OCR Text |
Show I : I GENERAL EISENHOWER'S REPORT V Mention has already been made of tho skill and deTOllon of our service forces whoso eiiorts, both in ihm field and at heme, made an essential contribution to our victory.' To . them, and to the civilian workers of factory and farm who .provided ue with unstinted moans, we are forever indebted. Our enormous material mate-rial superiority gave us an unchallengeable advantage over our foes. While Germany's own war potential crumbled, that of the Allies rose to heights unprecedented. No army or navy was ever supported so generously or so well. Never, during the entire campaign, were we forced to fight a major battle without the weapons that were needed. More important evon than the weapons, however, was the indomitable fighting spirit of the men of the Allied nations who wielded them. The courago and devotion to duty which they exhibited throughout the campaign, in the grim days of the Ardennes Ar-dennes countor-oiiensive as well as in the excitement of the dash across France and later the advances into the midst of Germany, Ger-many, were unsurpassable. It was the spirit that had enabled them to withstand tho Ehocks of Dunkirk and Pearl Harbor which brought us at tho last to Lubeck. to Torgau, and to Berchtesgaden. Underlying this invincibility of spirit was the confidence In Allied unity and the Justico of the common cause which permeated all who wore engaged, directly or indirectly, in the struggle. The comradeship which had been first exemplified in North Africa carried car-ried us to new triumphs in northwest Europe. Within my own Headquarters tho American and British personnel worked harmoniously har-moniously together, obliterating all distinction of national outlook, .in their zealous service to a single organization, while In the field of battle tho men of the Allied armies fought shoulder to shoulder under my supreme command. Those civilian volunteers who shared the rigors and dangers of campaign that they might brighten tho existence of out men have the assurance of our warmest gratitude. The United Stajos of America and Great Britain have worked, not merely as allien, but as one nation, pooling their resources of men and material dike, in this struggle against tho forces of evil engendered by Hitler's Germany. In the Expeditionary Forces which it has been my privilege to lead, both in the Mediterranean Medi-terranean Theater and i:i Northwest Europe, an Allied experiment unprecedented in the history of the world has been carried out with decisive results. , -' - |