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Berlin, Richard E., 1894- / Diary of a flight to occupied Germany, July 20 to August 27, 1945.
(1945?)
Monty admits he has memoirs, pp. 46-47
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Page 46
dence, telling the men that they were not going to be killed, im. pressing my -men with what they knew, namely that I would not waste men in an engagement. My men know I will not fight until it is good business. Men must have the gleam of battle in their eyes. Generals do not win battles unless they meticulously plan their campaign and subsequently follow through. I always plan a major campaign for three months. "In the Normandy campaign I laid down the plan last March. I planned the feint on Caen using British troops to suck in German reserves and especially their motorized strength. With this having been done, the Americans could hit the Germans on the right flank and encircle them. "I now am the Field Marshal of the British Armies. I have charge of air, sea and land. I am now engaged in finance, agri. culture and business-all are things I know very little about." Monty Admits He has Memoirs Monty went on to say that the Ruhr is a war machine. The German people can never use all the civilian goods that they pro. duce from the Ruhr. The factories that made guns can produce millions of bicycles, refrigerators, etc. Again he stressed that America and England must import against future exports. He further said that it gets very cold here in winter with 12 feet of snow, and again stressed that this would be the battleground of the winter, as there was no coal. I told the Field Marshal that his was a wonderful story and that he should record it immediately. He admitted that he had kept a diary. He said, "If I published it, it would start another war. You cannot deal with five nations and not have disagree- ments, and you cannot tell about these disagreements publicly. I think it is wonderful that we have agreed on as much as we have. Potsdam has been very successful." 46
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