Compass Points - 6 June 1944 D-Day
It takes time to win
Compass Points - 6 June 1944 D-Day
It takes time to win
June 6, 2025
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Today, on the 81st anniversary of D-Day, the allied landing on the coast of France in World War II, we commemorate one of the most important military operations in the history of war. But in a larger sense, we are not commemorating just a day, not even just the lives lost on that fateful day, we are commemorating 12 years. It took 12 long and painful years. Years of defeat and reversal. Years of patience and resolve. Sometimes it seemed victory was impossible.
D-Day was supposed to take place on June 5, 1944, but bad weather caused the Supreme Allied Commander, General Eisenhower, to scrub the 5th. Some ships and planes had to be recalled. The question 80 years ago was should the invasion take place on the 6th of June, or should it be postponed until later that summer? The weather was still looking doubtful, but perhaps not as bad as on the 5th. Eisenhower made his decision. The cross-channel invasion of France was on for 6 June. Eisenhower issued a personal message to the 160,000 allied troops who would land on D-Day, as well has the hundreds of thousands more who would follow.
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SUPREME HEADQUARTERS
ALLIED EXPEDITIONARY FORCE
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 hope 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 beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.
-- D.D. Eisenhower, Order of the Day, June 6, 1944
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Hitler came to power in 1933. Shortly thereafter, the Nazi war machine began to conquer country and after country. In the spring of 1940 France was conquered. France had a army of some 5 million men. France had the Maginot Line. France had built its military for the long war. France seemed invincible. But France fell in 6 weeks. Some historians say France actually fell in 6 days. The rest of the free world was stunned. Could anyone defeat the Nazis? Was it time to negotiate? Time to surrender? Almost exactly four years before D-day, on June 4, 1940, when all seemed hopeless. Churchill spoke not only to the British Parliament, but to the entire world.
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. . . Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.
-- Winston Churchill, June 4, 1940
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Sometimes in human struggles, victory comes slowly. Sometimes there are days, months, and even years of setbacks and frustration. What is the answer to years of discouragement, years of defeat? Churchill gave the answer. He said, "we shall not flag or fail." He said, "we shall fight."
In times of doubt and fear, some will always say it is time to surrender, time to negotiate, and time to give in to a sad and poisonous cessation. They will say that is the smart thing to do. But it can never be wise to surrender to fear. Instead of surrendering, that is the time to say again, "we shall fight." True peace results in freedom from fear, freedom from oppression, and freedom from tyranny. Surrender to tyranny can never bring a genuine peace. It can only bring more misery.
Hitler came to power 1933. Victory in Europe Day is May 8, 1945. It was 12 years. It was 12 long years. Most of those years were years full of one Nazi triumph after another. Most of those years were years of the good guys taking it on the chin, while the bad guys won again. In every worthy human endeavor there will be days when France falls and the world looks bleak. What to do then? Churchill looked over a very bleak world. It seemed very likely that England, like so many other nations, would be conquered by the Nazis. Even though all seemed lost, Churchill had only one answer, "we shall not flag or fail . . . we shall fight."
Keep fighting. Keep fighting as the 160,000 allied troops fought on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Whatever the struggle, whatever the challenge, victory may take time. But keep fighting. Have patience. If you are fighting for what is right, never flag or fail. Victory is on the way.
I have always thought one of the better quotes for Operation Overload was Eisenhower's directive from the Combined Chiefs of Staff. It read, "You will enter the continent of Europe and, in conjunction with the other United Nations, undertake operations aimed at the heart of Germany and the destruction of her armed forces." Talk about a clear, concrete, and concise mission order. Compare that with the gobbledygook we see today trying to explain the virtues of EABO, FD, and SIF.
Further to General McAbee’s comments, it strikes this writer, that as amazing an effort as Operation Overlord was and remains today, the Marines in the Pacific had been conducting amphibious assaults against entrenched static defensive positions of the Japanese Imperial Navy and Army, prior to the landings in North Africa, Sicily and Italy and to include the first upon Guadalcanal, which very quickly in a sense turned on its ear, as the US Navy, was forced to vacate the battle space, leaving the Marines exposed to the Japanese’s Navy and Air Force as well as conducting offensive missions to take the island. The Marines prevailed, but lack of logistics could have become a factor if they had not overwhelmed and defeated the opponent. Thus we are supposed to believe the hokum (Gobbledygook was used already!) that the FD2030 proponents use to define a murky “first island chain” defensive posture, (EABO) with limited assets, (MLR/SIF) because the PLA/PLAN will ever know, see or grapple with forward “sensing” units and will not defend themselves against the firecrackers we intend to fire at their warships. Does FD2030 even contemplate one of the Principals of War? The Normandy Invasion included them all and it was still a dicey affair. Why use proven capabilities when you can invent new ones without merit? The roll up of the Japanese’s Imperial forces was a long slow defeat in detail. Why would anyone expect less of the FD2030 concept? Oh we know! Because it’s us!
This all said, Semper Fidelis to the fighting forces of 6 June 1944, that starting with the airborne pathfinders jumping in behind the Normandy beaches, took “light the way” took the fight further into Europe and sallied forward to defeat the combined force of the Nazi regime.