Forgive for me for my sins, but a little over year ago I read just about every book that WEB Griffin has written (sometimes you just need some mind candy). As well as being famously cantankerous, Griffin is known for peppering his works with historical anecdotes that are often untrue (hence "historical fiction"). In one of his books in the "Brotherhood of War" series, he mentions that during the Allied advance on Berlin, Eisenhower orders American and British troops to halt in order to let Zhukov and the Russians take Berlin first. Is this fact or fiction? A bit of both?
Also, he mentions that this decision by Eisenhower sent I.D. White into a flying rage. Is this true? I've looked for sources on White for a while, but have yet to find anything reliable or accessible.
Thanks!
Edit: Christ on a cracker, I can't believe the title says "their" instead of "there." I'm ashamed.
The answer to your question is : Yes.
In the Spring of 1945 Eisenhower did order the troops under his command to not drive for Berlin. Presumably now you would like to know why?
Two basic reasons, with a third bonus reason :
Firstly, in an prime example of succint military orders, he was not specifically tasked with taking Berlin. Eisenhower's job was to destroy the German army and Marshall's order to him spelled that out :
You will enter the continent of Europe and, in conjunction with the other Allied Nations, undertake operations aimed at the heart of Germany and the destruction of her Armed Forces.
By the Spring of 1945 the job of destroying the German Armed forces was all but complete.
Secondly Eisenhower was aware that the leaders of the Allied nations had already agreed on the broad occupation zones for Germany post war. Under the plan the border between the Soviet occupied zone and the Western allies would be well to the West of Berlin. Why should Eisenhower risk the lives of American soldiers to take territory that would be handed to the Soviets anyway? And in the event the Red Army suffered around 300,000 casualties (incl 80,000 killed or missing) taking Berlin.
Third, bonus, point : US planners were concerned that the Nazi leadership was planning a last stand in the mountains of Southern Germany. The fear turned out to be false, but Eisenhowers intelligence chief, having already been surprised by the Ardennes offensive, took it seriously. So a fair amount of effort was expended rushing forces into the area.
As for General White, I don't have any source handy that quotes him directly, but General Patton was certainly upset that the Western Allies were not pushing for Berlin claiming that he could have reached Berlin in three weeks after crossing the Rhine.
source : Rick Atkinson, The Guns At Last Light
http://www.history.army.mil/brochures/Ike/ike.htm
PS Atkinson's Liberation Trilogy, An Army at Dawn, Day of Battle and The Guns at Last Light are very good and Atkinson's writing makes them entertaining to read.