Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-04-22
War Far From Ended
When Armies Meet,
Eisenhower Aide Saw,
BY EDWARD KENNEDY.

Associated Press War Correspondent
PARIS, April 21.-The junction O,
the American and Russian armie,
in Germany will not mean the enc
OF the war in Europe and there NAV
be much more bitter fighting and
heavy casualties. 1t. Gen. Walter
Bedeu Smith, Gen. Eisenhower
chief OF staff, told war correspond
ents at supreme headquarters today
Gen. Smith said that as great as
the victory on the western front
has been, it would be disastrous to
the war effort to represent the juno
ton as the final defeat of the Ger
mans. They are still resisting IA
natically and retiring into their So
called national redoubt, where they
Will have to be Northumberland
this, he said, will take time and cost
lives.
The American officer said Gen.
Eisenhower would clean the Hitler
ties up as soon as he can, but that
he had no intention of throwing
away the lives of his men needlessly
Gen. Smith outlined the entire
European campaign and said that
OF all the famous campaigns in his
tory 1t came the closest to following
the original pattern laid out by the
commander who planned it. With
but one small xception-failure of
the Germans to put up as strong a
defense of the plain before Cologne
the battle for Germany, Gen.
Smith said, was carried out exactly
as Gen. Eisenhower originally
planned it.
Campaign Strictly Military.
Gen. Smith said Gen. Eisenhower
was conducting the campaign on a
strictly military plane and his liaison
with the Russians is limited to mill
tary matters. All political aspects
are being handled by the leaders of
the Allied governments.
The chief of staff made this remark
as reports were widespread that an
agreement between the Western
Allies and Moscow as to what parts
of Germany each will occupy was
eftectlng military operations and
was responsible for the stopping of
the Americans on the Elbe River
line.
Two Of Gen. Eisenhower's deci-
sions during the course of the
Allied campaign in Germany were
vital, Gen. Smith said.
The supreme commender, he said,
decided to occupy all the western
bank Of the Rhine between Vessel
and Coblenz before fully exploit
ing the LIST Army's Remagen bridge
head. His other decision was to
send 1t. Gen. George S. Patton's
Sd Army south across the Moselle
instead of directly across the Rhine.
Nazis Miscalculated.
Both times, Gen. Smith said. the
Germans miscalculated Gen. Eisen-
hower's strategy.
The Remagen bridge didn't last
long," he said, but while it lasted
it was worth its weight in gold"
Gen. Eisenhower's directive, his
deputy said, was to strike into the
heart of Germany, and he added
that Germany has two hearts
one, Berlin, and two, the Ruhr.'
Gen. Eisenhower decided to
strangle the Ruhr first, with
double development, and then
march toward Berlin.
1T is the ideal of every military
commander to execute double
development of this kind" Gen.
Smith said, his eyes glowing with
admiration for his commander.
Nobody ever expected to do it.
And now it has been done"
Gen. Smith said that after the |
junction of the American LIST and
9th Armies cutting off the Ruhr
and trapping over 100000 Germans,
81 divisions in all, the Allies did not |