European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 6, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse The Atlantic Wall fortifications like this naval gun emplacement at tongues sur Mer were designed to blow Allied invaders out of the water. A amps Bob Cro Catt a Day one of the great half dozen Battles in hts Torby Chuck Vinci i Washington Bureau Rhyn Winston Churchill called the a Day invasion a much the greatest thing we be Ever attempted a he spoke in the context of the ongoing War against nazi Germany. But when historians View operation overlord with the Benefit of 50 years of Hindsight they also rank it among the greatest military actions Ever on a Par with the Battle of Actium in 31 . That marked the beginning of the roman Empire and England a defeat of the massive Spanish Armada in 1588. A a by All measures it was the greatest amphibious invasion Ever launched a said or. William Hammond a historian with the . Army Center of military history in Washington. A a nothing else even comes a it was certainly tie most important military operation of world War ii and one of the great half dozen Battles in human history a said or. Larry Bland a historian at the George c. Marshall foundation in Lexington a. Iw1 or. A Trio of c-47 transports with gliders in Tow crosses the Normandy coast on a Day. Army yet at the time no Allied commander dared expect overlord to succeed As brilliantly As it did. Gen. Dwight d. Eisenhower supreme Allied commander carried in his Wallet a scrawled statement that he planned to read if the invasion Germany was reeling from crushing losses inflicted by the russians on the Eastern a front the germans still had substantial forces defending the Atlantic Wall to meet an expected attempt by the United states and Britain to reclaim occupied France. The problem for the germans they did no to know the place or time of the invasion. The problem for the allies to make sure the germans did no to find out. That a where a general by the name of George s. Patton or. Came in. The allies knew he was the biggest bogeyman they could foist upon the germans and they took full advantage of it. A the consensus among the germans was that Patton was the Best general the allies had a Hammond said. A i done to think he Ever had that cachet among the americans but the germans feared the allies put Patton in charge of a phantom invasion Force in Southeast England opposite the Pas de Calais at the narrowest Point of the Channel Between England and France and enhanced the scam with bogus radio chatter and Decoy buildings and vehicles. A deception works Best when you play to what the enemy thinks will happen anyway a Bland said. A the germans convinced themselves that a stars and stripes commemorative edition june 6, 1994
