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“The greatest armada ever known to man silently left the shores of England in the darkness of night. Eleven thousand planes took to the air to cover the operations and 5000 ships of all types left their ports on the greatest fighting mission in the world’s history.
“The troops landing on the beaches met little resistance. The Germans seem to have been caught napping or else were unable to do anything about it. Thus the initial phase of the invasion was accomplished with great success.
“But do not be deceived by the glowing accounts of early successes. The Germans will move troops into position as rapidly as transportation will permit. And then the real battle will get underway. We hope by the time they are able to start a counterattack that our forces will be firmly established and the necessary airfields will have been captured.
This is absolutely necessary if we are to continue our successes at the least cost of life. The road will be rough from here on out until Berlin is reached.
“D-Day is here. Let us all hope and pray for the lives of men who are now risking their all in the battle that will go down in history as the greatest military operation in the history of the world. Europe will be liberated. Our forces of right and justice are on the march. May success attend their every eort."
But things hadn’t gone as smoothly as initial reports indicated. True, the Germans had been expecting the blow to fall further north, but the forces that greeted American troops as they waded ashore put up sti resistance.
More next week.
