Great Plans and Big Egos – Operation OVERLORD, Normandy 1944
At our June ’ 25 meeting General the Lord Richards of Herstmonceux gave us an interesting presentation on the planning and key figures behind the strategic planning for Operation OVERLORD.
Sir Alan Brooke, Chief of Imperial General Staff and the highest ranking army officer advising Prime Minister Churchill, voiced reservations about the plan which “might well be the most ghastly disaster of the whole war’ .
There were fears the D-Day invasion might be another “Somme” with a repeat of the awful death toll of WW1, experienced not long before. At a 1941 conference with Roosevelt an understanding about an invasion was reached but after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour (1941) America was more concerned with how to respond to the Japanese. There were high level conferences and meetings between allied leaders and military strategists about the best way to counter the German occupation of NW Europe. Operation Overlord was a team effort with Russia’s contribution not fully appreciated at the time. Without Russian we may not have won the war. Various plans were discussed and whether the first moves should be in the Mediterranean, which Germany was defending strongly (Italy, Sicily) or in Europe. In Oct ’41 Churchill and Mountbatten were urging the country to get prepared for a cross channel assault. A decision to invade via Normandy was made and the importance of air superiority (Spitfires) to cover and protect the troops land invasion was seen as key. Lord Montgomery thought the planning was too optimistic regarding the movement of German troops, which he felt could deploy with speed. A joint and unified command was needed and air superiority was essential. Not all the Overlord military commanders got along. Field Marshall Mongomery (Monty), commander of the Allied ground landing forces, had a big ego and wanted to look good. Part of the plan was to deploy Mulberry harbours (floating and mobile) in order to facilitate rapid loading and unloading of cargo and equipment for the land invasion.
Deception was also part of the planning. There was a campaign of misinformation about where the invading troops would land, and the Germans were led to believe the invasion would be from Dover to Pas-de- Calais. This was to confuse and distract the Germans. There was also a double- agent “Garbo’ feeding disinformation to the Germans. The deception and propaganda campaign was decisive in leading to a successful operation.
Germany presented as one nation, with a well trained military whereas the Allies had to consider competing interests and personalities – French, Canadian, American, Polish and Russian. A well co-ordinated team effort was required to liberate NW Europe from German occupation. Britain was more risk averse than the Americans, who were always impatient to move ahead.
The successful D-Day Operation involved over 155,000 Allied land troops, and 23, 000 dropped by air in the first 24 hours. Lord Richards noted that it was a hugely complex and sophisticated operation and our audience certainly appreciated this, after hearing his engaging and informative talk which was illustrated with detailed maps and slides.
Films mentioned during the talk:
The Longest Day (1962) John Wayne, Henry Fonds, Robert Mitchum
Lust for Glory (1970) (General Patton played by George C. Scott)
Saving Private Ryan (1998) Tom Hanks, Matt Damon
Band of Brothers (2001) Story of 506th Regiment of 101st Airborne Division from 1942 to end of WW11. BBC Mini TV Series/HBO
Questions and comments at the end of the talk concerned the Strategic Defence Review – in the General’s view no real improvement would be seen until 2030 with present offer of money from the government. He noted the great expense of equipment and increasing manpower. The role of the French Resistance was also raised and acknowledged. On the conflict in Ukraine he observed that some territory would probably be ceded to the overwhelming forces of Russia and that an opportunity to settle was jinxed in 2022 because the West urged Ukraine to carry on fighting, despite the unrealistic chances of success.
Lois Coulthart