff David Irving is the son of a Royal Navy commander. After visiting Imperial College of Science & Technology and University College London, he spent a year in Germany working in a steel mill and perfecting his fluency in the German language. Among his thirty-odd books, the best-known include Hitler’s War; Churchill’s War, vol. i: “Struggle for Power,” vol. ii: “Triumph in Adversity”, and vol. iii: “The Sundered Dream”; Accident, the Death of General Sikorski; The Destruction of Dresden; The Mare’s Nest; The German Atomic Bomb; The Destruction of Convoy PQ17; The Rise and Fall of the Luftwaffe; The Trail of the Fox: the Search for the True Field Marshal Rommel; Hess, the Missing Years, and Nuremberg, the Last Battle. He has also translated several works by other authors including Field- Marshal Wilhelm Keitel, Reinhard Gehlen, and Nikki Lauda. He lives in Windsor, England, and has raised five daughters. The War between the Generals David Irving by “A really fascinating description of behind-the- scenes strategy and decision-making in which the actors are giants” — Raleigh Trevelyan in the London Daily Mail F FOCAL POINT praise, where praise is due Thomas B. Congdon (1931–2008) david irving writes: It is nearly thirty years since I completed The War Between the Generals for Tom Congdon (seen above in ) and his firm Congdon & Lattès Inc. He was one of Madison Avenue’s most gifted editors. Before this, Tom had also edited my famous biography Rommel (1977) and later my Hermann Göring biography (1989). When he took me on, he had just finished editing a book called “Jaws” for author Peter Benchley, who had never written a book before in his life. Then came this Göring biography. Any editor has to be the author’s best friend. His brain is plugged in throughout the period of gestation, and it provides extra thinking power where it is so vital – it asks the awkward questions, and refuses to tolerate sloppiness in any form. In fact Tom Congdon taught me all over again just how to write – and I was by then three-quarters through my writing career. He was a demanding editor, and not easily satisfied. A few weeks after I had delivered the Rommel typescript, cleared my desk in London, and prepared to turn to a new subject, a letter came from him congratulating: “David, that is the finest first draft of a book I have ever read.” He was right, of course, and I wrote it all over again. He and his wife Connie retired to Nantucket in 1994. I want my readers to know how much of the credit for these pages belongs to him.