Berlin - or Lübeck?
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Great Britain, France, Russia and the United States had decided far in advance that Berlin would be divided into four sectors after the end of World War II. The Russians were advancing toward Berlin more quickly that the western allies, so, from Eisenhower's point of view, it made sense for the Russians to go ahead and occupy Berlin first. But Eisenhower had an alternative, Lübeck, located at the base of the Danish peninsula. His goal was to prevent the Germans from fleeing up Denmark to Norway and, thus, to prevent the establishment of a German redoubt - or new front, basically - outside of Germany (Stafford, 131-132). The strategy also prevented the Russians from occupying Denmark and Norway.
Why tell the story? The best part is the sales process Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander in Europe at the time, had to go through in order to slow progress toward Berlin in order to address Lubeck. He flew first to Great Britain to meet with Churchill to ensure that he had backing for his strategy. Only then did he direct the British forces in Europe to attack Berlin at the same time attacks on Lübeck began One last parel of information. In his meeting with Churchill, Eisenhower got support to occupy the German atomic research facilities near Stuttgart, far to the southwest (Stafford, 131-132).
Eisenhower had to play politics in order to make sure his campaign in Germany was successful. He worked in advance to verify support before he spent time with local commanders.
No question, politics slowed things down, much as they do with business functions. But, in this case, at least, playing politics was the most logical thing for Eisenhower to do.
Reference
Stafford, David. Endgame, 1945. The Missing Final Chapter of World War II. Little, Brown and Company. 2007.