Evening star., 1950-12-24

1eIl. Eisenhower appOlQCIu6
powers in Europe launches him OF
tory.
Neither Caesar, Napoleon no
the help Of allies and enslaved
an effective fighting force out of
Yet Gen. Eisenhower, with v
sessed as supreme Allied COM
mander in Europe in World War
II, will be no Caesar or Napoleon.
much less Hitler.
Though he will lack their abso-
lutte powers to command, he will
face up to tasks and problems far
greater in scope and far more de-
tailed than were even dreamed of
in their day.
Gen. Eisenhower will go to- Eu-
rope next month to start convert
ing into tangible, physical power
a blueprint drawn for him by a
dozen nations in a desperate effort
to protect themselves against the
advancing tide of Soviet imperial
ism.
Behind that blueprint. and sup
porting it now, are nothing more
than a hodge-podge of armies,
navies and air forces of the At
lantic nations and their prom
ises to provide the men and ma
chimes which by 1853 will comprise
a military force of l millior
men, able to meet Soviet attach
wherever it falls in Western Eu.
rope.
Great Diplomacy Needed
For the successful execution o1
his new command, Gen. Eisen-
hover will need all his prestige as
commander of the victorious AL
lied armies in Europe in World
War II, and all his military genius
to direct the defense of Western
Europe when and if the Soviet AK
falls.
Gen. Eisenhower will come into
full power as supreme commander
when and if the new Atlantic
army goes into combat, but until
combat begins those powers are
seriously circumscribed-too much
so, in some opinions-both by the
heterogeneity of the material
with which he must work and
the necessity of making conces-
sions to the national pride of the
sovereign nations which provide
the force for the new army.
The general will have to be a
diplomat of the highest order to
create-within the time allotted
to him. barring an emergency be-
fore the target date-an efficient
fighting force with a mass OF
manpower, possessing different
backgrounds and traditions,
speaking different tongues, think
ing in different ways.
Although the spirit of co-opera-
ton among the dozen govern
ments cannot be denied, from the
mere fact that they have commit
ted themselves SO irrevocably to
united defense, the job of getting
actual cooperation will call for
the utmost tact and understand
ing.
Gen. Eisenhower's command. a.
it will function prior to the out
break of hostilities, is still highly
nebulous. He has selected his
chief of staff, 1t. Gen. Alfred M
Gruenther, but beyond that the
organization of his staff will de-
pend largely on what he finds tt
be necessary on his coming trip
to Europe.
Initially he will take over the
tactical phases of war planning
from the Standby Military Com.
mittee of the Atlantic pact chief:
of staff. This is composed Of
Gen. Bradley and representative
of Britain and France and oper.
ates in Washington.
The Standby Military Commit.
tee will continue, as in the past
to conduct strategic planning, but
Gen. Eisenhower is expected tt
give his first attention to plan
ming for operations to meet emer-
gencies prior to an attack.
Training Problems
Immediately all members of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organiza-
ton will assign to Gen. Eisen-
hover forces-chiefly ground and
air-which they are able to pro-
vide, in accordance with assign
mentS made to them under the
NATO defense plan.
The exact distribution of who
will provide what remains a mill
tary secret, but all the troops OF
Britain, France and the United
States now on occupation duty in
Germany, along with all new con-
tingents sent there, will be under
Gen. Eisenhower's control. for i'm
mediate operations If necessary.
Beyond the relatively small army
which can be created with exist
ing units Gen. Eisenhower must
depend on the calling of fresh
'manpower from the Atlantic Allies