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General Dwight D. Eisenhower was the Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, tasked to invade Nazi-occupied Europe in June 1944. The weather in early June over England, France and the Channel in-between was very rough and jeopardised the well-made plans.
Even as the final, sobering decision was made on 5th June to launch the attack, numerous thoughts and a variety of emotions ran through the mind and heart of Eisenhower, as these two sources make clear.
Why do you think Eisenhower wrote these two notes?
Can you explain why the contents were so different?
What do these two sources tell us about Eisenhower's feelings about Operation Overlord?
Document A - The official letter written by Eisenhower and distributed to every Allied soldier on 5th June, hours before the start of Operation Overlord.
How did Eisenhower describe the great task before them all?
Why do you think this letter was to be read by all soldiers before the Allied invasion of Europe?
Document B - The private hand-written note by Eisenhower, scribbled in the car on 5th June, as he returned from visiting the Allied paratroopers preparing to fly into Nazi-occupied France. After writing the note, he folded it up and kept it in his jacket pocket, where it lay undiscovered for several decades.
Why do you think Eisenhower wrote this note? Why did he keep it in his pocket?
In what ways do the contents and mood in this note differ from those in Document A?
The transcript of the note is:
"Our landings in the
Cherbourg and Havre area (1)
have failed to gain a
satisfactory foothold and
I have withdrawn the troops.
My decision to attack at this time and place
was based upon 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 attends to the attempt
it is mine alone.
- July 5" (2)
(1) In the Normandy area of northern France.
(2) Dated wrongly. The note was written on 5 June.
Eisenhower's famous note was scribbled minutes after this photograph was taken of him visiting the US paratroopers preparing to jump into Normandy.
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