Coconut Times - Ocean City's Entertainment Web Magazine http://coconuttimes.com Coconut Times - Ocean City's Entertainment Web Magazine - Remembering WWII en http://coconuttimes.com/ Coconut Times - Ocean City's Entertainment Web Magazine http://coconuttimes.com 13881421431744 Battle of the Bulge http://coconuttimes.com/articles/Remembering-WWII/Battle-of-the-Bulge
    The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Campaign, was fought from December 16, 1944 to January 25, 1945. The idea behind the German Offensive was to capture the Port of Antwerp, thus depriving the Allies of a very critical seaport resulting in the Allies being pushed out of this area of operation. The result would be a very big loss and, it was hoped, cause the British and Americans to sign a separate peace agreement.
    The Germans were having a difficult time and losing ground in the East. By defeating the Allies, in the West, they could then focus on the Soviets. As such, the German High Command developed several plans, one of which included a Blitzkrieg through the Ardennes, which was not heavily defended. The attack was approved by Hitler and assigned to Field Marshals Walter Model and Gerd von Rundstedt. Both thought this offensive was too ambitious and tried to limit the attack and stop at the Meuse River, to no avail.
    To carry out the objective, SS-Oberstgruppenführer Josef “Sepp” Dietrich's 6th SS Panzerarmee would attack from the North and take the port city of Antwerp. At the same time, General Baron Hasso-Eccard von Manteuffel's 5th Panzerarmee would attack the center, taking Brussels, while General Erich Brandenberger's 7th Army would advance from the South in order to protect the flank.
    With all the players in place, under radio silence, and using the cover of adverse weather conditions, the Germans began their advance. Additionally, the Germans had a unit which spoke fluent English and dressed in captured GI uniforms infiltrating the American lines. The Allies later discovered this plan and captured most of the infiltrators, who were summarily executed as spies. Their operation only partially succeeded.
    Supreme Allied Commander, General Dwight D. Eisenhower, believed the Ardennes sector was a quiet area and was blind to the German offensive that was beginning. In fact, he believed the German troop movements were the Germans maneuvering into a defensive campaign. Further, the American troops in the Ardennes sector were comprised of untested soldiers. The area was being used for recovery and training.
    On December 16, the big guns of “Sepp” Dietrich's 6th SS Panzerarmee opened fire and its men attacked. Elsenborn Ridge and Losheim Gap were the objectives to ultimately advance to the Belgian city of Liège, which currently has a population of 195,000. The American 2nd and 99th Infantry Divisions, commanded by Walter M. Robertson and Walter Lauer, defended these positions, fighting with uncommon valor and Dietrich was forced to commit his tanks.
    In the center, General von Manteuffel's 5th Panzerarmee opened a gap through the 28th and 106th Infantry Divisions, commanded by Norman D. Cota and Herbert T. Perrin, capturing two full American regiments of the 106th. It was one of the largest mass surrenders in American military history. This was the so called “Bulge” in the American lines, putting the town of St. Vith in danger of capture. The 5th Panzerarmee’s advance was slowed, giving the 101st Airborne Division time to be moved, by truck, to the crossroads town of Bastogne. The weather was horrible with heavy snow storms and extremely low temperatures, causing all kinds of problems for men and equipment, not to mention that American air power was grounded and of no help to the Americans.
    In the meantime General Brandenberger’s 7th Army was stopped after a 4-mile advance by the American VIII Corps, commanded by J. Lawton (“Lighting Joe”) Collins. On the 17th, General Eisenhower realized this was a major German offensive and began rushing reinforcements to the area.
    In the early morning hours of December 17, Colonel Dr. Baron Friedrich August von der Heydte, despite the weather, dropped his unit, by parachute, to attempt the capture of the crossroads near Malmédy, a Belgian town of lees than 10,000. His paratroopers scattered to the four winds and were ineffective and fought as a guerilla force. It was the last German paratroop operation of the war. Later in the day, Colonel Joachim Peiper’s Kampfgruppe Peiper captured and executed 150 American POWS at Malmédy, to be forever known as the “Malmedy Massacre.” Pieper, being the tip of the spear in the attack, captured Stavelot and moved toward Stoumont.
    Pieper met heavy resistance and the American forces retook Stavelot, The SS colonel´s unit ran out of fuel and his forces fought on foot.
    Brigadier General Bruce Clarke fought a holding action at St. Vith, but was driven back by the 5th Panzer Division, commanded by Olympic equestrian gold medal winner Rudolf Lippert. This collapse of the American lines led to the encirclement of the 101st Airborne Division and the 10th Armored Division Combat Command B at Bastogne.
    Eisenhower met with his commanders at Verdun on the 19th. Seizing upon the opportunity to counterattack and catch the Germans in the open, Eisenhower asked General George S. Patton, Jr. how long it would take to get his armor to Bastogne. Patton had anticipated these orders and had already begun to move. He responded, “48 hours!”
    The 101st, in the now surrounded Bastogne, fought numerous engagements and attacks in the worst possible winter weather and held the Germans at bay. The German Commander, General Baron Heinrich von Lüttwitz, sent a representative, under a white flag, to see General Anthony McAuliffe in Bastogne to demand the American Forces surrender. The message was delivered to McAuliffe, who famously sent his reply back with one simple word - "NUTS!" Confused and infuriated, the German officer returned to his lines.
    Meanwhile British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery was shifting his forces to hold the Germans at the Meuse River, the Allied resistance was gaining strength, the weather was beginning to clear and American Air Power was prepping to join the fight. The German advance, running low on fuel, began to fail. The farthest German advance was 10 miles from the Meuse River, which folded and stopped on the 24th of December.
    General von Manteuffel’s 5th Panzerarmee was running low on fuel and under constant counterattacks. The General requested permission to withdraw, but his request was emphatically denied  by Hitler on the 24th.
    Patton broke through, on the 26th, to Bastogne, and was ordered to press North in early January. Field Marshal Montgomery was ordered South to meet at Houffalize to trap the German forces. While this operation was successful, delays allowed the Germans to escape, but they had to abandon their vehicles and equipment.
    Even though their offensive was falling apart, the Germans were desperate to keep it going and another major offensive was launched by the Luftwaffe on January 1, 1945. At the same time a ground offensive was launched in Alsace. The US 7th Army, commanded by Lt. Gen. Alexander M. Patch, Jr., fell back to the Moder River, where it contained and halted the attack. The German offensive at the Battle of the Bulge was over.
    If the heroics of the men fighting the Battle of the Bulge could be cataloged, this article would be never ending. The Engineering Units with two or three men under heavy German fire blew bridges within sight of German armor, forcing delays in the German advance. Soldiers had to urinate on their weapons that were frozen and inoperable. Weapons were constantly being broken down and heated over fires to remain functional. With the “Malmedy Massacre” fresh on their minds German snipers would lie in their hides killing GIs until they ran out of ammunition then come out and surrender, smiling at their captors, knowing they'd be treated well. Their smiles were quickly dispatched. It was reported that on Christmas Eve there were soldiers on both sides who met in peace and some even sending Christmas greetings by messenger without a shot being fired, but on Christmas morning, once again, began the acts of war. In the battle, approximately 84,000 troops were either killed, wounded, captured, or missing on both sides. The Battle of the Bulge will forever live as one the greatest battles ever fought in World War II.
     God Bless America and the men and women who fought, now living and those dead, that kept this Nation free.
NEXT: YALTA
 
]]> Fri, 19 Dec 2014 00:00:00 -0500 13811417822903 The Siege of Budapest http://coconuttimes.com/articles/Remembering-WWII/The-Siege-of-Budapest
    THIS MONTH, seventy years ago, the Red Army and its new allies, the Royal Romanian Army and the Royal Bulgarian Army, began an offensive designed to capture the Hungarian capital of Budapest.  The Hungarian city can trace its roots back 2,000 years and is actually two cities, Buda and Pest, located on opposite sides of the Danube River.
    On October 30, 1944, the 2nd and 3rd Ukranian Fronts commanded by Marshals Rodion Malinovsky and Fyodor Ivanovitch Tolbukhin, together with the 1st and 4th Romanian Armies, commanded by Nicolae Macici and Gheorghe Avramescu, and the 1st Bulgarian Army, commanded by Vladimir Stoychev, totaling 1,000,000 soldiers, commenced the Budapest Strategic Offensive Operation. It was an attempt to capture the Hungarian capital. By November 2, it had resulted in the capture of the southern suburbs of Alag and Kisalag. That initial effort ceased on November 24, 1944.
    A renewed Soviet/ Romanian/ Bulgarian offensive was launched on December 3, 1944, and within six days, had reached the Danube River, north of the city. By Christmas the Hungarian capital was surrounded, trapping 190,000 German and Hungarian troops.  The new Hungarian Nemzetvezetō (National Leader), Ferenc Szálasi, escaped from his nation’s capital on December 9, 1944. The 800,000 civilians remaining in the city continued their daily lives - seemingly oblivious to the fate awaiting them upon the arrival of the Red Army. Although they felt that the city would fall to the Red Army, the feeling was that the city’s, “...inhabitants will face marshals, while in the villages, corporals will govern.” And, the Red Army had yet to acquire its reputation for the rape of its enemies’ women.
    After the city was surrounded, SS-Gruppenführer & Generalleutnant der Waffen-SS Karl von Pfeffer-Wildenbruch was placed in charge of the city’s defenses. He established his command center on Castle Hill, in the center of the Hungarian Government district.
    General von Pfeffer-Wildenbruch had been commander of the IX SS Mountain Corps, which was, stationed in Budapest.  The Corps consisted of the following: SS Florian Geyer Cavalry Division commanded by Joachim Rumohr; SS María Theresa Cavalry Division, commanded by August Zehender: the Feldherrnhalle Panzer-Grenadier Division, commanded by Günther Pape until November 27, 1944, and then by Afrika Korps veteran, Ulrich Kleemann: and the Feldherrnhalle Panzer Division, commanded by Gerhard Schmidhuber.  General von Pfeffer-Wildenbruch’s command also included the Hungarian I Corps, commanded by General Vitéz (Count) Iván von Hindy de Kishind. Vitéz von Hindy’s I Corps consisted of the First Armored and the 10th Infantry & 12th Scythian Divisions.
    The Florian Geyer was named for a German knight who was a follower of Martin Luther and sided, and fought, with the peasants against the nobility and Catholic Church during the “Peasant’s War” of 1522-1525. The division’s soldiers were Romanians and Serbs of German origin.
    The SS María Theresa Cavalry Division, was named for María Theresa, an 18th century Austrian Empress. Since her favorite flower was the cornflower, that became the division’s insignia. The division’s soldiers were Hungarians of German, or Austrian, origin.
    The Feldherrnhalle divisions were comprised of members of the SA, and were named for the building in Munich where the Nazi Party met.
    By December 27, Budapest had been surrounded, and its main airport lost, causing der Führer to relieve Generals Johannes Frießner and Maximilian Fretter-Pico of command of Army Group South and Sixth Army, respectively. They were replaced by Generals Otto Wöhler and Hermann Balck.
    On December 28, 1944, the Soviets contacted the Germans by loud speaker proposing negotiations for the city’s capitulation. They told the Germans that their emissaries would not bring weapons and would appear in cars with white flags the next day. After their proposals had been rejected by General von Pfeffer-Wildenbruch and the Soviets began the trek back to their lines, the Germans opened fire, killing most.
    A relief effort was launched on January 1, 1945 - Operation Konrad - led by IV SS Panzerkorps, commanded by SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS Herbert Otto Gille. Gille was the most highly decorated SS soldier in history. Gille’s corps included two of the best and toughest divisions of the war - SS Totenkopf Panzer Division, commanded by Hellmuth Becker and the SS Viking Panzer Division, commanded by Karl Ulrich - and the 96th and 711 Infantry Divisions, commanded by Generals Hermann Harrendorf and Reichert. General Gille broadcast to the garrison, “Hang on! We’re coming!” The Soviets broadcast, “Gille’s coming, but we’re going to kill him!” After three days, and the Panzerkorps being only 20 miles from Budapest, the effort was ceased. It had cost 2,938 men. It had destroyed, or captured, 160 guns, 107 antitank guns and 79 tanks.
    The Totenkopf  Division was formed, initially from concentration camp guards, by its original commander Theodore Eiche. The name means “Death’s Head” in German. The Viking Division was a true international, volunteer division, being composed of Estonians, Belgians, Danes, Swedes and Germans. Both divisions only fought on the Eastern Front.
    On January 7, a second relief operation - Operation Konrad II -  began, which reached a point 15 miles from Budapest. They were so close that the Panzer-Grenadiers could see the church spires and turrets, but this effort was, inexplicably, canceled.
    The last attempt to relieve the encircled Hungarian capital -  Operation Konrad III - was launched on January 20, 1945, by the III Panzerkorps, commanded by Hermann A. Breith, and General Gille’s IV SS Panzerkorps.  By January 28, that effort had also been stopped. The Viking and Totenkopf Divisions suffered 8,000 casualties in these failed relief efforts.
    On January 17, all remaining Axis troops withdrew from Pest to Buda on the other side of the Danube River. Over the protests of their Hungarian allies, all five of the beautiful bridges over the river were destroyed by the Germans. That same day, Swedish diplomat/businessman Raoul Wallenberg was summoned to Marshal Malinovsky’s headquarters. Upon his departure, he said, “I’m going to Malinovsky’s - whether as a guest or as a prisoner, I do not know, yet.” Unfortunately, it was the latter. The order to arrest him came from Deputy Commissar for Defense, Nikolai Bulganin.
    Sweden had agreed to assign Wallenberg to its legation in Budapest, if the Americans would lighten the pressure on Sweden because of its trading relationship with the German Reich. His mission was to do what he could to save as many Jews from the German charnel as possible. In this, he had considerable success, by printing passports, visas and other documents and renting buildings in Budapest which he then proclaimed as part of the Swedish Embassy. Jews were then housed in these buildings, which were adorned with Swedish flags and an important sounding name, such as “The Swedish Research Institute.” Negotiations were undertaken between German and Hungarian authorities and Wallenberg for the lives of the Jews. Bribes were paid. Wallenberg is credited with saving thousands of Jews, including the late Representative Tom Lantos from California. For his tireless and death-defying work, he was named “Righteous Among the Nations,” and his name inscribed upon the Wall of Honor in the Garden of the Righteous at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem. He was murdered while in Soviet custody. The details of how, when, why and by whom, remain unknown. His memory lives in monuments, street, school, park and building names around the world.
    On February 11, 1945, after six weeks of fighting, Gellért Hill fell to the Soviets after they launched a heavy attack from three different directions simultaneously. Once Gellért Hill, which dominated the city, fell, the end was in sight. From there Soviet artillery was able to dominate the entire city.  By now, the Axis forces were no longer able to receive supplies which had been flown in and landed by gliders on the streets.
    That day, taking advantage of heavy fog, some 28,000 Axis troops, together with unnumbered civilians, attempted a breakout in three waves.  The first wave, taking advantage of the element of surprise, had some success, although most were killed or captured. Generals Zehender and Schmidhuber were among those killed. General Rumohr was wounded and committed suicide.
    The remainder of the city’s defenders surrendered on February 13, 1945. The capture of Budapest had cost the Red and Romanian Armies  between 80,000 dead and 240,000 wounded. The Axis forces suffered 40,000 dead and 62,000 wounded. More than 80 percent of the city was destroyed or damaged and more than 38,000 civilians died during the siege, 15,000 of whom were Jews executed by the Hungarian Arrow Cross Party.
    Estimates of the number of rapes committed by the Red and Romanian Armies in Budapest, after its fall, range from 5,000 to 200,000, with most estimates at 50,000 - 70,000. The Swiss Embassy reported that rapes of women between the ages of 10 - 70, “ . . . are so common, that very few women in Hungary have been spared.”
 
NEXT: BATTLE OF THE BULGE
Mr. Wimbrow writes from Ocean City, Maryland, where he practices law representing those persons accused of criminal and traffic offenses, and those persons who have suffered a personal injury through no fault of their own.  Mr. Wimbrow can be contacted at [email protected].
 
]]> Fri, 28 Nov 2014 00:00:00 -0500 13751416842139 FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT AND THE ELECTION OF 1944 http://coconuttimes.com/articles/Remembering-WWII/FRANKLIN-D-ROOSEVELT-AND-THE-ELECTION-OF-1944  
    In the spring of 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt was a sick man.  Far beyond his unprecedented break with tradition by running for his Third Term in 1940, he was, by far, the longest serving president in the history of the United States.
    He was, however, just a shadow of his former robust (even though polio-stricken) self of the 1932, 1936 and 1940 campaigns. The strain of office and the terrible burden of a World War were definitely showing in his demeanor and appearance. And for the first time in 80 years the country was going through a presidential election during wartime.  It would seem that the very nature of the conflict of war would give pause to potential candidates from the opposing Republican Party. This was not the case, however, by a long shot. Predominant among the possible candidates of the GOP was Wendell Willkie, the unsuccessful nominee of the party in 1940.  Willkie was still a robust and active figure in the national scene, and clearly relished one more chance at the highest office in the land.
    Although a commanding figure, he had become a man without a party. His outspoken personality and his world travels had isolated him from the party machine, and his blunt criticism of even those who opposed him in the Republican Party, left him no choice but to try to win primaries in order to secure the nomination.
    Other potential names which surfaced were Harold Stassen, former Governor of Minnesota, now serving in the Pacific Theater of Operations as flag secretary to Admiral William "Bull" Halsey; General Douglas MacArthur (even though also serving in the South Pacific war zone) and Thomas E. Dewey, the Governor of New York.
    Through a series of missteps, one by one the potential candidates were diminished in their respective quests. Willkie failed in his primary contests. MacArthur was caught red-handed making insubordinate remarks in response to a severely critical letter from a Nebraska Congressman which attacked the New Deal of the President. MacArthur intemperately responded that he was in complete agreement and hinted darkly at, "...the sinister drama of our present chaos and confusion". It is a wonder that he was not immediately removed from command by the Commander-in-Chief, but in wartime he could not yet be spared and his demise would await the heavy hand of Harry Truman in 1952.
    Stassen, being in the war zone in uniform, could not mount an effective campaign, so there was left just one - Thomas E. Dewey.  Dewey had a meteoric rise in National recognition. After graduating from Columbia Law School and a successful practice in a silk stocking New York Law Firm, he had been elected as District Attorney for New York County (Manhattan) where he gained fame by prosecuting "Legs" Diamond and "Lucky" Luciano.  Narrowly losing a chance at Governor, he ran for the Republican Presidential nomination in 1940, though losing to Wendell Willkie. Two years later in 1942, he handily won the New York governorship. At age 42, he was on his way.
    Dewey, however, was not flawless. His personality was stiff and formal, and his slick appearance with his pencil thin mustache and slicked back hair, lent themselves to jabbing remarks. Alice Roosevelt Longworth famously compared him to the "little man on the wedding cake" and a widely repeated remark was that you really had to get to know him well to dislike him.
    Nevertheless, Dewey was the last man standing in the Republican nomination race, and won handily on the first ballot. In his acceptance speech, Dewey set the tone for the upcoming contest, by lambasting the Democrats for being, "...old and tired and stubborn and quarrelsome," and in office much too long.
    So, Franklin Roosevelt was soon to be up to his neck in what would be recognized by all as his "Last Hurrah".  There was no suspense at all about his determination to yet again seek re-election. Although he repeatedly said that he desired to return to his beloved estate at Hyde Park, New York, he was not going to shed the mantle of office during wartime. It was a job he considered essential to finish. As he put it, "If the people - the real Commander-in-Chief of us all...," ordered him to do so, he would, "...as a good soldier...," continue to serve.
    Thus, the only drama in the Democratic nomination process was the selection of a Vice-Presidential running mate for Roosevelt. Coyly, he juggled several names: Henry Wallace, the out-of-step and unpopular Vice President; Justice William O. Douglas; Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn; Senators Alben Barkley and Harry Truman. In a bizarre twist, Roosevelt encouraged all of them and ostensibly left the decision up to the Convention delegates. In fact, the "smoke-filled room" deciding the matter was the President's own White House study, where all the names were vetted by the party bosses together with the Real Boss. Eventually, the focus came to Truman who had garnered a good bit of positive press in his honest and forthright handling of the issues of wartime supply and possible waste in management.
    Finally, the word came to Truman that it was him and not Vice-President Wallace that the President really wanted. When he heard the facts, Truman replied, "Well, why in the hell didn't he tell me so?"
    The candidates were set - Roosevelt and Truman for the Democrats and Dewey and Governor John W. Bricker of Ohio, a man, it was said, whose mind was a huge space with a few wandering clichés in it, but who was an attractive and popular running mate.
    After the convention was over, Dewey continued his relentless attacks on the old, tired, and worn out White House. Roosevelt instinctively knew how he must respond. In the early years he relished the campaigns. "I am an old campaigner and I love a good fight!" he once said, but now his health was clearly an obstacle. So it was actions - not words - that would be required to bolster the confidence of the American people.
    He set off on a Pacific trip to Hawaii to view landing exercises and the press would get the full view of a working President intent on winning the war. However, in his railroad car just at the beginning of the trip in California, he admitted to his son James, "Jimmy, I don't know if I can make it. I have horrible pains!"  Nevertheless, he completed the trip. Upon his return, he insisted that an outdoor event be set up in the Seattle baseball stadium, and that was done. The President spoke in the open on a windy evening to thousands of folks present and to a nationwide radio audience; but unknown to his aides at the event, he suffered his first attack of angina pectoris. It would not be his last such attack. For about 15 minutes the pain gripped Roosevelt's chest and shoulders. But then the severe pain subsided. Nevertheless, the condition was reflected in Roosevelt's delivery of his remarks, and people began talking yet again as to whether the President had lost his touch.
    And, of course, there was the War. Much of Roosevelt's time obviously was taken by the continuing strife. Although by 1944, things had turned in favor of the Allies, Germany and Japan were far from defeated. And the President also had the troublesome relationship with Stalin, and even a now grumbling Winston Churchill on world matters, including the possible makeup of the world at the end of conflict. He signed the GI Bill of Rights and proposed the formation of the United Nations, at the Dumbarton Oaks Conference, whish was disparaged by Dewey as, "...an effort to subjugate the nations of the world permanently to the coercive power of the Big Four".
    In September, Roosevelt met with Churchill, at Quebec, with their respective military staffs to sharpen strategy in both the European and Asian theaters of War. Also discussed was the post-war role of Germany in Europe. After the conference Churchill again was the Roosevelts’ guest at Hyde Park.
    In late September, a gala dinner was held at the new Statler Hotel in Washington, where union leaders, Democratic politicos and government officials were to meet. The keynote speaker was the President. The speech would be widely broadcast. There was an air of expectancy in the room, as lingering rumors of his health still dogged the President. After a rousing introduction, he began his remarks; and his daughter Anna Boettiger tentatively asked an aide, "Do you think Pa will put it over? If the delivery isn't right it will be an awful flop."
    The expectant room quieted. Roosevelt began; "Well, here we are again - after four years. You know I am actually four years older, which is a fact that seems to annoy some people. In fact there are millions of people who are eleven years older than they were when we began to clean up the mess that was dumped in our laps in 1933!" The room burst into delighted laughter and applause.
    Roosevelt was warmed up by now and proceeded to excoriate the Republicans and their campaign tactics and lauded his administration's efforts in the war.  By this time, he had the crowd in the palm of his hand, as the room burst with applause and filled with laughter. But he wasn't finished...
    "These Republican leaders have not been content with attacks - on me or my wife, or on my sons. No, not content with that, they now include my little dog, Fala. Well, of course, I don't resent attacks, and my family doesn't resent attacks, but ...Fala does resent them."
    "You know - you know, Fala's Scotch, and being a Scottie, as soon as he learned that the Republican fiction writers, in Congress and out, had concocted a story that I had left him behind on an Aleutian Island and had sent a destroyer back to find him - at a cost to the taxpayers of two or three or eight or twenty million dollars - his Scotch soul was furious. He has not been the same dog since!"
    Indeed, the "old campaigner" was back and in fine form! The effect was instantaneous, and Dewey felt it keenly. Although he characterized it as a “snide" speech, it struck a chord that couldn't be denied.
    In a successive campaign trip, the President's big, open Packard delivered him to a speech in the rain at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn and then in a long motorcade from Queens to mid-Manhattan and then down Broadway. In the relentless rain, Roosevelt rode in the open car, with his great grin, waving his hat, and soaking his suit and shirt. After drying off in his apartment, he made a speech at the Waldorf Astoria where he attacked, with alliteration, the Republican Congressional trio of "Marton, Barton and Fish".
    The day had been a singular success, and provided an unequivocal answer to the question of health and stamina. A week later he campaigned in another open car in Philadelphia, and a few days later at an outdoor meeting in Chicago, where 100,000 people packed Soldier Field.
    While the President scored triumph after triumph, Dewey struggled to come to grips with his opponent. So, he reverted to his old ways as a prosecutor and brought out a new “Red Herring” - of the Democrats selling out to the Communists - which he said were taking charge of the New Deal.
    Roosevelt genuinely disliked Dewey and he showed it. He now pushed back with icy contempt for Dewey's accusations saying that Dewey would like to create a "Monarchy" in the country. The campaign was coming to a close.
    On the night before Election Day, as was his habit, Roosevelt adjourned to Hyde Park where, the next day, November 7, 1944, he voted and then awaited election results, which were predicted to be close. That evening by 11:00 p.m., the traditional torchlight procession arrived at Hyde Park where the Roosevelts were serenaded by all the townsfolk. Although his smallest margin of victory was the result, Roosevelt had won by more than 3,500,000 votes, receiving 25,612,916 to Dewey's 22,017.929. His Electoral College margin was 435 to 99. Dewey carried only 12 states. Nevertheless, he did not concede until 3:00 a.m., with a statement to the press, but with no customary call to the victor. As Roosevelt went up to bed, he turned to an aide and said, "I still think he is a son-of-a-bitch".
    Five months and one week later, on April 12, 1945, Franklin D. Roosevelt was dead, felled by a cerebral hemorrhage, and Harry Truman was President.
    [For further reading; James MacGregor Burns, ROOSEVELT, The Soldier of Freedom 1940-1945; and David M. Jordan, FDR DEWEY and the Election of 1944]
NEXT: BUDAPEST

]]> Fri, 14 Nov 2014 00:00:00 -0500