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June 06, 2006
D-Day plus 62 years
It was a cold morning in Normandy 62 years ago today, when Allied troops slogged through the surf to begin the arduous task of retaking Europe from the Nazis. Supreme Allied Commander Dwight D. Eisenhower had a few words for the soldiers, in a memo distributed to the troops.
Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force!
You are about to embark upon the 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 and devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory!
Good luck! And let us beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.
Ike was less sanguine the night of June 5. The invasion had been delayed due to bad weather, and the decision to go on June 6 was based on the assurances of Ike's meteorological staff that the skies would clear enough for Allied aircraft to protect the invasion fleet, the seas calm enough to allow landing craft to ferry troops ashore.
But were they right? And what about the Germans? Field Marshall Irwin Rommel, the Desert Fox of Afrika Korps fame, was in charge of defending Festung Europa from the vengeful Allies. Would this masterful tactician recognize that the main Allied thrust was in Normandy -- and not in Calais, where the Germans had expected it? Rommel knew -- as did the Allies -- that the success or failure of the invasion would be determined within the first 24 hours. If the Americans, Brits and Canadians could be kept on the beaches, prevented from breaking out, the initiative shifted to the defenders, and the invasion would fail.
It would be Dunkirk and Dieppe rolled into one big, bloody mess.
Chain smoking his cigarettes, pacing restlessly, reviewing in his mind the last-minute orders, the distribution of troops, the latest intelligence on the German's defenses, Ike put pen to paper and wrote a very different letter.
Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based on the best information available. The troops, the air and the Navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone.
As it luck would have it, Ike never needed his responsibility-for-defeat statement; the skies cleared, and the German High Command refused to shift it's armor held in reserve to Normandy, believing D-Day to be a feint, drawing attention away from the main invasion site.
But that's not to say the beaches were lightly defended. The Americans were savaged by Wehrmacht machine-gunners and mortar crews, pouring concentrated fire into pre-marked killing zones.
The 1998 film Saving Private Ryan captured the horror of the moment when the landingcraft's ramp dropped, allowing thousands of rounds of 8mm machinegun rounds to slam into the waiting GIs, turning the inside of the craft into a charnel house.
Somehow, GIs moved forward through the hail of steel and shrapnel; many drowned under the weight of their gear, others watched their blood turn the surf red before sinking beneath the surface.
They sought brief respite from the murderous fire, hiding behind the steel obstacles placed by the Germans to prevent tanks and landingcraft from having an easy approach to the beaches. But the clang and whine of bullets hitting steel all-too-often gave way to the sickening thwack of steel-jacketed rounds ripping into flesh, and the GIs resumed the push to get ashore, find shelter, kill the enemy -- instead of sitting out in the open like targets in a Coney Island shooting gallery.
By the time June 7 dawned, it was clear that D-Day had succeeded. Although the breakout bogged down in the French bocage, the window of opportunity for the Wehrmacht to throw the invaders back into the sea had passed.
Now began the long march to Berlin.
Ike had assembled a force of 156,000 men for D-Day. The Americans landed 73,000 troops: 23,250 on Utah Beach, 34,250 on Omaha Beach, and 15,500 paratroopers. The Brits and Canadians landed 83,115 troops: 24,970 on Gold Beach, 21,400 on Juno Beach, 28,845 on Sword Beach, and 7,900 paratroopers.
The Allies suffered approximately 10,000 casualties on D-Day, with 2,500 men killed. Every last one of them gave up his life, his future, everything he hoped and dreamed, so that Hitler's Thousand Year Reich would expire more than 980 years ahead of schedule.
On this day, take a moment and think about those young men, forever young, sleeping the eternal rest of heroes beneath the Normandy skies, and reflect upon the debt we owe them -- and all the men and women who go into harm's way to protect us from our enemies.
God bless them all.
Posted by Mike Lief at June 6, 2006 11:39 AM
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Comments
How about we talk about remembering something more recent and more relevant than another ugly war. Let's remember that 25 years ago (not 62!) AIDS raised its ugly head and struck down hundreds of thousands of vibrant young people in the prime of their lives. I see heros in Act Up! who took to the streets to demand drugs and research that saved the lives of millions of Americans. OOAL needs to look around to see real heros in every day life who took a bold step to face down Ronald Reagan and the other Republican mullahs who couldnt care less about dying gays and minorities. I am grateful to the men and women who fought in World War II. Their stories have faded though. Greatness is all around us and OOAL just looks at ghosts for examples of courage.
Posted by: Sbarro at June 7, 2006 09:05 PM
Courage comes in many faces. I find it interesting and amuzing that you choose this one to show yourself. Could it be that while you condem others for stating their preference, and so clearly you state your own, that you are in fact not addressing the needs of those who you serve but addressing your own needs? Perhaps you should seek therapy and not blogging?
I need to state quite clearly that while Mr. Lief's views may not be my own it is unfair of you to bring your tirade into this forum.
Nuff said.
Posted by: morninglight at June 7, 2006 11:48 PM