By June, 1944, the European Allies had been at war with the Axis powers for five years. The war had seen the most of Western Europe occupied by the Nazi forces of Adolf Hitler's Third Reich. America was relatively new to this war–like the one before it, America was kept largely out of it due to pressures at home and the fact that America was separated by an ocean from war-torn Europe. When the United States did get involved, they did so slowly–first in the joint invasion of North Africa, then Sicily and Italy. The United States, however, was set on invading Hitler's "Fortress Europe" head on, from the French Coast. Britain, having been at this game for a while (and having experienced the carnage at Dieppe), was content to continue nibbling at the edges–first North Africa, then Italy, maybe the south of France, then Greece–the "death from a thousand cuts" approach, if you will. It wasn't until 1943 that it was agreed that once Sicily was liberated that plans would be made to invade France.
The Allies amassed one of the largest task forces in history. The invasion was no small affair, either–39 divisions either landed on the Normandy beaches or parachuted into Northern France. 12,000 planes made up the aerial assault alone. There were some 7,000 vessels involved in the amphibious landings. It was also a fairly unsure bet. The invasion was set for 5 June, but bad weather caused the postponement of the landings until 6 June, based on weather reports that came from a Royal Navy ship in the mid-Atlantic–weather reports the enemy could not get.
Before the initial assaults, General Eisenhower gave the following address to his troops:
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"Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon a great crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers in arms on other fronts, you will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny over the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world.
Your task will not be an easy one. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle hardened, he will fight savagely.
But this is the year 1944! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man to man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our home fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to victory!
I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full victory!
Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessings of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking."
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An mp3 of the actual address can be found here.
As the men landed and move inland, the Germans were caught off guard. Many of the High Command believed that the invasion would come in clear weather and at the Pas de Calais–the narrowest part of the English Channel. The Luftwaffe was nowhere to be found–although Josef "Pips" Priller did make a flight over the beach, it was a token appearance. Rommel had gone to visit his wife; 6 June was her birthday. Hitler himself had deluded himself into believing that the invasion was months off–and in the months leading up to the invasion, did the Allies a favor by assuming complete command over all of his troops in the field. The Field Marshals would "command", but their orders came straight from Hitler.
They also believed that the invasion would be led by General Patton, not General Montgomery, General Bradley, and Eisenhower. Patton, though, was in the doghouse at the time due to the slapping incidents on Sicily. Patton did play a role in Operation Overlord, though–he commanded a "ghost army" in England. The Nazi spies were told to keep tabs on Patton, so they did–and reported back that he had many armored and infantry divisions in training. In reality, the armor was inflatable!
In the end, we all know how things turned out. But there's one thing that is lost on a lot of people, both young and not so young–the men Eisenhower was addressing were for the most part kids–17, 18 year old kids who had the eyes of the world upon them. Many of them would not get home until the end of the war, many more would not get home at all. There would be a bitter year of fighting ahead of them, and there were times that victory was uncertain. It would do us all well to remember what the men of the Allied Expeditionary Forces did 67 years ago.
Be good to one another. I bid you Peace.