The day before D-Day, Dwight Eisenhower wrote this famous message
| Washington
For US Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower 鈥� for the thousands of American troops bound for the Normandy invasion 鈥� June 5, 1944, was a day of waiting for their lives to change forever.
The landings on the coast of France should already have been underway. June 5 was General Eisenhower鈥檚 original D-Day. But the weather from England over the Channel to target beaches was bad and deteriorating.
鈥淭he weather in this country is practically unpredictable. For some days our experts have been meeting almost hourly and I have been holding Commander-in-Chief meetings once or twice a day to consider the reports and tentative predictions,鈥� reads .
At a crucial meeting on the evening of June 4, Eisenhower鈥檚 weather team told him they believed the weather would improve just enough so the invasion could proceed in the next few days. Eisenhower decided to push back D-Day by one day and go ahead with the invasion on June 6.
That鈥檚 how 鈥淛une 6鈥� became US historical shorthand, a date that needs little explanation, like 鈥淪eptember 11.鈥�
Crucially, the Allied domination of the air made it easier for the US to gather meteorological information. The Germans were not as well informed. Their experts predicted continued storms. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, commander of the German Army group defending along the coast where the Allies planned to land, for his wife鈥檚 birthday.
In England, Allied junior officers began opening their sealed orders. Troop convoys began leaving the southern English ports. In the morning, Eisenhower watched troops embarking at Portsmouth. In the evening he visited the 101st US Airborne Division near Newbury. They were already .
The are iconic. Many of the men have already blackened their faces and donned camouflaged helmets. Eisenhower in contrast is immaculate and seems intent upon communicating something of importance with the unit.
On June 5, Eisenhower also wrote one of the most famous undelivered notes of US history. It鈥檚 known today as the 鈥淚n Case of Failure Message.鈥�
鈥淥ur landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops,鈥� it began.
鈥淢y decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air, and the navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt, it is mine alone,鈥� wrote the Allied commander in chief.
Eisenhower was quartered at Southwick House, a Georgian mansion just north of Portsmouth. The used to plan the D-Day invasion in the house are still in place. Today the ships and troops on the map reflect where units were located at the time the attack began.
In the Channel, Monitor correspondent Richard Strout was on the heavy cruiser USS Quincy. On June 5 the warship was making way toward France.
At 7 p.m., a message from task force headquarters is read over the Quincy鈥檚 public address system. It urges the men to 鈥減ut the Navy ball over for a touchdown.鈥�
The chaplain offers a prayer. All over the ship men bare their heads and bow.
鈥�10:30 p.m.: The boatswain just piped, 鈥楢ll hands, man you battle stations,鈥� 鈥� Strout wrote when remembering the day in 1984.
鈥淭he bugle blows, 鈥楪eneral quarters.鈥� It has begun.鈥�
