Read Online Fox at the Front (Fox on the Rhine) by Douglas Niles, Michael Dobson - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Douglas Niles, Michael Dobson
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his coat and hat on a peg outside the room, quickly checked his hair in the mirror, straightened the knot in his tie just so, and opened the door.
He was neither the first nor the last to arrive at the meeting. The president was already there, of course, sitting in a cushioned chair with a blanket spread over his legs. His famous cigarette holder was in his mouth. “Good morning, Hartnell,” FDR boomed in his cheerfully mellifluous voice. He still looked old and tired, but being surrounded by company brought him to life again. Those who had not seen him late at night, or at the end of a long working day, couldn’t tell how sick the great man was.
“Good morning, Mr. President,” replied Stone. He would be one of the lowest-ranking people at the meeting, it seemed clear. General George C. Marshall, army chief of staff, was already in the room, along with Cordell Hull, secretary of state. He nodded a good-morning to each; they acknowledged him only in passing. Henry Stimson, secretary of war, accompanied by an aide, was the next to enter. Several other Cabinet-rank officials and senior war advisers were also present, each with aides appropriate to their status.
“Good morning, Mr. President,” Stimson intoned in a formal voice.
“Good morning, Henry,” FDR replied. “Glad you could make it this morning. Gentlemen, it seems to have been an interesting few days. It looks as if we have an opportunity to cut short the war in Europe by a matter of months, if everything goes according to plan. You’ve all received a briefing by now, I’m sure?” Nods came from all the participants. “Good. Here is the question I’ve been pondering: Is it time for us to plan for a postwar German government?”
“Mr. President …” Marshall was the first one to comment.
“Yes, General?” Marshall was one of the only people that FDR, a habitual first-namer, always addressed by title.
“Even with the surrender of Rommel’s army, the Germans have substantial strength, especially with all the forces that had been fighting in Russia. We don’t yet occupy a single inch of the German homeland. While it’s never too early to plan, of course, I wonder if a thorough discussion at this point might be somewhat premature.”
“Thank you, General Marshall. Cordell, how about you? Premature, or worth discussing?”
Hull paused to think for a moment. “We do have the doctrine of unconditional surrender to deal with, although at least part of the heritage of that declaration was our supposed friendship with the Soviets. And, of course, there’s the reality that the Berlin government hasn’t attempted to open up any diplomatic channels recently. We were ready last summer in case Stauffenberg and his friends had been able to take over the government, but we all know how that turned out.” Most of the figures in the Bomb Plot to assassinate Hitler were themselves dead following Heinrich Himmler’s successful countercoup.
“So, if there happened to be a German government more amenable to negotiation, you might feel differently?” asked the president. He smiled in a slightly annoying way, one that signified he had an ace up his sleeve and was
just about ready to play it. Roosevelt was well known for having his own mind made up and then asking others for their advice.
“Well, of course, Mr. President. But unless Bill Donovan has brought you evidence of a new Bomb Plot, there is only one German government around right now.” “Wild Bill” Donovan was head of the Office of Strategic Services, the major American intelligence agency.
“No new bomb plot that I know about right now,” injected Donovan, a large, muscular man who looked the part of the star college football player he’d been. “But who knows? We could always get lucky.”
“Or,” added FDR, “we could make our own.”
“I beg your pardon?” asked Hull.
“We could make our own,” repeated the president.
The president’s idea was breathtaking in its
He was neither the first nor the last to arrive at the meeting. The president was already there, of course, sitting in a cushioned chair with a blanket spread over his legs. His famous cigarette holder was in his mouth. “Good morning, Hartnell,” FDR boomed in his cheerfully mellifluous voice. He still looked old and tired, but being surrounded by company brought him to life again. Those who had not seen him late at night, or at the end of a long working day, couldn’t tell how sick the great man was.
“Good morning, Mr. President,” replied Stone. He would be one of the lowest-ranking people at the meeting, it seemed clear. General George C. Marshall, army chief of staff, was already in the room, along with Cordell Hull, secretary of state. He nodded a good-morning to each; they acknowledged him only in passing. Henry Stimson, secretary of war, accompanied by an aide, was the next to enter. Several other Cabinet-rank officials and senior war advisers were also present, each with aides appropriate to their status.
“Good morning, Mr. President,” Stimson intoned in a formal voice.
“Good morning, Henry,” FDR replied. “Glad you could make it this morning. Gentlemen, it seems to have been an interesting few days. It looks as if we have an opportunity to cut short the war in Europe by a matter of months, if everything goes according to plan. You’ve all received a briefing by now, I’m sure?” Nods came from all the participants. “Good. Here is the question I’ve been pondering: Is it time for us to plan for a postwar German government?”
“Mr. President …” Marshall was the first one to comment.
“Yes, General?” Marshall was one of the only people that FDR, a habitual first-namer, always addressed by title.
“Even with the surrender of Rommel’s army, the Germans have substantial strength, especially with all the forces that had been fighting in Russia. We don’t yet occupy a single inch of the German homeland. While it’s never too early to plan, of course, I wonder if a thorough discussion at this point might be somewhat premature.”
“Thank you, General Marshall. Cordell, how about you? Premature, or worth discussing?”
Hull paused to think for a moment. “We do have the doctrine of unconditional surrender to deal with, although at least part of the heritage of that declaration was our supposed friendship with the Soviets. And, of course, there’s the reality that the Berlin government hasn’t attempted to open up any diplomatic channels recently. We were ready last summer in case Stauffenberg and his friends had been able to take over the government, but we all know how that turned out.” Most of the figures in the Bomb Plot to assassinate Hitler were themselves dead following Heinrich Himmler’s successful countercoup.
“So, if there happened to be a German government more amenable to negotiation, you might feel differently?” asked the president. He smiled in a slightly annoying way, one that signified he had an ace up his sleeve and was
just about ready to play it. Roosevelt was well known for having his own mind made up and then asking others for their advice.
“Well, of course, Mr. President. But unless Bill Donovan has brought you evidence of a new Bomb Plot, there is only one German government around right now.” “Wild Bill” Donovan was head of the Office of Strategic Services, the major American intelligence agency.
“No new bomb plot that I know about right now,” injected Donovan, a large, muscular man who looked the part of the star college football player he’d been. “But who knows? We could always get lucky.”
“Or,” added FDR, “we could make our own.”
“I beg your pardon?” asked Hull.
“We could make our own,” repeated the president.
The president’s idea was breathtaking in its
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