Instructions to the Continent

General Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander, broadcast a sober warning and clear instructions to the people of Occupied Europe. Said General Eisenhower, his voice resonant and reassuring:

"The hour of your liberation is approaching.

"To members of resistance movements ... I say 'follow the instructions you have received.' To patriots who are not members of organized resistance groups I say 'continue your passive resistance, but do not needlessly endanger your lives until I give you the signal to rise and strike the enemy. . . . Until that day I call on you for the hard task of discipline and restraint.'

"Citizens of France! Follow the instructions of your leaders. ... Be patient. Prepare.

"Prompt and willing obedience to the orders that I shall issue is essential. . . .

All persons must continue in their present duties unless otherwise instructed. Those who have common cause with the enemy and so betrayed their country will be removed. As France is liberated . . . you yourselves will choose your representatives and government. . . .

"You may sustain further loss and damage. Tragic though they may be, they are part of the price of victory. . . . I shall do all in my power to mitigate your hardships. I know that I can count on your steadfastness now. . . ."

General Eisenhower had ordered that warnings be given, whenever possible, to French towns in which military targets were to be bombed heavily. But the warning, by leaflets dropped from planes, might be less than an hour before the attack. Then the people must leave the towns immediately and on foot, taking only what they can easily carry, and hurry to open country. They must avoid main roads, railways and bridges, avoid bunching up.

Patriots and Puppets. European leaders in exile speedily followed with messages to their countrymen. Premiers Pieter S. Gerbrandy of The Netherlands and Hubert Pierlot of Belgium told their people of the opening of invasion, and called on them to resist the Germans "with all means . . . wherever resistance is possible." Both leaders added special warnings to underground fighters not to be tricked into premature action, but to follow only genuine Allied orders broadcast from London. Similar messages of encouragement and caution went to Norway from King Haason VII, to Poland from Premier Stanislaw Mikolajczyk.

Frenchmen heard the final contrast between the leader of Vichy, Marshal Petain, and the leader in exile, General de Gaulle. The Old Man of Vichy, magnificent only in his consistency, begged his countrymen to ignore Allied or Gaullist commands, and to obey the Germans lest Nazi reprisal fall on France. General de Gaulle, shunned until the last moment, instructed them to heed "the French Government" (i.e., his own), and said: "France, overwhelmed . . . but never conquered, is on her feet to take part. . . . The simple, sacred duty is to fight."

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