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The AMG set up, originally, contemplated a division of personnel
between the Fifth Army (American) and the Eighth Army (British). At first
the AMG Fifth Army was one-third British and two-thirds American. On the other hand the Eighth Army had one-third American
and two-thirds British personnel. This arrangement was highly satisfactory
in view of the make up of the two Armies. However, this state of things
did not persist. While the Eighth Army retained, and still has a great
majority of its officers and men from the British services, the Fifth Army
AMG has experienced a constant increase in British personnel at the
expense of the American, so that now it has too large a proportion of its
personnel of the nationality not corresponding with that of the army in
which they serve. This gradual process has been effected insidiously.
Whenever a vacancy mmong American officers occurrs, ACC has a way of
finding it impossible to provide a suitable American replacement; but
there is always a suitable British replacement available.
American officers have found the British high-handed manner most
difficult to stand- remembering the injunction that they must "get along"
with the British. They have found themselves pushed to the background;
unconsulted when important decisions were being made; assigned to
relatively unimportant jobs while the the more important ones went to the
British officers. One senior American officer, holding a responsible
position, remarked that he could promote a British Lieutenant-Colonel to
Colonel more easily than he could promote an American Private to Corporal.
Some of this difficulty was due to the clumsiness of the American
promotion system; some to the requirement that even American promotion
s pass through the hands of the head of the ACC, who was Bri
Under the Armistice agreements the head of the Allied Control Commission
was its President, General Eisenhower. The actual administrative head was
the Deputy President, Maj. General Joyce. However, as soon as Lieut. Gen.
Macfarlane took over from General Joyce, he invented a more high sounding
title for himself, that of "Chief Commissioner". Under him came the heads
of the 22 subcommissions (18 British and 4 American as above stated). The
man actually in charge of the direct management of AMG affairs was one
Brigadier Maurice Stanley Lush, who was responsible directly to Gen.
Macfarlane. Brigadier Lush, in the opinion of the American officers, has
been and is, the chief villain in the piece. He is a professional "civil
servent" of some experience in Colonial administration in Africa, but with
no military background, save service in the first World War. He has proven
himself ruthless, untrustworthy, highly ambitious and shrewd. Many British
officers have said that they do not trust him. Some say that the Viscount
Stansgate dropped out of ACC because of Lush's machinations. Lord
Stansgate, a member of Parliament for 30 years, was trusted by the
Americans. Brigadier Parkinson, head of the Public Health Subcommission
and one of Britain's better-known specialists in tropical medicine, has
said openly that Lush is proving and will always prove a pretty expensive
investment on Britain's part, as he has alienated the entire American
contingent.
In Gen. Macfarlane's setup the ACC headquarters, he established his own
office in Naples and made Captain Ellery Stone USNR a Vice President and
installed him back in Salerno. Thus the US was, on the surface,
represented by a Vice-President. But he was without power and remained
almost a figure head. It was through a stroke of chance that when Gen.
Macfarlane was taken suddenlly ill and returned to Britain, Captain Stone
was, ex officio, in charge and has ever since been known as "Acting Chief
Commissioner". He has recently been made a Commodore.