Memorandum on General Eisenhower’s Command Decision During the Battle of the Bulge (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 #12113395

This document is a memorandum written by Major General H. R. Bull to General Dwight D. Eisenhower, then serving as Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, on September 12, 1946. The memorandum responds to questions raised by military historian and journalist Hanson W. Baldwin regarding the timing of Eisenhower’s decision to reorganize Allied command during the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944. Drawing upon official wartime records and communications, Bull sought to clarify the historical record concerning one of the most important command decisions of the Second World War.

The memorandum reviews a series of official messages sent by General Eisenhower during the Battle of the Bulge, including communications with Field Marshal Bernard L. Montgomery, General Omar Bradley, General George S. Patton, and General Jacob Devers. Bull concludes that the documentary evidence demonstrates Eisenhower informed Montgomery of his decision to place American forces north of the German breakthrough under Montgomery’s temporary command late on December 19, 1944, rather than on December 20 as some accounts suggested. The memorandum also notes that Bull had already provided Hanson Baldwin with a letter summarizing this evidence while Eisenhower was unavailable.

The Battle of the Bulge was the largest and final major German offensive on the Western Front during World War II. Eisenhower’s decision to temporarily reorganize Allied command remains one of the most debated leadership decisions of the campaign, particularly because it placed American armies under the operational control of the British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery.