Letter to Hanson Baldwin Defending General Eisenhower’s Battle of the Bulge Command Decision (1946)

Date: September 12, 1946

Created By: H. R. Bull

Original or Replica: Original

Era: Advance to the Rhine, The General

Collection: Eisenhower Presidential Library

Citations: Harold R. Bull Papers, Box 2, Additional Papers, 1944-1948; NAID #12113394

This document is a letter written by Major General H. R. Bull, a senior member of General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s wartime staff, to Hanson W. Baldwin, military editor of The New York Times, on September 12, 1946. Written at General Eisenhower’s direction, the letter responds to Baldwin’s questions concerning the timing of Eisenhower’s decision during the Battle of the Bulge to place American forces north of the German breakthrough under the temporary operational command of Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery.

Drawing upon official wartime records and communications, Bull explains that although no transcript of Eisenhower’s telephone conversation with Montgomery could be found, several official messages confirm that the decision was communicated late on December 19, 1944. The letter cites subsequent directives issued on December 20, including messages confirming Montgomery’s command responsibilities and Eisenhower’s own postwar report describing the reasons for reorganizing Allied command during the German offensive. Bull concludes that the available documentary evidence supports Eisenhower’s recollection of events and offers further assistance should Baldwin require additional clarification.

The temporary transfer of operational control to Field Marshal Montgomery remains one of the most discussed command decisions of the Battle of the Bulge. While controversial among some American officers and historians, Eisenhower believed the reorganization was necessary to maintain effective command and control during the largest German offensive on the Western Front.