D-Day: Eisenhower and Leadership on the Eve of Invasion
Friday, June 5, 2009 at 09:03PM "I hope to God I know what I'm doing." - - Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, June 5, 1944.
Sixty-five years ago, Gen. Eisenhower prepared himself for D-Day with hope and trepidation. Having made the decision to go earlier on the day of June 5, he spent time during the afternoon with the paratroopers who would be the first to leave for France. Although he said that he found it hard to look men in the eye on the eve of battle, knowing that many of them would soon be dead, he forced himself to the task - - it was his responsibility; ultimately, all of what would happen the next day, for better or for worse, was his responsibility. Unlike many leaders, then and now, Eisenhower did not display narcissistic self-promotion and breezy self-confidence. Confidence and optimism, yes; and also great humility.
On the eve of America's entry into World War II, Dwight Eisenhower was not among the officers anyone expected to lead the greatest seaborne invasion of all time. Ike had always been a staff officer; he had never held command; he had just made Brigadier General on October 3, 1941, two months before Pearl Harbor. Yet his great ability as an organizer and planner caught the attention of higher-ups, including Gen. George C. Marshall, who became Eisenhower's strong supporter.
Eisenhower talking with paratroopers, June 5, 1944
In November of 1942, Eisenhower became Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force, North African Theater of Operations. Following the defeat of the Axis forces in North Africa, Eisenhower commanded the Mediterranean Theater of Operations, overseeing the successful invasions of Sicily and the Italian mainland. In December of 1943, Eisenhower was named Supreme Allied Commander in Europe and in February of 1944 he became the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force. By virtue of these commands, Eisenhower was responsible for the planning and execution of the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944.
The decision to go forward with the invasion, made on June 5, 1944, had not been an easy one. The weather had been fickle and the meteorologists had given a hopeful but cautious prediction for June 6. The invasion plans were complex, involving moving some 170,000 men across the English Channel and conducting beach landings under fire. Some pre-invasion estimates had Allied casualties at more than 20,000 dead.
So Ike went among the men on the eve of battle, shaking hands, looking them in the eye, exchanging words of encouragement. Privately, back at his quarters, he wrote a note to be released in case the landings went badly. Eisenhower wrote in his own hand that "any blame or fault . . . is mine alone." His anxiety was such that he mis-dated the note "July 5." And at one point, he remarked to his assistant, "I hope to God I know what I'm doing."
He did. The landings began at dawn on June 6, 1944. Some went well, others were bloody, but by mid-morning the general staff knew that the beachheads had been won. In one of history's ironies, a German-American named Eisenhower had broken the Atlantic Wall of Nazi Germany, which surrendered eleven months later, on May 8, 1945.
The note Eisenhower wrote on June 5, 1944, was forgotten until it was found in a shirt pocket by an aide-de-camp. It survives today as a reminder of the responsibility and humility of true leadership. "The best quality of leadership," Ike once said, "is helping others to do their best." This unpresuming and dedicated man was awarded a fifth star in December of 1944 to become General of the Army.
Jay Henderson
This is one of those articles that was written in my mind long ago; when I realized it was June 5, I sat down and typed it out in a matter of minutes, then hunted up some pictures, and posted it.
Eisenhower is a good example of how Americans tend to mythologize their heroes almost to the point of caricature. "Ike" is remembered as overseer of the Normandy invasion and as an amiable "caretaker" President. His true nature was far more complex than that and the more I have read about Eisenhower over the years, the more I have grown to appreciate his talents and dedication.
In hindsight, we tend to think that winning the war in Europe was tedious but inevitable. But it wasn't inevitable on June 5, 1944, and everyone in the general staff in England believed that the outcome of the war would be decided by noon the next day. Winston Churchill's anxiety was so great that he wept as he retired to bed that evening.
As is often the case, the difference between winning and losing came down to a place, a day, and a few hours. If the Normandy landings failed on June 6, it would be because the German defenders had turned the invasion into a bloody rout - - which was a very realistic possibility if Panzer divisions had immediately been sent to the beaches. There would be no second chance; in America, public opinion was beginning to soften on the war effort, in which the United States had suffered serious casualties. Therefore, the pressures on Eisenhower were terrific - - this was his plan and it either worked, and the Allies would win the war, or it failed, and Nazi Germany would hold the Atlantic Wall.
So there were quite a few folks hedging their bets on June 5. Not Eisenhower; he just sucked it in, sent the planes and the fleet to France, and waited for the results - - already having written the note taking responsibility for failure, were that to happen.
Fortunately for the Allies, they had two of the best military planners of the twentieth century on the job: Ike and George C. Marshall, the only five-star General of the Army who was not a West Pointer (he was a Virginia Military Institute cadet). Marshall is arguably the most intelligent person ever to make general rank in the U.S. Army. After the war, he served as Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense; he was the architect of the European Recovery Plan, better known as the Marshall Plan. When the Marshall Plan was fully implemented, the economy of every participant state, with the exception of Germany, had grown well past pre-war levels; Germany wasn't far behind and over the next two decades, Western Europe enjoyed unpecedented peace and prosperity. In 1953, Marshall was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the only army general to be given that award.
And Marshall was the first guy to say, "I like Ike." Marshall was the kind of leader who Ike admired - - he helped others to do their best.
Would Nazi Germany have survived if the Normandy invasion failed? Quite likely, yes. Without the western front, the German Army had the resources and the manpower to stop the Soviet Union. Little known, unless one has read Albert Speer, is the fact that German war production peaked in 1944. If the United States and Great Britain had been forced to stand down, that production could have been devoted to the eastern front, where the Germans already had inflicted hideous casualties on the Soviets. Recent scholarship estimates that the Soviet military lost 10,700,000 dead (out of a population of about 168,000,000; civilian war deaths are estimated to exceed 12,000,000). By comparison, the United States suffered 416,800 military dead in both theatres of war (out of a population of about 131,000,000). At some point, the Soviets would have been unable to replace their losses in men and materiel.
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Reader Comments (5)
D-Day: Eisenhower and the Paratroopers
The thesis Eisenhower was more than just a political general is certainly not new. However, I had not thought carefully about the subject until retirement. Now I get to pick a subject, like on WW II in Western Europe, and read all the books I have accumulated on that subject from estate and garage sales, and used book and thrift stores.
Eisenhower arrived in London with less than five months until D-day. That is one month less than I had as Finance Director to lead our college management team in preparing the annual operating and capital budgets. His experience occurred in another world I cannot adequately imagine.
A popular historical portrayal describes General Dwight Eisenhower managing a political/military alliance, but reminds us he never lead troops in combat. However, his leadership sustained many unprecedented initiatives for successful Normandy landings. The air assault examples the frightful uncertainties of many critical hazards run on this “Day of Days”.
The night before D-Day, 20,400 American and British paratroopers dropped behind the Normandy beaches from 1,250 C-47 aircraft plus gliders. This massive assault was attempted just 17 years after Charles Lindberg flew the Atlantic solo for the first time.
To the last moment Ike's air commander, British Air Chief Marshall Leigh-Mallory, saw tragic forebodings reinforced by memories of American problems in North Africa and Sicily, and the German catastrophe on Crete. He anticipated hundreds of planes and gliders destroyed with surviving paratroopers fighting isolated until killed or captured.
The planes would arrive in three streams each 300 miles long, allowing the Germans up to two hours to reposition night fighters and anti-aircraft artillery for maximum slaughter of unarmed transports. Most pilots were flying their first combat mission. Leigh-Mallory had specific intelligence the German 91st Air Landing Division, specialists in fighting paratroopers, and the 6th Parachute Regiment had inexplicably moved into the area around St. Mere-Eglise, where American divisions were to land. Could these movements mean the deception plan directing attention to Pas de Calais was breaking down?
Ike remained strategically committed to airborne assault, but compassionately devoted to the men. The evening before D-Day, Eisenhower left SHAEF headquarters at 6 PM, traveling to Newbury where the 101st Airborne was boarding for its initial combat mission. Ike arrived at 8 PM and did not leave until the last C-47 was airborne over three hours later.
In My Three Years with Eisenhower Captain Harry C. Butcher says, "We saw hundreds of paratroopers with blackened and grotesque faces, packing up for the big hop and jump. Ike wandered through them, stepping over, packs, guns, and a variety of equipment such as only paratroop people can devise, chinning with this and that one. All were put at ease. He was promised a job after the war by a Texan who said he roped, not dallied, his cows, and at least there was enough to eat in the work. Ike has developed or disclosed an informality and friendliness with troopers that almost amazed me".
In Crusade in Europe General Dwight Eisenhower says, "I found the men in fine fettle, many of them joshingly admonishing me that I had no cause for worry, since the 101st was on the job, and everything would be taken care of in fine shape. I stayed with them until the last of them were in the air, somewhere about midnight. After a two hour trip back to my own camp, I had only a short time to wait until the first news should come in”.
One of the first D-Day reports was from Leigh-Mallory with news only 29 of 1,250 C-47's were missing and only four gliders were unaccounted for. That morning Leigh-Mallory sent Ike a message frankly saying it is sometimes difficult to admit that one is wrong, but he had never had a greater pleasure than in doing so on this occasion. He congratulated Ike on the wisdom and courage of his command decision.
The above represents only one of many crushing anxieties Eisenhower persevered through. President Roosevelt understood the enormous risks, and asked the nation to pray for the coming invasion. Resting today in the luxury of historical certainty prevents us from perceiving the dark specters hovering about nearly all invasion planning aspects.
Nolan:
Thanks for taking the time to post this. Ike's visiting with the paratroopers is a story worth remembering and honoring. They knew as well as he did that they would take heavy casualties in only a few hours. I can only imagine how Eisenhower felt, talking with them, taking in the admiration and courage which they gave in return for his obvious concern. It is a poignant and inspiring moment in history.
What a lovely tribute. Thanks, Jay.
A wonderful post honoring a man so very worthy of our admiration and praise.
The care for life; the angst of such a monumental set of decisions... the tension one feels... he was so unaffected by his status on the one hand but so naturally took charge on the other... the posturing he knew went on and had to sometimes himself "respect the monarchy" is captured quite well in "Ike; Countdown to D-Day" Tom Selleck brialliantly captures the character without imitating him. I have watched this movie many times.Only glitch, the American Flag is incorrectly displayed in a key scene with Queen and others getting a briefing. When did it become regulation to display the stars to the top left?
Bob Schultz