Eisenhower and Patton review the 35th

Twenty days after D-Day, Generals Eisenhower and Patton paid a visit to the 35th Division troops to see if they were ready to join the fight in Normandy. The 35th were one of many US divisions stationed in England as reinforcements for the invasion of Western Europe. There were over a million US troops stationed in England in preparation for the invasion. By the 26th of June the US generals had a problem on their hands; they had to decide which divisions would be sent over next to help break through the stalemate that had built up since the initial landings on June 6th. The Allied troops had became bogged down in the hedgerow country of Normandy which the German defenders used to their advantage by flooding fields and digging into thick hedges that lined patchwork of fields. The Norman hedgerows made of over the centuries by piling up dirt, rock and brambling bushes on the edge of the farmers fields. It was a snipers paradise to hide in and surprise the Allies as they tried to cross each field. 

Eisenhower looked into these soldiers eyes to see if they were up for the fight. He knew it was going to be merciless and and some would flinch when the bombs and bullets started flying their way.  So he zeroed in and gave a pep talk to the front line sergeants telling them directly that they had to lead their men into the fray and be willing to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. They were the soldiers who would win this war. 

 Eisenhower gets into their faces 

The 35th Division were green troops - they had never been in combat. Over the last three years they had trained in California, Texas, Alabama, North Carolina and West Virginia. They had trained in the blazing sun of Texas to the snow covered mountains of West Virginia but yet they had not seen the face of the enemy. During the days of the buildup the tactics of US Army evolved as they observed Hitler's use of the Blitzkrieg to run over Europe and North Africa. The Germans, who had the best tanks in the world, relied however on First Word War methods of using horses to move their soldiers, supplies and mobile kitchens.  The Americans decided to out blitz the blitzkrieg and built a massive fleet of trucks and jeeps to move fast and keep up with the tanks. 

In addition the US had developed air surveillance with small two-man Piper Cub airplanes that flew over the battlefield and help direct artillery guns and kept an eye on the enemy positions. And to tie it all together the Army pioneered the use of FM radio and deployed miles and miles of telephone wires to link all of the combat units together into a integrated fighting machine. The front line infantry companies were linked to their Battalion Headquarters (HQ), which was in turn connected to the Regimental HQ, that had a direct line to the Division and Corps HQs. The Germans didn't have a chance, especially considering the industrial might of the US had been retooled to produce million rounds of artillery shells, guns, tanks and whatever else was needed for the war effort. 

But at this point it was all theoretical. The question on the two Generals minds was will the soldiers flinch when it came time to fight face to face with the well trained and in some cases fanatical German soldiers? The German soldiers had built up a well deserved reputation as Supermen, who conquered all of Western Europe and who were willing to die for the Fuhrer and the Fatherland. 

So the generals had to see first hand the troops that would be sent into battle and give them that little extra motivation that they would need when they entered into the coming storm. In particular they spoke to the officers and the sergeants who's job it was to lead the men into the fight. The sergeants had to set an example for their men and not shirk from taking the offensive to the enemy. 

Eisenhower grew up in Kansas so he was familiar with the hardy attributes of the midwestern farmers that made up the bulk of the 35th Division.  These were tough men from Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri who had spent their lives plowing the sod fields of the American prairie, herding cattle, castrating pigs and slaughtering the animals to produce the meat that graced their tables. Some of the men were second or third generation farmers whose families had immigrated into the Great Plains in search of  land that they could claim and built houses of sod for their families to live in. They endured arctic blasts and blizzards in the winter, tornados in the spring and  heatwaves in the summer that cracked the land.  The strongest survived and the less fortunate either perished or packed up their wagons to return to the safety of the towns. 

It was these men that the generals looked into their eyes. And asked them were they up for the fight with the Nazis?  Would the natural strength of free men be able to conquer the servile followers of a dictator ? 

Notes: 

Generals Eisenhower and Patton visited all three Regiments of the 35th Division. 

Generals Eisenhower and Patton inspected the 35th Division at Penzance, England on June 26th 1944.

Formation inspection 

Eisenhower addressing the troops 

Eisenhower and Patton inspecting an exercise