ALLIANCE FOR PEACE

from a main road near Paris the flags of 12 nations can be seen against the skyline these 12 nations have united in an alliance to preserve the peace of Europe here at marley lawa on a site donated by the people of france is the supreme headquarters of Allied powers Europe shape until a year ago this was farmland six years ago the men who tilled the soil believed with all of us that peace was at last secure allied forces sweeping victorious ly across Germany from the West had joined hands with the Russians from the east within two weeks of this meeting the nazis surrendered unconditionally the war in europe was overly in the towns and in the villages there was joy and thanksgiving there was work to do men wanted to return home they were impatient to be demobilized the great armies of the West began to melt away builders who had become Gunners became builders again mechanic who had become pilots became mechanics again and farmers who would become sailors became farmers again but the Russian leaders were not in the same hurry the small group of men in the Kremlin had long ago dedicated themselves to the spreading of communism by all possible means they control Russia they planned to control Europe and the world they knew that an army can be used not only to fight board it can be used to intimidate bordering Russia were a number of countries which had been overrun during the war Estonia Latvia Lithuania Romania Bulgaria Yugoslavia Albania Hungary Czechoslovakia and Poland in meetings at goethe and Potsdam it had been agreed between Russia Great Britain and the United States that occupation of these countries should be temporary and that freely elected governments should be set up as soon as possible Poland for example since its liberation from the Nazis Poland had been occupied by the red army and a provisional government referred all matters of importance to Moscow the government chosen by the people was still in exile at yata Stalin had agreed that members of the Exile government should be invited to return and that election should be held to ensure that the Polish people had an opportunity of choosing their own leaders trusting the word of the Kremlin Mikolajczyk the head of the exile government in London returned to Warsaw elections were held other parties were permitted to stand against the communists it calmed the anxieties of liberty-loving people and made a show of fairness to the world the popularity of Mikolajczyk grannies peasant party increased but the Soviets had retained control of the press censorship and the secret police 250 of the present party candidates were disqualified on absurd excuses 135 were arrested five died his own life in danger mikolajczyk became once more an exile in November 1949 Soviet Marshall raka Sasuke took over as police commander in chief Poland ceased to have any further independent existence in Romania Bulgaria and Hungary the pattern was the same each time the technique was more efficient Great Britain and the United States refused to recognize the faked elections as valid they sent notes of protests to the Kremlin but Russia ignored the protest Stalin knew that the protest would not be followed by military action hempfield throughout the West armaments the surplus of democracies lay rusting the West was no longer in a position to take military action over any issue in Czechoslovakia the government attempted to find a middle way Czechoslovakia had a history of sturdy independent trauma massively one of Europe's great statesmen at one for her unity and pristine now his son jaan Macerich was foreign minister he was too intelligent a man to be a fanatic with President Benny he believed that it was possible to be friends with the Communist without succumbing to them but to the Communists gentleness is weakness and the country prepared to compromise is a weak country the machinery for taking over week countries had now been perfected the coup in Czechoslovakia was swifter and more efficient than ever before within a week opposition was suppressed communist action committees were formed and local liberal leaders were purged the radial the press and the government of the country were seen there was another victory to celebrate victory over freedom President benish was allowed to retire to his country house he died there a broken hearted man one morning on the stones under his bedroom window Jan Masaryk was found dead whether he had been killed by the communists or in disillusionment had taken his own life is not yet known truth had ceased to come out of Czechoslovakia but not all the countries on which communist pressure was brought to bear were swallowed up in March 1945 the Soviet government denounced its treaty of friendship with Turkey they offered to renew it if the Turks would cede a certain territory and allow them to establish bases controlling the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles but turkey remembered that only five years before estonia latvia and lithuania had lost their freedom through playing host to soviet troops in this way the turks refused soviet pressure increased but the Kremlin's agents within the country were not strong enough to ferment internal strife in greece however they met with more success here a strong communist force to split the country and the Kremlin was able to stir up civil war backed by arms from the adjoining Soviet puppet States they brought bitterness despair and death to the Greek people if Greece and Turkey were to survive as free nations help had to come from outside in March 1947 President Truman asked for United States Congress to send immediate aid to Greece and Turkey I believe that it must be the policy of the United States to support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures Congress agreed no troops were sent but through the military assistance program equipment began to arrive in Greek military aid could avert collapse for a time but unless economic aid followed widespread distress would make Greece easy prey for communist agents the Kremlin has more than one way of destroying a country guns are poor weapons against starvation military aid had to be backed with economic aid realizing this General George Marshall the United States Secretary of State in june nineteen forty-seven made his proposal for aid to europe the united nations were invited to draw up a plan for economic recovery the united states offered to help each country according to the efforts it made to help itself the invitation included russia and indeed the Soviet foreign minister Molotov attended the first conference in Paris but later walked out instructions had come through from the Kremlin Poland and Czechoslovakia had both indicated their desire to accept the Marshall invitation but they quickly withdrew they too had received their instructions but the plan went forward general Marshall had said our policy is directed not against any country or doctrine but against hunger poverty desperation and kale but russia had hoped to use the distress of europe for her own ends the defeat of the marshall plan became a priority task throughout all Europe Stalin's agents became active in France communist-inspired riots broke out all over the country by the end of november two million french workers were on strike and the government was meeting under the protection of machine guns and in italy to the instructions from the Kremlin were being faithfully followed communist rioters in Milan Genoa and other large towns stormed and wrecked the offices of newspapers which supported the plan in Great Britain and the United States communist agents seized on any pretext to foment strikes and sabotage to disrupt the marshall plan where communism was strong factories were being occupied rail tracks were being blown up and people were being killed realizing that unopposed the men of the Kremlin would eventually destroy Europe the nations of the West at last began to talk of collective security in March 1948 a treaty providing for collaboration in economic social and cultural matters and for mutual assistance in the event of aggression was signed at Brussels it brought together great britain france belgium luxembourg and the netherlands under the chairmanship of Field Marshal Montgomery a commander's in Chiefs committee was set up to study the problems relating to the defense of Europe at the headquarters in Fontainebleau many plans were examined and tested but although the five member countries of this Western Union took part in joint exercises their forces remained national and under separate control western union was not a complete union it failed to deter the men of the Kremlin from their policy of aggression attention now focused on Berlin since the end of the war Berlin had been divided in administrative sector controlled by Russia France Great Britain and the United States each country accepted the responsibility of feeding heating and clothing the people within its own set code but the city itself was surrounded by territory controlled by Russia supplies for the French British and United States sectors had to be brought across this territory on a trumped-up excuse russia decided to cancel this arrangement trains barges and rode transports were stopped it appeared that the alternatives before the West were to leave Berlin ignominiously or to stay and allow the people within the British French and US sectors to starve but was it possible to supply the city by air the population of Western Berlin was almost two and a half million and to supply a city of this size by air would be mounting the biggest airlift of all time the governments of the West decided to make the attempt from bases in England France and the u.s. zone in Germany the first planes began to arrive you stalin remained confident he assumed that in a matter of weeks and certainly when the coming of winter added to the difficulties the West would abandon the attempt he had reason for optimism snow and fog made flying increasingly dangerous shortage of fuel in Berlin brought factories to a standstill even in the way there were many who doubted that the airlift could succeed but they were wrong throughout the autumn of 1948 and the winter of 48 49 the amount flown into the beleaguered City steadily increased by April 1949 it had reached a total of twelve thousand tons per day for nine months the life of Western Berlin was maintained by air and each day the prestige of the West rose by early summer the Russians were ready to negotiate in May 1949 the blockade was lifted the policy of standing firm had been vindicated separately the nations of the West could not stand against the threatening might of the USSR yet together their resources could more than match those of the Soviets it was first important that they should reach an agreement to stand firmly together and use this potential strength in the defensive teeth the Brussels treaty had been a step in the right direction but its scope was small even within Europe and it did not include the vast potential of Canada or the United States the creation of a larger collective Union became necessary on april four 1949 the north atlantic treaty was signed between France Belgium Luxembourg the Netherlands the United Kingdom Norway Denmark Italy Portugal Iceland Canada and the United States the pack was designed to keep within the letter and spirit of the United Nations Charter the treaty members realized that real peace is more than an absence of war and they seek to promote political and economic stability in the North Atlantic area to ensure this they are sworn to stand together against aggression an attack against one would be an attack against Paul this union of 12 Nathan became known as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or more simply natal a North Atlantic Council comprising the foreign ministers of the natal government was formed to carry out the treaties clauses even before the council's first session Stalin was claiming that the pact was a violation of the Yalta and Potsdam agreement and an attempt at world domination but while still accusing the NATO members of treachery his eyes turned to the Far East to Korea in june nineteen fifty with soviet approval and assistance a North Korean communist army invaded the south the united nations army was sent to Korea to hold the aggressors at they realizing now that in Europe to freedom must have teeth as well as a voice the North Atlantic Council agreed on the establishment of an integrated force at the earliest possible date the establishing of this integrated force meant first the rearming of nations which have disarmed dangerously far beyond that units from those nations with different languages different traditions different ways of life had to be built into a unified armed force NATO agreed that this could be best achieved by delegating to one man sufficient authority to enable him to organize an allied command with the least possible delay on sep tember 26 1950 the post of supreme commander was created but it was a major importance that the first man appointed to this post should be acceptable to the government's and to the people of all 12 nations the choice was unanimous in december 1950 the North Atlantic Council asked the President of the United States to make general of the army dwight d eisenhower available for duty as supreme commander Allied powers Europe mr. president i devoutly pray with the mission on which I am leaving this morning will result in nothing but peace security and tranquility for our various nations of the western Atlantic and mike i agree with you general and i know that's going to be the result you have the whole hearted backing of the people of the united states and i know that you have that same backing from the 11 other nations who are in the atlantic treaty goodbye and good luck before concentrating on the complex details of planning is integrated force General Eisenhower with his chief of staff general gruenther set out on what he called an exploratory trip I return to Europe as a military commander but with no miraculous plans no display of military force I returned with an unshakable faith in Europe this land of our ancestors in the underlying courage of its people in their willingness to live and sacrifice for a secure peace and the continuance and the progress of civilization the children of all nations deserve better than we have so far been able to promise them they bear no hatred suspicion or distrusted let us work for them and put aside all prejudices and past weeds and let us never swing from defending their birthright of liberty even as ours has been cherished and staunchly defended for us in each of these countries there is much to protect and the theme of freedom runs through the literature of each first Frank countries are well cultivated not as they are further but as they are p you on january nine General Eisenhower left Paris for Belgium I have respected my father because he was a free man may my children have caused to honor me in this way January 10 the Netherlands old courage and honor high above them old freedom 11 Denmark this land will be lovely as long as it is free january 12 norway the white Peaks of honor the green hills of peace the blue eyes of freedom are ours to protect january 13 Great Britain this England never did no never shall lie at the Proudfoot to the Conqueror january 16 portugal can a man raised his eyes beyond the stars and a man raised his soul beyond freedom none were 18 if Allah the time will come when we shall give our hand to men of freedom from each brother land you january nineteen luxembourg we leave our children no better gift and freedom on January 24 after a visit to Germany to consult american british and french commanders there General Eisenhower continued his tour to Iceland he who would take our freedom is our enemy january 26 canada give each tyrant to his grave and freedom to each lovely lad you january 27 the United State where Liberty is there is my home in three weeks General Eisenhower had visited 12 countries often his arrival had been the signals for outbreaks of Kremlin inspired demonstrations the men in Kremlin realize that unity in the West would mean the end of easy aggression communist posters appeared on walls flats and strikes were timed to disorganize the reception but a growing awareness of the issues involved was at last beginning to make the people of Europe reluctant to act as communist views the planned demonstrations came to nothing summing up his tour General Eisenhower said the most immediate need of Europe is munitions and equipment everyone the Continental Nations I visited can rapidly and markedly increase its resistance power if it can be promptly furnished additional supplies of this kind to fill this need our loyal neighbor Canada with Britain and others is showing part of the load with every increase in strength there will be an upward thrust in morale resulting in an ever mounting spiral of confidence and security with respect to time no man can know at what hour if ever our defensive organization may be put to the ultimate test because our purpose is entirely defensive we must be ready at the earliest possible moment only an aggressor could name the day and hour of attack in Paris time was not being wasted temporary headquarters in hotel astoria the domestic mechanics had already been organized and were functioning smoothly an advanced planning group was at work this group had consisted at first predominantly of United States officers but many of those were now being replaced by officers from the other NATO countries in addition each country had been invited to send the military representative who would act as liaison between the staff in Paris and the military establishment of his own country during March the senior staff appointments to Allied command were made as his deputy general eisenhower chose Field Marshal Montgomery a great britain this was a renewal of an association rooted in success but not only had Field Marshal Montgomery than a close partner in the planning which led to the overthrow of the Nazi he brought to his new job valuable experience from his work with Western Union to advise the Supreme Commander on naval power Adnan lemonnier of Fran was appointed naval deputies and to advise on the integration of airpower Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Saunders of Great Britain became heir deputy from among the best military brains of the 12 countries which he had visited General Eisenhower was able to assemble his staff to this small group of experts Falls the responsibility of solving problems unique in military history but they are bringing to their work not only experience but imagination and initiative each member considers himself not a citizen of any one country but 112 a citizen of each of the NATO countries and by April to 1951 for many months the nations of NATO have been engaged in building for themselves a wall of security they have no aggressive intent or purpose of their own they desire only to live in peace are behind the defenses that they themselves collectively bill to protect their own of freedoms which they themselves have earned today another significant step was taken in this process of building a wall of security officially informally shape headquarters was opened its mission is to take charge of all forces allocated by NATO nations at to the business of establishing a collective defense for the freedom peace and security of Western Europe an extensive and detailed plan has been worked out for the defense of Europe for the purposes of defense allied command which covers land and sea areas from the northern tip of Norway down to North West Africa has been divided into subordinate commands the northern command with headquarters at Oslo will include the area from Denmark north here the commander in chief at no sir patrick friend is responsible for the integration of air naval and ground defence the southern command with headquarters of naples includes the area from italy south the air naval and ground defense in this area is the responsibility of admiral robert eat carne in the central area with headquarters at Fontainebleau there will be the largest concentration of forces there are three commands air naval and ground for the ground forces the general of the army Alphonse jawan for naval forces Vice Admiral Robert Georgia for air forces Lieutenant General loris norstad it is the responsibility of those five subordinate commanders and their integrated staffs to organize and train the national units of soldiers sailors and airmen from Norway the Netherlands the United States Great Britain Denmark France Italy Belgium Luxembourg canada each contributing country has during 1951 at least doubled its military expenditure in almost every case this has meant great strain on already overburdened national economy and increased sacrifices on the part of each individual within NATO country in addition almost every country has increased its period of military service and strong Ready Reserve units are being built despite the fact that France and Great Britain are already fighting communism in Indochina and in Malaya they have both made important contributions to Allied command by doubling their forces in 1951 Belgium Luxembourg the Netherlands Denmark and Norway have considerably increased their forces during 1951 Italy has made the maximum contribution allowed within the peace treaty Canada in addition to providing arms for two allied divisions has sent her own forces across the Atlantic the United States has broken d steyn perdition by sending troops to Europe beyond her occupational commitment in addition through the mutual defence assistance program she has supplied planes tanks and guns too many of the other country as the week's pass and as national rearmament program swing into action still more and more forces will be allowed to the command and absorbed into it during the year a NATO training college was open here further steps are being taken towards integration officers from all the member countries are learning how to cope with them any problems facing the architects of a truly international force from the high-ranking planners to the individual soldier within each of the NATO countries training is being standardized and intensified through the summer and autumn of 1951 various land sea and air exercises were held within the regional commands still small in scope these exercises have nevertheless served to emphasize many outstanding problem first and most important there is still a shortage of equipment although rearmament programs in almost all the nato countries have been stepped up during the past year there is still the knee for yet more planes tanks ships and guns beyond rearmament is the need for more and larger airfield standardization of arms and equipment whenever possible to simplify supply and training a more completely standardized network of communication closer coordination between national units where language still remains a barrier at shape these problems and the many others which arise are being attacked with increased confidence but in the USSR there is little doubt that the power of Allied command is daily becoming greater the mouthpieces of the Kremlin denounced the work as aggressive and the command as a treacherous alliance against the Soviet but the record of history is against the Soviets this is the pattern of aggression which has threatened the peace of the free world since the end of the war allied command is being built to ensure that it will not dominate the future and to each successive meeting of the natal council the supreme commander was able to report that despite shortages despite national economic crises despite differences allied command no not yet strong enough to me to determine the Soviet attack was daily becoming a well marshalled and organized force proud of itself and its purpose but the final success of a crusade which has just begun will depend on the efforts of all men of goodwill in all the countries which have joined together to preserve peace France Iceland Great Britain the United States Denmark Italy Canada Belgium Portugal the netherlands norway luxembourg and now greece and turkey in their continued unity lies the real hope of the free world