Two for One

A major headache in organizing the defense of Europe is the sticky problem of who is to boss whom. When Matt Ridgway took over as NATO's supreme commander last spring, all allied fighting forces in southern Europe were under the nominal command of his subordinate, U.S. Admiral Robert B. ("Mick") Carney. Since Carney's land forces were all Italian, an Italian general, Maurizio de Castiglione, who fought under Rommel in North Africa, was appointed to head them. But the fighting men of Turkey and Greece, newly admitted last February to NATO's forces, refused point-blank to take orders from an Italian. The Greeks still resent Italy's jackal invasion of their land in 1940; the sturdy Turks just do not admire Italian soldiering. Britain's Mediterranean fleet, under the command of Vice Admiral Earl Mountbatten, proved equally stuffy about taking orders from Carney himself. It remained proudly aloof from the whole European command setup.

Last week Ridgway's headquarters solved the Mediterranean land-force muddle by splitting the land command in two: one force (Allied Land Forces Southern Europe) to be commanded by the Italian; the other (Allied Land Forces Southeastern Europe) to be commanded by an American (possible choice: Admiral Carney's able chief of staff, Paratroop Major General James Gavin). Still bobbing becalmed in a command vacuum, however, are Mountbatten's British warships. The U.S. argues that it has more ships in the Mediterranean and more knowledge of carrier tactics; the British say that the Mediterranean has traditionally been their concern, and besides, that the U.S. has already rounded up most of the prize international jobs.

Britain's great sea pride seems to be fighting a losing battle against U.S. demands. "Mark Antony was beaten on the Nile when his attention was divided," warned the Manchester Guardian. "Britain ought to give way, even if that does mean placing the Mediterranean fleet under an American . . ."

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