Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-12-10
Nozis Rated Eisenhower Great
And Feared Patton, Expert Says
Intelligence Officer
Tells Inside Story
Of Sabotage in U. S.
BY GEORGE TUCKER.

VT SQDoto9e IN y. }.
By GEORGE TUCKER.
(copyrisht 1945, by the Associated Press
NUREMBERG, Dec. 10.-Germar
Army intelligence officers regarded
Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower as +,
great military leader" above ever
German generals, because of hi
skillful military planning and hi
ability to override feelings and OBJ
jections on political grounds in tn
interest of achieving the one thin
that was important-the successful
accomplishment of military oper
ations."
The author of that statement il
Maj. Gen. Erwin Lahousen, stai
prosecution witness and German
Army intelligence chief who eval
uated the fighting qualities of vari
Gus Allied armies from the German
viewpoint in an exclusive interview
with the Associated Press.
Gen. George S. Patton, jr., wa
looked on as the best and mos
feared of the American field com
manders by the Germans, Gen
Lahousen said.
U. S. Army Underestimated.
The German Army "underesti.
mated" the American Army at the
start of the war, looking on Amer.
lean soldiers as "well-fed football
players" the German general said
but soon learned its error. He sale
that at the end of the war there
was little difference, from a Ger.
man viewpoint, in the American
British or Russian armies, but
early in the war the Russians were
better at exploiting break through.
and more daring in Leadership
compared with the British Amer.
lean combination.
In a tactical or dashing sense
In military operations Patton wa!
no doubt the outstanding American
general" Lahousen continued. III
order to be perfectly clear I NEAR
that Patton was outstanding as {
leader of troops in the field. H,
had the necessary military anc
tactical ability to carry out opera.
lions that had been planned anc
prepared by Eisenhower, who Wa.
the great planner and who had tn,
necessary political insight to carr,
out those plans, in contrast to tn,
German generals, who were experts
on the battlefield but who woule
nave been as helpless as children
had they faced a similar situation.
Lahousen, who said he was i,
Iunlsla during the Allied drive il
1912, declared Gen. Eisenhower hat
made the best of the political situa
, ton there to drive his troops for
/ ward, while the German general.
Just sat on the sidelines and let thu
Arabs and Italians wrangle"
Statement Explained.
That is what I meant when J
said we considered Gen. Eisenhower
great military leader" the former
intelligence officer said.
Lahousen said his mission ir
North Africa was to use the ma.
tionalistic elements among the
Arabs to cause difficulties and dis.
turbances for the ordinary move.
ment of supplies behind the front
lines"
He declared that If the Allies hae
been a bit more daring in Tunisis
they would have wiped out the Ger.
man forces before they could hav,
been reinforced, but he added:
1T was, our impression, too, tha1
because this was the first militar.
operation they wished to be ex.
tremely careful and conservative il
order to prevent any unfavorahIt
reaction in politics. BY way ofsself
criticism now, take in comparison
the Americans at Avaranches il
France, when they were very sure o.
themselves and military operations
took a rapid course"
Lahousen also told for the frs
time the behind the-scenes story O.
the sabotage attempt made on the
United States in 1912 by German
agents landed from submarines.
Hitler Angered.
Lahousen said that when ,Adol.
Hitler heard how his personally or.
dered sabotage attempt on thu
United States in 1912 had failed be.
cause of action of the Federal Blu.
reau of Investigation, he yelled al
Germany's intelligence chiefs
"Why didn't you take Jews fol-
that?"
AS result of Hitler's statement
Lahousen added, Jews were giver
jobs in the German intelligence
service for more than a year.
The tall, cadaverous chief of the
sabotage section through the criti-
cal early years of the war said the
code name for the enterprise was
"Pastorius,' that the plan calico
for blowing up of American alumni.
mum factories and that Hitler per.
sonally had ordered the enterprise
German submarines put four
men ashore at Amagansett
Beach, Long Islands N. Y, on
June -, 1912, and landed four
others near Jacksonville, Fla,
three days later. The men
quickly were rounded up before
they could carry out their plot.
convicted by a military COM
mission, six of the men were
| electrocuted in the District of
Columbia Jail. Ernest P. Burger
was left off with life prison
sentence and George Dash with
80 years at hard labor because of
their assistance to the American
Government in the apprehension
and conviction of the others.)
Suspected Dasch.
I,ahousen said that while the plo
was being Matched he suspected tina
Dasch had been planted by tn
Americans in the group selected TO
the mission.
The German general pictured Ad
miral Walter Wilhelm Canaris
Greek-born head of the German
Army's intelligence section, as hav
ing taken a disinterested attitud
toward the project. Canaris wa
among those executed by the Nazi
following the July, 1914, bomb plo
on Hitler'S life.