Filed under: Europe, Freedom, History, Military | Tags: D-Day, June 6 - 1944, Normandy, The Longest Day, WWII
“Believe me, Lang, the first twenty-four hours of the invasion will be decisive…the fate of Germany depends on the outcome…for the Allies, as well as Germany, it will be the longest day.”
—Field Marshal Erwin Rommel
to his aide, April 22, 1944
“The most difficult and complicated operation ever to take place.”
—Winston Churchill
“The history of war does not know of an undertaking comparable to it for breadth of conception, grandeur of scale, and mastery of execution.”
—Joseph Stalin
“Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking.”
—Dwight D. Eisenhower
Order of the Day, June 4, 1944
“The destruction of the enemy’s landing is the sole decisive factor in the whole conduct of the war and hence in its final results.”
—Adolf Hitler
“In this column I want to tell you what the opening of the second front entailed, so that you can know and appreciate and forever be humbly grateful to those both dead and alive who did it for you.”
—Ernie Pyle, June 12, 1944
Victory Parade, 82nd Airborne, New York City. January, 1946
It was all sixty-five years ago today. Ancient history to many, but a day never to be forgotten, and remembered with gratitude.
Sharp eyes will notice that at the time the German film was made, they weren’t too sure just where the Allies had landed. They still hadn’t given up on the idea of Calais. They used a lot of stock footage to make it seem as if they really were in control of things.
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