Posted on 06/06/2021 9:35:25 AM PDT by Retain Mike
General Dwight D. Eisenhower arrived in London January 2, 1944 to command Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) and to direct the last five months of planning for D-Day; the most difficult and complicated military operation ever attempted. Eisenhower’s study of leadership skills required he ignore opportunities for fear and doubt, which inevitably arise as strain and tension wear away endurance. He persevered to present confidence and optimism to those around him. For that reason, he brought with him a confident, battle tested team that had led successful landings in North Africa, Sicily, and Salerno, despite experiencing German counterattacks nearly driving the Allies into the sea on the last two beaches. He was able to select his own division commanders, to enlist the help of the French Resistance, and to direct the strategic bombers for a campaign isolating the area of assault by destroying the French and Belgian railroads. These achievements called for extraordinary skill in persuading and directing the military/political alliance.
Ike’s leadership also required sustaining unprecedented initiatives in the face of well-reasoned apprehensions. The air assault exemplifies the frightful uncertainties plaguing this “Day of Days”. The night before D-Day, 20,400 American and British paratroopers were scheduled to drop behind the Normandy beaches from 1,250 C-47 aircraft plus gliders. No other initiative offered greater rewards and risked greater tragedies. This massive assault was to be attempted just seventeen years after Charles Lindberg flew the Atlantic solo for the first time.
To the last moment Ike's air commander, British Air Chief Marshall Leigh-Mallory, saw only tragic forebodings reinforced by memories of American paratroop losses in Italy and Sicily, and the German catastrophe on Crete. The German losses there were so severe that Hitler forbid any further massive air assaults. Leigh-Mallory anticipated over half the planes and gliders would be destroyed before reaching the drop zones with surviving paratroopers fighting isolated until they were killed or captured.
The unescorted air transports would arrive over Normandy the night of June 5 in three streams from 160 to 300 miles long; thereby allowing the Germans up to two hours to reposition night fighters and anti-aircraft artillery for maximum slaughter of the transports. Most pilots were flying their first combat mission, and many would make multiple trips that night. Leigh-Mallory had received specific intelligence the German 91st Air Landing Division, specialists in fighting paratroopers, and the 6th Parachute Regiment inexplicably moved into the area around St. Mere-Eglise, where the American divisions were scheduled to land. The question arose whether these movements meant the deception plan for D-Day directing attention to Pas de Calais was breaking down.
Despite ongoing doleful estimates, Ike remained strategically committed to the airborne assault. In the American sector it would enable the seaborne infantry to get through the causeways behind Utah beach and allow the early capture of Cherbourg. Without port facilities, the limited logistic support across the beaches could doom the entire invasion. In the British sector the paratroopers would secure the vulnerable left flank of the entire invasion by destroying or capturing seven bridges needed by the Germans for a counterattack by the bulk of their armor. They would also silence a German heavy artillery battery that could devastate the Sword Beach landing.
At the same time, Eisenhower was devoted to the men. Since arriving in England, he had visited over 50 divisions, airfields, and ships as well as countless other facilities and personally talked to hundreds of men. The evening before D-Day, Eisenhower left SHAEF headquarters at 6 PM and traveled to Newbury where the 101st Airborne was boarding for its first combat mission. Ike arrived at 8 PM and did not leave until the last C-47 was airborne over three hours later.
In My Three Years with Eisenhower, Navy Captain Harry C. Butcher says, "We saw hundreds of paratroopers with blackened and grotesque faces, packing up for the big hop and jump. Ike wandered through them, stepping over, packs, guns, and a variety of equipment such as only paratroop people can devise, chinning with this and that one. All were put at ease. He was promised a job after the war by a Texan who said he roped, not dallied, his cows, and at least there was enough to eat in the work. Ike has developed or disclosed an informality and friendliness with troopers that almost amazed me". The famous picture of Eisenhower supposedly forcefully delivering last minute encouragement to the troopers actually involved talking about his experience working in a store when he was a kid.
In Crusade in Europe, General Eisenhower says, "I found the men in fine fettle, many of them joshingly admonishing me that I had no cause for worry, since the 101st was on the job, and everything would be taken care of in fine shape. I stayed with them until the last of them were in the air, somewhere about midnight. After a two-hour trip back to my own camp, I had only a short time to wait until the first news should come in”.
One of the first D-Day reports was from Leigh-Mallory with news only 29 of 1,250 C-47's were missing and only four gliders were unaccounted for. That morning Leigh-Mallory sent Ike a message frankly saying it is sometimes difficult to admit that one is wrong, but he had never had a greater pleasure than in doing so on this occasion. He expressed regret for finding necessary an analysis adding to Ike’s personal burdens during those last tense days before D-Day and congratulated him on the wisdom and courage of his command decision.
Today we rest in the comfort of historic certainty and can never understand the courage required to live into and through this history. The above represents only one of many crushing uncertainties Eisenhower persevered through. Planning discussions often aroused the specter of Gallipoli, the Somme, and Passchendaele, where the British incurred murderous losses for gains of only yards. And this time the allies were intending to undertake an amphibious and air assault much more daunting than any campaign of WW I.
Partial bibliography:
Crusade in Europe by General Dwight Eisenhower
My Three Years with Eisenhower by Captain Harry C. Butcher
The Secret Life of Stewart Menzies Spymaster to Winston Churchill by Anthony Cave Brown
D-Day by Steven E. Ambrose
Summary of the 6th Airborne Division engagements https://www.dday-overlord.com/en/d-day/air-operations/commonwealth
Top 10 Deadliest Battles of World War I http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-bloodiest-battles-of-world-war-i.php
Battle of Messines (1917) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Messines_(1917)#Casualties
Invasion of Normandy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invasion_of_Normandy
The Battle of Messines, 1917 https://www.firstworldwar.com/battles/messines.htm
The Battle of Messiness helps one appreciate the anxieties aroused from memories of Gallipoli, the Somme and Passchendaele, where the British suffered catastrophic losses for gains of only yards. By some historian assessments, the most successful attack by British forces in WW I was the Battle of Messines in 1917. The battle lasted June 1-12, and involved 216,000 men of whom 24,562 became casualties. They attacked on a five-mile front and penetrated 10 miles.
Taking this battle as a starting point, the Normandy invasion from five beachheads established a lodgment about 10 miles deep on a 40 miles front. The effort required 50 days. Therefore, a WW I veteran could make an optimistic estimate of about 400,000 casualties, and that after completely disregarded the fact D-Day landings were significantly more hazardous than any offensive attempted on the Western Front. By July 24 the allies had incurred about 120,000 casualties.
Picture of Eisenhower http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/pings?more=330525619
D-Day Pictures http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2009/06/05/the-65th-anniversary-of-d-day-on-the-normandy-beaches/#
D-Day: Presidential radio address to the nation http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jeI3vwz3p4 https://www.history.com/speeches/franklin-d-roosevelt-delivers-d-day-prayerHistory in Audio Form: The D-Day Broadcast of George Hicks https://www.dday.org/2019/10/03/history-in-audio-form-the-d-day-broadcast-of-george-hicks/
JUNE 6, 1944: THE GREATEST DAY OF THE 20TH CENTURY http://usdefensewatch.com/2017/06/june-6-1944-the-greatest-day-of-the-20th-century-2/
List of German World War II night fighter aces https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_German_World_War_II_night_fighter_aces
Complete Broadcast D-Day NBC https://archive.org/details/NBCCompleteBroadcastDDay/CBD-440606_NBC0730-News.mp3
Dwight Eisenhower D-Day Speech https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/eisenhower-s-speech-to-troops-on-d-day
Franklin Delano Roosevelt https://www.history.com/speeches/franklin-d-roosevelt-delivers-d-day-prayer
D-Day: King George VI’s 1944 Speech To The Nation In Full http://www.forces.net/d-day/d-day-king-george-vis-1944-speech-nation-full#:~:text=This%20is%20the%20stirring%20speech%20made%20by%20King,in%20the%20early%20hours%20of%20June%206th%201944.
Blood on the risers LYRICS (Gory gory what a helluva way to die https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5HtVYr9aKRM
Band of Brothers https://www.bing.com/search?q=band+of+brothers+episodes&qs=LS&pq=band+of+brothers&sk=EP1LS1&sc=8-16&cvid=57EEFCF395284EC4B90640D80CE5BD3D&FORM=QBLH&sp=3&ghc=1
Normandy Speech: President Reagan's Address Commemorating 40th Anniversary of Normandy/D-Day 6/6/84
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Leb7ynduCU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEIqdcHbc8
I had a summer job before college. One old guy in the shipping department was suffering from what we now call PTSD. I managed to engage him in conversation enough that the reason became obvious... he’d been in the 1st Marine Division at Peleliu. I had read a lot about the Pacific campaign but not about that particular battle. His description of the Japanese tank assault while his unit was out in to open crossing the main airfield was perfectly captured by the HBO series “The Pacific”.
I always think of that picture of the men coming ashore, and one man goes down. I wonder about his family and how much he gave to his country.
You are welcome. I am sure among the untold stories are the conversations between Churchill and Roosevelt about the need for the invasion and rapid advance across Europe to have any say in structure of post-war countries.
..my dad was CBI, 44-45
You are welcome. At the point of collision, he had to make an instantaneous decision of whether he could take these men prisoner and return them to his unit for their intelligence value, or whether he had to kill them on the spot. He was a good soldier.
My Dad came home with a great respect for the people but less respect for the British officers.....
....he also got very ill while there
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