A German Commander Reports on the Allied Invasion of Normandy

Here's something I hadn't come across before!  Take a look at a piece of Field Marshal Karl R. Gerd von Rundstedt's report:

I--Four facts which must be emphasized:
(1) The enemy's complete mastery in the air.
(2) The skillful and large-scale employment of enemy parachute and airborne troops,
(3) The flexible and well-directed support of the land troops by ships' artillery of strong English naval units ranging from battleship to gunboat.
(4) The rehearsal of the enemy invasion units for their task; most precise knowledge of the coast, of its obstacles and defense establishments, swift building up of superiority in numbers and material on the bridgehead after just a few days.

Normandy on D-Day and 70 Years After

Remarkable photographs from then and now.  See this too.

While you're thinking about the day, take a few minutes for:

• Jim Martin, the 93-year-old Ohio vet who will parachute back into Normandy to mark the occasion by making the same jump he did 70 years ago as a private in the 101st Airborne.
• A glance across the pond, where the BBC has Sir Patrick Stewart, Toby Jones, and Benedict Cumberbatch reading bulletins from D-Day in chronological order of their original broadcast.

Quote of the Day: Remembering D-Day

Ace of Spades:

You know what I did this morning? Maybe it would be better if I told you what I didn't do this morning. 

I didn't have to spend over 12 hours on a transport ship in choppy water, then clamber down a cargo net into a plywood landing craft, all while carrying up to 100 pounds of gear on my back. Then, I didn't ride through the rough surf in that little plywood target, only to have the steel ramp (the only part of the little plywood boat that was even remotely bullet-resistant) flop down and drop me into the cold ocean water in front of a beach filled with steel obstacles, mines, flying bullets & exploding artillery rounds. 

I didn't fly over enemy occupied territory at 1000 feet in a C47 cargo plane and then jump out of the plane into the teeth of enemy anti-aircraft fire. I didn't have to worry about my bright white silk parachute making me a good target for troops on the ground who wanted to use me for target practice, and after I landed, I didn't have to worry about engaging a vastly superior force with only the gear I carried with me (providing that said gear wasn't ripped off by the turbulence I encountered exiting the plane) with whoever I could gather together from the other troops dropped behind enemy lines the same as I was. 

... You know what? Now that I've told you what I DIDN'T do this morning, what I actually DID seems pretty freakin' trivial. Veterans of the Normandy landing are becoming scarce now that we're sixty-five years down the road from that horrible day, but if you know one of them, make sure to thank them on this day.

RELATED: The bagpiper of D-Day.

Today in History: D-Day 68 Years Ago

160,000 Allied soldiers, 5000 ships, 13,000 aircraft, 50 miles of beach, 9000 casualties, and 1 crucial day.

Plan B: Alternate Speeches From D-Day and the Moon Landing

You remember Eisenhower's speech to the troops for D-Day.  How here's a bit of forgotten history: what he planned to say if the invasion failed.  See too a Plan B speech for the moon landing.  Thank goodness we never had to hear these alternate speeches!

History Lesson: The First Wave at Omaha Beach

On the 67th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, it might be good to remember.  It's hard to overemphasize the utter importance of Operation Overlord. Here is a brief look at Omaha Beach. If you've never heard Eisenhower's D-Day speech, here it is.  Clocking in at less than two minutes, it's masterful.

"This great and noble undertaking."

Today in History: D-Day in Normandy, June 6, 1944

Blood, toil, tears, and sweat ... and heroism

It was the largest amphibious invasion in history, and the liberation of Europe from Nazi tyranny began on the bloody beaches of Normandy.

RELATED POST: The bagpiper of D-Day.