D-Day

Sixty four years ago this night the Pathfinders went into action, along with the French resistance.

Some Primary sources from those fateful days... http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq109-5.htm


From General Von Rundstedt's report, excerpt, see link for full report

H. Q., 20.6.1944. Commander-in-Chief West, (High Command, Army Group D) Operations
Section No. 5050/44

Experiences from the Invasion Battles of Normandy

A. Preliminary Remarks

1. Experiences fulfill their purposes only when they are quickly brought to the attention of the
troops. This happens from time to time through the medium of individual teletype messages.

2. The following experiences summarize what has happened so far. It is left to the duty stations
named under "Distributor" to make the evaluation and to fill in details according to their own
judgment.

B.

The following most recent battle experiences confirm in broad outlines all the experiences which
were made known regarding Sicily, Salerno, Nottuno and those other heavy defensive battles in
Italy.

The proximity of the English mother country and thus also of all the embarkation and supply
bases afforded to the Anglo-Saxons in their first great land attack against the Western Bay of the
Seine and against the peninsula of the Cotentin the opportunity of employment on the greatest
scale so far of men, material and technical means. Systematic, almost scientifically conducted
preparations in all fields for this attack were rendered more easy in every respect by a
far-reaching network of agents in the occupied area of the west. The orders for the preparation
and the carrying out of the landing are books with numerous enclosures

The following most important battle experiences are to be passed on as the subject of instruction
and drill in all fronts not yet attacked for the attention of the troops and command authorities in
the battle area and for the instruction of all duty stations, protective forces, etc., in the entire
protecting area.

I

I--Four facts which must be emphasized:

(1) The enemy's complete mastery in the air.

(2) The skillful and large-scale employment of enemy parachute and airborne troops,

(3) The flexible and well-directed support of the land troops by ships' artillery of strong English
naval units ranging from battleship to gunboat.

(4) The rehearsal of the enemy invasion units for their task; most precise knowledge of the coast,
of its obstacles and defense establishments, swift building up of superiority in numbers and
material on the bridgehead after just a few days.

Opposed to this stands the quality of the German soldier, his steadfastness and his unqualified
will to fight to the fast with army, navy and air force.

All three branches of the service have given their best and will continue to give it.

II -- The Enemy Landing Procedure in Broad Outlines:

(a) The enemy had hoped to be able to surprise us. He did not succeed. The beginning of landings from the air on the Western Bay of the Seine and in the Cotentin was on June 6, 1944, at about 0100, under conditions of cloudy, overcast weather with a rather strong wind, intermittent showers and rough sea up to four degrees; at the same time at various sectors of the front strong enemy air formations delivered bombing attacks in the rear area. The enemy thereby wished to bring about an air raid alarm and make us take cover in order to be able to drop his parachute troops with as little risk of observation as possible. In several places parachutists turned out to be dummies (with boxes containing explosives). Purpose: Splitting up of local reserves and withdrawal from the decisive spot, involving loss of time for the defender.




findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4179/is_19990604/ai_n11722513
One of those paratroopers was so nervous, he couldn't give Ike his name...

All should have rights to this story
Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Jun 4, 1999

Dick snider This morning I wanted to write a D-Day column about the late Sherman Oyler, a paratrooper from Topeka who jumped into Normandy and helped get the Allied invasion of Europe started. He did it just a few hours after he had a memorable, and embarrassing, meeting with General Dwight D. Eisenhower, another Kansan and the man running the whole show.

My trouble was, the story I wanted to tell came to me from the book "D-Day" by Stephen E. Ambrose, and I couldn't get permission from the publisher to use it. Not that I didn't try.


In the front of the book it says it was published by Touchstone in New York City. It also says, "Copyright 1994" and "All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form." I took that to mean they didn't want newspaper columnists stealing from it, and if I did help myself to it I might be sued. That would be inconvenient for me, since I'd have trouble putting together a high-class, or even a low-class, legal defense team. So, I set out to gain permission from the publisher to borrow a few lines from the book. I called New York City information, not through one of the newfangled numbers advertised so heavily on TV by James Garner and others, but the old-fashioned way. I asked for Touchstone on the Avenue of the Americas, known to the locals as Sixth Avenue, and was told there was no such listing. No minor setback like this can stop a true reporter who has his teeth into a story, or someone else's story, as in my case. I went back to the book and found that Touchstone is a trademark of Simon & Schuster Inc. I called information again and this time got a number, which I called. I got a recording saying if I wanted to talk to an operator to "dial" zero. I punched zero and the phone rang about 20 times. I hung up and called again. Same deal. I dozed off, and when I awoke the phone was still ringing. I was about to hang up when a woman answered, and after I explained what I wanted she said, "You want Permissions. I'll ring." Another woman answered and I told her in great detail what I wanted. She replied, "You want Permissions," and gave me a new number, saying I'd have to hang up and call in again. I did and this time got a man who listened to my story and said, "You'll have to put that in writing and mail it in." I said I was facing an immediate deadline, and he, unimpressed, said. "Just a minute," and rang another number. This time I got a recording telling me how to mail in my request for permission. At that point I gave up, but I also had an inspiration. Surely, Oyler had told this story to people other than the book's author, so why didn't I get it from one of them?But who? I called Gene Smith, The Capital-Journal's resident expert on military affairs, told him my problem, and asked him whom Oyler might have regaled with this tale. "He told it to me," Smith said. "It was one of his favorite stories, so I'll tell it to you, and I haven't even read the book. You've found your source." So, after a few wasted hours and about $197 worth of useless phone calls, I heard Smith's version of the story, better than the one in the book. To start with, Oyler was a staff sergeant at Fort Benning, Ga., who couldn't get out of the base cadre and into the war. But finally his requests grew so annoying his CO told him he could transfer -- as a buck private. Oyler took him up on it. Now he's Pvt. Oyler, and a few hours before his D-Day jump he's eating a steak in the airfield mess when he's told he's wanted in one of the hangars. He put the steak between two slices of bread and stuck it in his uniform. At the hangar, he's told Gen. Eisenhower is there and was asking if anyone in the group was from Kansas. Oyler was pushed forward, and he said, "Sir, I'm from Kansas." Ike asked Oyler, "What's your name, son?"And Oyler gave Ike a blank stare. He couldn't think of his name. Maybe it was the excitement of the impending jump and the danger he faced, or maybe it was the presence of the supreme Allied commander, or maybe it was both. He couldn't for the life of him remember his name. Oyler's friends helped him out, shouting, "Go ahead, Oyler, tell him your name." And Oyler got it out. Ike gave him his famous grin, a thumbs-up sign, and said, "Go get 'em, Kansas." Later that night, Oyler jumped and hit a cow when he landed. Before daylight he had killed five enemy soldiers and run into a group of American paratroopers that included a wounded colonel being pushed in a wheelbarrow. John Wayne played the role of the colonel in the movie "The Longest Day." I told this story to Vic Yarrington, who was a crew member on one of the planes that dropped paratroopers. He noted that of the thousands of American soldiers scheduled to jump that night, only a handful chickened out, refusing to jump, and rode back to England in disgrace. Oyler, on the other hand, went home with three Bronze Stars for bravery.