EISENHOWER, Dwight D. (1890-1969). Typed letter signed (“Dwight D. Eisenhower”) as Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces to General Henri Giraud, Allied Force Headquarters, 10 May 1943. One page, 266 x 203mm (toning from pin hole at upper left corner). Securing North Africa for the Allies with French support. Eisenhower offers his endorsement of appointments made by Henri Giraud, the French General who was critical in supporting the Allied landings in North Africa—most importantly that of General Charles Mast, leader of pro-Allied Vichy forces in North Africa, as Resident General in Tunisia. Eisenhower expresses his delight at the appointment and is assured that "he will prove equal to the task of reorganization and reconstruction that lies ahead," and offering the "full support of Allied authorities," to his efforts. Henri Giraud had been captured in the Ardennes in 1940 and after two years of imprisonment, managed to escape his German captors, first crossing into Switzerland and then on to Vichy France where he fruitlessly attempted to convince Pétan to abandon its German ally. When news of his escape spread through France, the Gestapo arrested seventeen members of his extended family and had orders to assassinate Giraud. At about the same time, the Allies secretly contacted Giraud, giving him the code name "Kingpin." Giraud agreed to help support the planned Allied landings in North Africa on condition that only American forces be used—many French officers were still angry at Great Britain for the attack at Mers-el-Kébir where they destroyed several French warships lest the fall into the hands of the Axis. Giraud would be appointed commander of French forces in North Africa and soon afterwards French High Commissioner of French North Africa and West Africa and in that capacity attended the Casablanca Conference with F.D.R. and Churchill in January 1943. [With:] Two typed letters signed from Eisenhower, but signed on his behalf by a secretary, both also directed to Giraud, 27 April and 5 May 1943, thanking the French general for his letter of support sent to F.D.R. as well as his thanks for Giraud's congratulatory letter "on the capture of Mateur, which, although taken by Americans, was made possibly by effective pressure against the Hun by the French and the British." Please note this lot is the property of a private individual.
EISENHOWER, Dwight D. (1890-1969). Typed letter signed (“Dwight D. Eisenhower”) as Commander-in-Chief of Allied Forces to General Henri Giraud, Allied Force Headquarters, 10 May 1943. One page, 266 x 203mm (toning from pin hole at upper left corner). Securing North Africa for the Allies with French support. Eisenhower offers his endorsement of appointments made by Henri Giraud, the French General who was critical in supporting the Allied landings in North Africa—most importantly that of General Charles Mast, leader of pro-Allied Vichy forces in North Africa, as Resident General in Tunisia. Eisenhower expresses his delight at the appointment and is assured that "he will prove equal to the task of reorganization and reconstruction that lies ahead," and offering the "full support of Allied authorities," to his efforts. Henri Giraud had been captured in the Ardennes in 1940 and after two years of imprisonment, managed to escape his German captors, first crossing into Switzerland and then on to Vichy France where he fruitlessly attempted to convince Pétan to abandon its German ally. When news of his escape spread through France, the Gestapo arrested seventeen members of his extended family and had orders to assassinate Giraud. At about the same time, the Allies secretly contacted Giraud, giving him the code name "Kingpin." Giraud agreed to help support the planned Allied landings in North Africa on condition that only American forces be used—many French officers were still angry at Great Britain for the attack at Mers-el-Kébir where they destroyed several French warships lest the fall into the hands of the Axis. Giraud would be appointed commander of French forces in North Africa and soon afterwards French High Commissioner of French North Africa and West Africa and in that capacity attended the Casablanca Conference with F.D.R. and Churchill in January 1943. [With:] Two typed letters signed from Eisenhower, but signed on his behalf by a secretary, both also directed to Giraud, 27 April and 5 May 1943, thanking the French general for his letter of support sent to F.D.R. as well as his thanks for Giraud's congratulatory letter "on the capture of Mateur, which, although taken by Americans, was made possibly by effective pressure against the Hun by the French and the British." Please note this lot is the property of a private individual.
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