A Season of Hardship and Struggle: Eisenhower's World War II Christmases

For soldiers, especially during wartime, Holiday joy and the comfort of hearth and home are often a very far cry away. This was true as well for General Dwight Eisenhower who experienced several Christmases away from his loving wife and son during the great conflict of World War II. However, even during the bloody acts of war, there were still glimpses of normalcy and holiday cheer that pushed their way through to the fighting men.

Whether at home or away, Ike always found ways to care for the people he valued. On December 24, 1943, following President Roosevelt’s speech to the public informing the American people of Ike’s appointment to the Supreme Commander of the Allied Invasion Forces in Europe, Eisenhower spent Christmas in Italy with fellow General Mark Clark. In gratitude to his former staff for running a successful campaign in the Mediterranean, Eisenhower allowed many of them to relocate to his new headquarters in England to begin work on the next big step of the war the invasion of Normandy, France.

Much of the first half of 1944 was focused on the planning and successful deployment of the world’s largest amphibious landings. Throughout the summer and into the fall, the Allies were making great strides towards Germany. In the closing months of 1944 Christmas was once again on the horizon. Eisenhower longed for a sense of normalcy, and on October 19, 1944, with Christmas still more than two months away, he placed an order for southern style smoked sausage and grits to be delivered in time to enjoy on Christmas Day. Whether the meal was ever delivered remains unknown, for everything changed when on December 16, the Germans launched one of their final offensives of the war. Over a quarter million German soldiers attacked a quiet sector of the allied lines. What followed would be the bloodiest U.S battle of the war, the Battle of the Bulge.

Christmas 1944 was certainly a tumultuous one, as the fighting continued to rage and with Eisenhower having to coordinate plans to stop the steam rolling Germans in the Ardennes. With morale starting to diminish, Ike made efforts to meet with soldiers of each of the Allied Armies to spread hopeful news of allied plans and recent victories. And even with the whirlwind of events surrounding Christmas, Ike found time to write home to Mamie. In the book Letters to Mamie he closed out his Christmas letter to her by stating “Well sweet, I love you for trying to make my XMAS a nice one, and you sent me one thing I really wanted, a good picture of you. But XMAS as falls pretty flat here all days seem to be the same. I truly hope next year we will be together, and I hope further that when we get this war won our long partings will be at an end all my love always.”

Fortunately, 1945 would see the German surrender in May and peace would fall in Europe. The bloodiest conflict the world would witness would come to an end in early September and a new job for The General. He would return to America and take up the position of Chief of Staff of the Army and much like his letter said to Mamie back in 1944, their long parting ended. Ike’s wartime Christmases show that even in the midst of combat, the feeling of hope can still push through no matter how troubling the time.

General Dwight Eisenhower at his Headquarters in Algiers, 1943.

Eisenhower National Historic Site