“I (Butcher) told him (Ike) of our plans for improving press and broadcast facilities and spoke of our efforts to develop the short-wave station at Luxembourg. He (Ike) said this is in the sector where the Germans might relatively easily counterattack in strength, and that I might find myself with a transmitter in German hands. He said we were holding that sector with relatively light forces because we are building up for the attack north of the Ardennes, and although the Germans also are lightly holding some ninety miles in the Ardennes, they could swing a punch through that sector, if they chose.”

Further in his book, Butcher talks quite a bit about Dever and discussion of Dever’s forces breaking east and then north coincidental with Allied forces north of the Ardennes breaking through to the east. Then trapping the Germans between Dever coming from the south and Monty/Americans coming from the northern breakthrough.

My impression is that Eisenhower had no hand in the decision to slaughter civilians in Dresden. The British took the lead on that one, that the US followed vigorously.

Eisenhower had great comments on the danger of military power in his final months in office. Damn shame that is almost totally forgotten.

At least Ike awoke to the hazard this nation was courting in his time and said something forceful about it. None of the current gutless wonders will so much as utter a peep about the central destructive force operating against the Republic in our time. Chaos is the money-making machine of the ruthlessly murderous and war is the handmaiden of chaos. Only the victor avoids punishment for the excesses of war….for a while, until their pride and hubris are turned inward and they begin to eat their own.

There has been so many atrocities that have occurred since 1945 that it is hard to keep track of them all.

There were allegations that the war crimes trial of the SS men involved in the Malmedy Massacre relied on tortured confessions. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malmedy_massacre_trial