June 06, 2019, 10:31 AM
jhe888Eisenhower's Letter to the invading troops:
June 06, 2019, 10:42 AM
chellim1^^^ Eisenhower's Letter is a great one!
Perhaps even greater... he wrote another one that went unused, accepting full responsibility in the event of failure.
Dwight Eisenhower Wrote a Letter Accepting Blame for D-Day's Failure, Just in Case
June 5, 2019
General Dwight D. Eisenhower sounded confident before the Normandy Invasion. “This operation is planned as a victory, and that’s the way it’s going to be. We’re going down there, and we’re throwing everything we have into it, and we’re going to make it a success,” he said.
Operation Overlord was a massive campaign—an invasion of 4000 ships, 11,000 planes, and nearly 3 million men—that was launched on June 6, 1944. Despite a year of strategizing and a boatload of confidence, Eisenhower had a quiet plan in case his mission failed. If the armada couldn’t cross the English Channel, he’d order a full retreat. One day before the invasion, he prepared a brief statement—just in case:
"Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based on 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 attaches to the attempt it is mine alone."
Although the allies suffered about 12,000 casualties—with an estimated 4900 U.S. troops killed—155,000 successfully made it ashore, with thousands more on the way. Within a year, Germany would surrender.
Here's the actual note, which is erroneously dated July 5:
http://mentalfloss.com/article...ys-failure-just-caseJune 06, 2019, 11:38 AM
Bulldog7972What a great Generation. Has to be the best in the history of mankind. Think of the magnitude of the mission they were about to embark on. Amazing people. I am truly impressed and humbled.
June 06, 2019, 12:18 PM
ZSMICHAELLots of reliance upon exclamation points. Good letter, and clearly written by Eisenhower himself. Not the wordsmith like Churchill.
June 06, 2019, 12:21 PM
zipridersonSadly, this type of leadership has been a lost skill for most of our recent political leaders.