Operation OVERLORD (1944)

51

French, Belgians see hope revived

But feelings on D-Day are mingled with fear for safety of relatives

Frenchmen, Belgians and Netherlanders now in New York – members of those nations whose homelands lie directly in the path of the invasion – learned yesterday of the Allied landings in Europe with mingled hope of victory, fear for their friends and families in the new battle zone, and relief that the long waiting had finally ended.

Many prayed at home or in their national churches. Some sang their patriotic songs. Some celebrated, drinking toasts to the invasion and the rapid liberation of their homes. Some speculated grimly on the battles still ahead.

At the French Canteen, 63 W 44th Street, the French Military Mission gave the news to André Czerwinski, the “concierge,” at 9:00 a.m. ET.

A member of the French Army in the last war, round, white-aproned M. André kept busy all morning announcing D-Day to men who came in for coffee or beer and sandwiches. Grouped about a large wall map of France, sailors and merchant seamen pointed out their towns, speculated about military advances, worried aloud about their families. At 9:30, a group of 30 sailors on their way out of New York stopped at the canteen, heard the word “invasion.” They broke into “La Marseillaise.”

Jan François and Marcellin Fiquet, officers of the French Merchant Marine, learned at the canteen that D-Day had come.

Said prayer, then beer

“I wondered if I should go to church,” François explained. “But I am too happy. I said a prayer here by myself and then we ordered beer.” As he talked, he took a hostess’ red hat, perched it on the back of his head, and began to sing “Les Bérets,” a song in praise of the girls in northern France. Marcellin Fiquet has not been home in four years. His wife and son are in Caen.

“They say the Allies are there today,” he said soberly.

Then he and Jan François clicked their beer mugs again, “au succès de l’invasion!”

At the Church of St. Vincent de Paul, 123 West 23rd Street, the Rev. Henry V. Hall said the 8:30 mass. Ignorant of the invasion, he was puzzled by the constant sound of feet as he faced the altar. As he turned toward the people halfway through the ceremony, he found the number of his congregation doubled.

So many worshipers bought six-day candles at the Church of Our Lady of Notre Dame, 40 Morningside Drive, early in the day that, later in the day, requests could not be met, said the Rev. Thomas J. Brown, the pastor.

In the Netherlands Club room of the Seamen’s Church Institute, one man said, “We’re glad it’s started. The beginning of the end. But how long will it take even yet?”

Diamond workers quit

Belgian relief organizations redoubled their work and business stopped in the diamond industry centers as workers clustered in whispering groups in W 47th Street. But many feared to discuss the news of the day with strangers, lest harm overtake their relatives at home.

Henri Fast of the Belgian Information Center, 630 5th Avenue, was at his telephone by 5:00 a.m., giving the news to his compatriots.

All morning, Belgians came into St. Albert’s Church, 433 W 47th Street, the only Belgian church in New York. A sobbing woman dabbed her eyes as she reached the vestry.

She said:

I just wound a kerchief about my head this morning. I didn’t even brush my hair this morning. I have a son in the Army. All I want to do today is pray.

At the Diamond Center, Inc., 15 E 47th Street, president Marcel Ginsburg, who in pre-Hitler days was president of the Beurs voor Diamanthandel in Antwerp, said all Belgian and Dutch workers observed a minute of silence at 11 o’clock.

He declared:

All business has stopped. They are praying and listening to the radio, thinking about their families abroad, and wondering where and how they are.

Aerial aerobatics a Nazi claim

London, England (AP) –
The German radio asserted today that German parachutists were used in combating Allied airborne troops even before they landed in France. These Nazi parachutists, the Germans said, “dropped onto Allied gliders and set them afire, as well as shooting their occupants.”

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52

Invasion’s greatest problem was shipping of huge supplies

700,000 separate items needed, many of these in millions; planning began here and in London two years ago

London, England – (June 6)
The battle now raging on the beaches of Western Europe was fought – and its planners believe won – in the war rooms of London and Washington two years ago.

For the U.S. Army, now attacking side by side with the British in the greatest military venture of all time, this is the beginning of the end for Adolf Hitler, just as the turning of the tide in North Africa in 1942 was the end of the beginning for the Allies.

Plans for this operation were roughed out while we were still young in this war. It was recognized then that the difficult problem would not be men. Our commanders knew they could raise and train enough troops and that they could count on a certain high standard of skill and courage. The great problem was furnishing supplies and getting them to the battlefield with the men.

When Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower called Lt. Gen. John C. H. Lee to be deputy commander in the European Theater of Operations and head of service of supply over here, he handed him the biggest job of its sort that has ever fallen on the shoulders of any man.

As our operations on the continent progress and expand we in time will have fighting forces there that will dwarf the American Expeditionary Force of the last war and this machine age war requires double the amount of materiel for each man needed in the last war.

It requires, for example, 700,000 separate items, ranging from tanks to watch-springs and many of these must be provided in millions. For instances, there is one vehicle to each six men.

Counting in everything, such as trucks, clothes and weapons, it takes ten tons of organic equipment to get one man into the European Theater of Operations and it takes 60 pounds of supplies per day to keep him here. Under combat operations, each man will need one ton of supplies a month, ammunition, clothing, food, medical supplies, etc.

In combat, one pair of shoes lasts on the average only two weeks and clothes are quickly torn to rags,

So overshadowing is the logistical factor in warfare that Gen. Lee believes that when Germany collapses it will be a logistical breakdown.

The landing on the continent was originally conceived on a large scale. But as Gen. Eisenhower got down to detailed work on it, he enlarged its power and rate of acceleration. A year ago, supply services were called on to step up greatly their preparations to keep up with the greater tactical demands. It has been stepped up since then and undoubtedly will be again.

Lest anyone in America think that now that we are breaching Hitler’s fortress we can let down, it is worth knowing that our commanders here recognize that our needs in most items will become greater and our supply problems more difficult in direct ratio to the progress of our invasion.

Gen. Lee and his subordinates have left nothing to chance and have calculated all quantities of the myriad items needed to a scientific nicety, based on statistics of past operations and allowing a liberal safety margin. Cargo ships have brought supplies to these islands according to a rigid timetable and they have been handled at ports with a celerity that has given them a remarkably quick turnaround.

British railways have operated with similar precision and so have truck convoys, which day and night one sees or hears rumbling through the highways. Gradually a surplus was built up in depots scattered everywhere, on which the Armed Forces can draw in an emergency.

Until now, streams of supplies from the United States have been funneling into this country. They will now be siphoned out onto continental beaches.

With the invasion comes a radical shift in the whole supply line. As soon as we are well established and have continental ports functioning the bulk of supplies will go directly from American ports to the continent, bypassing Britain.

This correspondent spent a considerable time in the period just preceding D-Day at Service of Supply headquarters, watching Gen. Lee and his key men handling their gigantic affairs. Their officers were going 24 hours a day.

Messages came and orders were dispatched and officers moved in and out on vital errands. Yet there was no tearing of hair, no shouting. Everybody was abreast or ahead of his job and they even had time to tell how they were doing it.

At the end of one especially strenuous day, Brig. Gen. Royal B. Lord, Gen. Lee’s Chief of Staff, relaxed and said:

Yes, each problem does look formidable when you first approach it. But I try not to see it as one big problem but as a combination of a number of little ones, each of which is easy enough to solve.

U.S. chiefs show optimism on push

Marshall, King and Arnold at White House for conference with the President

Washington – (June 6)
While giving out no fresh information on the progress of the invasion, the reaction of both the War and Navy Departments today was that the first phases seemed to be “going well.”

Gen. George C. Marshall (the Chief of Staff), Adm. Ernest J. King (the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Fleet and Chief of Naval Operations) and Gen. H. H. Arnold (Air Forces commanding general), the “big three” of the American invasion planners on this side of the Atlantic, were summoned to the White House this morning for an hour and a half conference with President Roosevelt.

They exchanged greetings with newsmen as they left the White House, but outside of a remark by Adm. King that the big push is “doing all right so far” they made little pertinent comment.

Navy’s prayers with boys

At his morning press conference, Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal said, “The Navy’s prayers and hearts are with the boys who are doing the job over there.”

At the Pentagon, a formal request of War Department correspondents for some comment from Gen. Marshall was answered by Maj. Gen. A. D. Surles, Director of Public Relations, with the following note:

In view of the fact that neither the Secretary of War nor the Chief of Staff has anything to add to the news coming from Supreme Allied Headquarters for the present, neither will hold a press conference today.

Secretary of War Stimson, passing a correspondent in the corridor, remarked that the first reports indicated the invasion was “going very well.”

Informed military sources here seemed convinced that the progress of the Allied armies would become more difficult as the Germans were able to oppose their full available strength against the sectors where we are advancing. No one holds out any hopes of easy going.

Big Allied force indicated

There was encouragement in the reports from Allied headquarters that indicated we had followed what some military men call “Rule No. 1” for a successful invasion: We had applied sufficient force to the points where we made our initial landings. The tremendous numbers of ships, landing craft and planes employed, implying the movement of a sizable number of men and the materiel with which to back them, indicates that this was the large-scale venture that will be necessary for victory.

Observers conceded there was nothing in the first reports to indicate that all the pressure would be applied in the section of northern France where the landings were made, but they discouraged excessive speculation on this point.

The War and Navy Department’s officials promised to supply as much background as possible on the invasion, although they have stressed that the main news will break from Europe. The background supplied today was more in the nature of description of preparations rather than interpretation on what is taking place, although spokesmen admittedly were handicapped by a lack of information.

At the War Department, Brig. Gen. John Magruder, newly-appointed press spokesman, made plans to see reports between 10:00 and 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 and 4:00 p.m. ET each day to attempt to explain developments.

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53

Swedish population rejoices at invasion

Premier and foreign minister, however, reiterate neutrality

Stockholm, Sweden – (June 6)
The peal of church bells and the roar of guns accompanied the invasion news in Stockholm today. It was coincidence, however, for today was Swedish Flag Day and King Gustav’s name day, which is always celebrated with the ringing of church bells and a 21-gun salute.

The invasion was the only subject of conversation in Stockholm today although the stolid Swedes did not throw confetti or streamers or give any noisy expression of their feelings.

The afternoon newspapers kept publishing extras throughout the day, the first one being on the street well before 11:00 a.m. (local time). After that, new extras kept appearing every hour.

While there was no mistaking the joy of the population that the invasion had begun with hopeful signs of initial success, there was equal satisfaction here that the Allied had picked the Normandy coast and not Norway, as such a move might conceivably have brought Sweden into the war.

Christian E. Günther, Swedish Foreign Minister, speaking yesterday on the occasion of Swedish Flag Day, reiterated that Sweden would “openly stand by her attitude and policy” on neutrality and added that the Swedish people “had no reason to do penance.”

Mr. Günther’s remarks were echoed by the Swedish Premier, Per Albin Hansson, who said that Sweden was “ready now and in the future to meet any possible storms that might sweep the country.”

The statements of the two Swedish leaders were broadcast domestically by the Swedish radio and reported by the Federal Communications Commission.

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54

Allies link radios to inform Europe

Coordinate radio stations to broadcast an unprecedented propaganda campaign

Allied radio stations in the United States, England, North Africa and Italy were coordinated early yesterday morning for an unprecedented propaganda campaign directed at Germany and the occupied countries. At the hour of invasion, the broadcasting facilities were linked together in an international chain to insure a maximum audience on the continent for Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower’s statement to “the people of Western Europe.”

The overseas branch of the Office of War Information working closely with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the State Department, put into operation planes calling for transmissions in 22 languages on a 24-hour basis. Religious, political, educational and labor leaders throughout the day entered the local OWI studios at 214 W 57th Street to make recordings that were later broadcast on shortwave to the difference language groups overseas.

The OWI broadcasts from New York were based on a detailed pattern designed to instill confidence in the ultimate victory of the Allies but to recognize the hazards yet to be faced.

Chief points in OWI plan

A summary of the chief points in the OWI’s psychological warfare operations follows:

  • Naval, air and ground forces participating in the action were referred to as “the Allied Expeditionary Force” rather than as “the Armies of Liberation.” Use of the words “second front” and “invasion” were omitted in favor of the words “landing” or “landings.”

  • The occupied countries were asked for the most part to maintain discipline and await official orders before engaging actively in the fight. Foreign workers within Germany, potentially a source of major aid to the Allies were warned that the invasion was not their D-Day but rather their mobilization day.

  • The only direct appeal for aid was made to transportation workers to sabotage communication facilities between Nantes and Antwerp.

  • Broadcasts directed at German troops in Western Europe were discontinued on the ground that the Nazi soldiers would be otherwise occupied, the time being devoted to additional programs for Central Europe. Troops far from the front were warned, however, that in modern warfare there was no safety anywhere. The names of German commanders were omitted as far as possible to avoid glorifying them in the eyes of the audience within Germany.

  • References to food or relief supplies for the occupied countries were being withheld pending formal announcement of such plans. There was no mention of “secret weapons.”

  • Any organized resistance to the Nazis within Europe was treated solely as part of the Allies military operations and not as necessarily indicating a possible revolt by the European peoples.

  • The broadcasts recognized that the German defenses were strong and their equipment of a high order. No suggestion was made of any deterioration in Nazi morale.

  • Major emphasis was placed on the Allied superiority in arms and the determination of Allied soldiers to win final victory. The many countries represented in the Allied forces were listed.

  • The reaction of Americans at home was described as one of calmness born of confidence in Gen. Eisenhower and the Allied fighting men.

It was at 3:48 a.m. yesterday that the OWI picked up the BBC’s announcement that Gen. Eisenhower’s statement to the European peoples would follow in a minute’s time. It was piped to the OWI transmitters in the eastern part of the country and sent back to Europe. Stations in Algiers, Tunis, Italy and Cairo also carried the message.

Unlike the day of the North African invasion, however, transatlantic receiving conditions were not too good and at 4:18 a.m. the local OWI had to abandon its relay of programs from London. Throughout the morning, atmospheric conditions continued to result in relatively weak signals that in the city made shortwave reception difficult, though the BBC was at all times audible.

The OWI’s efforts were reinforced by other broadcasts from the Western Hemisphere. Shortwave stations in Toronto, Winnipeg and Newfoundland carried news of the invasion from Canada while outlets in Cuba, Panama City, Brazil and other South American countries were heard giving details.

Wives of D chiefs voice fortitude

Mrs. Roosevelt stresses the cost ahead; faith asked by Mrs. Eisenhower

Washington – (June 6)
Women whose husbands are bearing the brunt of the invasion responsibility shared their D-Day thoughts with the women of the country.

Mrs. Roosevelt’s message was that everyone must accept the fact that this is only a beginning, not an end, that there will be much to go through, but that the women of the country will go through it in the way they have met all the tests of history.

She said at her press conference:

Until the heavy invasion machines land, we are not very secure. This type of war is costly – people must go through anxiety, suffering, loss. The cost of liberation to many of these countries will be great at the moment of liberation. Retiring armies will take their toll and the invading armies also have to take their toll as the country is fought over.

This is not a happy day.

She said that she got the invasion news from her husband before she went to bed last night and slept very little.

Mrs. Eisenhower’s message

Mrs. Dwight D. Eisenhower, off to her son’s West Point graduation into the Army today, left behind a message for NBC broadcast, “Let’s have faith, cheerfully wish them luck and work a little harder than ever before.”

The wife of the commander of the invasion forces also said in her message, read by NBC commentator Nancy Osgood:

We know now that our men are attacking our enemies. We know that they will be victorious. But we also know they will have many trying hours ahead, hours in which we shall find it difficult not to be restless and unnerved. We are eager to help in some big way, and yet, if we could ask our fighting men, they would tell us – Ours is the job to fight, yours to help, by remaining as cheerful and as busy as possible.

On the same broadcast, Mrs. Harold Stark, wife of the admiral in command of all U.S. naval forces in the European Theater, also gave practical “keep busy” advice, and said:

May the troops have all the luck in the world, so that victory may come quicker.

Mrs. Carl Spaatz, whose husband commands the strategic Air Forces in Great Britain, commented:

As an air wife, I am tremendously proud of our Air Forces, especially the magnificent pre-invasion job they have done. That great softening-up job will be responsible for saving the lives of many thousands of American soldiers and sailors.

Offers comforting thoughts

This should be of the greatest comfort and pride to the families of Air Force men, especially to those families whose men are missing, or may have been killed in action.

And she gave another comforting thought:

Never in history has a greater military undertaking been so carefully planned. Everything has been thought of and done to give that man of yours the best possible chance of coming through this terrific action.

Mrs. Alan G. Kirk, wife of the admiral in charge of U.S. invasion task forces, added her assurance that valuable lessons had been learned in the amphibian operations in Africa, Sicily, Italy and the Pacific, and said:

Consequently, we can be certain that this, the biggest landing of all, will be most successful. Here at home, we can believe in success as well as wish for it.

Mrs. James Doolittle, wife of the Tokyo raider, who commands the 8th Air Force in England, said:

Our troops expect even more than our confidence – they expect us to keep our chins up. We need more than ever before to slow that we have courage.

The Doolittles have a son in the 9th Air Force in England, and so Mrs. Doolittle gave this message to mothers:

Your sons are fighting to make victory possible. As Gen. Doolittle has said to me so often: “My boys are tops. They never stop to think of what may happen to them. They just do their job.”

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55

Canadians win goal, Premier declares

Progress thrills Parliament; Québec Bloc sets precedent

Ottawa, Canada – (June 6)
Canadian troops taking part in the Allied landing in France “have successfully achieved their first objective and are making good progress,” Prime Minister W. L. Mackenzie King informed the House of Commons this afternoon in making his report on the day’s great events.

At the same time, he warned that:

The task of having landed is but a prelude to the more urgent task of maintaining this first foothold and of maintaining it so strongly that the enemy cannot dislodge the Allied forces.

Opposition leader Gordon Graydon said:

There are no divisions of opinion, no cleavages in thought in this House as we rivet our attention upon the progress of the long-anticipated offensive in Europe.

From the ranks of the French-speaking members, Maurice Lalonde rose to acclaim, in the French language, “the historic fact that from the belfry of time has rung out the hour of the deliverance of France.”

With the permission of the House, he asked that the French national hymn should be sung, and for the first time in Canadian parliamentary history, all the members joined in singing “The Marseillaise.” They following with “God Save the King.”

Toronto, Ontario, Canada (CP) – (June 6)
Canadians of every faith went to their churches today to bespeak the help of God for their fighting men with the Allied invasion forces in Europe.

In almost every Canadian city, there were special services in the churches, which also remained open during the day for private prayer.

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56

Invasion cuts job of Atlantic Fleet

Adm. Ingersoll: Supply task now is to keep ‘expenditures replaced’

Washington – (June 6)
All the American men and material needed for the invasion of Europe had been convoyed to the United Kingdom by the Atlantic Fleet, and now the fleet’s greatly reduced job will be to keep the “expenditures replaced,” Adm. Royal E. Ingersoll, Atlantic Fleet commander, declared here today.

Adm. Ingersoll, who attended a press conference with James Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy, and Adm. Ernest J. King, Commander-in-Chief of the fleet, also said that Atlantic Fleet warships, from “battleships down,” and Navy aircraft based in the United Kingdom were aiding the invasion.

U.S. battleships, he declared, were presumably bombarding German concrete shore defenses as they did in the Marshalls invasion, where at Kwajalein the Pacific war craft moved within 1,200 yards of the shore.

Adm. Ingersoll is regarded in the Navy as one of the unsung heroes of the war, for it was his Atlantic Fleet that escorted the troops and munitions to Great Britain and the Mediterranean and also won the Battle of the Atlantic against submarines. Adm. King introduced the publicity-shy Adm. Ingersoll as “a great sea officer and a great commander.”

Adm. Ingersoll emphasized that the men and material needed for the invasion were in place, and that the Atlantic Fleet’s job should now be easier while taking care of invasion needs from this point on.

Furthermore, he declared, although there have been reports that the U-boat packs would return to the Atlantic when the invasion started to prey on communication lines from America to England, this threat “is not yet in evidence.”

Adm. Ingersoll said that since Jan. 1, 1942, the Atlantic Fleet has escorted more than 7,000 across the Atlantic “and only lost ten,” and none of these was a troopship. There were other ship losses in the Atlantic, he added, but those occurred among ships not escorted by the fleet.

The admiral said the Germans “gave us some bad knocks in the beginning,” but despite this, the men and munitions got through.

The pre-invasion battle with the U-boats was a battle of wits and scientific developments, in which the Nazis sometimes were ahead of us, and we fortunately were usually ahead of them, he said.

Nazi planes still remain a threat, Adm. Ingersoll reported. In the Mediterranean within the last two to three weeks, a convoy of more than 100 ships was attacked by 40 German aircraft, he revealed. The convoy fought off the raiders by itself, shooting down 18-20 of them and not losing a ship.

Adm. Ingersoll said that as of last Saturday, the Atlantic had 1,511 ships assigned to it for duty or training.

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57

Hull calls fight all-time ‘pivotal’

‘Cause of mankind never more truly represented,’ he says; Pershing confident

Washington – (June 6)
Secretary of State Hull, vacationing in Hershey, Pennsylvania, said today that the Allied invasion armies were “waging the most pivotal battle of all time.”

Edward R. Stettinius Jr., Acting Secretary of State, declared that “the liberation of Europe has now begun.”

Andrei A. Gromyko, the Soviet Ambassador, looked to “a speedy and complete victory over the enemy.”

The Norwegian Embassy declared that the men and women of Norway “salute their comrades in arms in the firm hope that D-Day is Doomsday for the tyrants and Resurrection Day for the civilized world.”

Manuel L. Quezon, President of the Philippines, broadcast from Saranac Lake, New York, to his people that “every blow struck for freedom anywhere in the world is a blow struck for our own freedom,” and that “day by day the forces of liberation are advancing irresistibly toward the Philippines.”

Labor pledges made

American labor pledged its all-out support on the home front.

William Green, president of the AFL, in a telegram to the presidents of all affiliates, called for uninterrupted production “under any and all circumstances.” He said:

Until Hitler is crushed, every worker enrolled in the army of production must consider himself part of the invasion forces of the United States and conduct himself accordingly.

Philip Murray, president of the CIO, in a message to President Roosevelt, declared that no CIO member on the home front ever “by thought, word or action will be untrue to our fighting men and to the great goal of our victory effort.” He pledged “our complete loyalty in any steps or any sacrifices that may be necessary” and asserted:

No violation of our no-strike pledge can be tolerated by the consciences of our members.

Mr. Stettinius told his press conference that he and Mr. Hull were in communication concerning the invasion before daylight and that the State Department was keeping in constant touch with the War Department on the situation.

Statement by Hull

The statement by Mr. Hull was as follows:

Our brave Allied armies today waging the most pivotal battle of all time never more truly represented the cause of liberty and of mankind.

The forces of savagery desperately endeavoring to destroy the human race are making their last stand. While we fight and pray, and while we know that the fighting will be hard, we confidently look forward to a great historic Allied victory. We must then pledge our all that never again shall the forces of human destruction be let loose on the world.

Mr. Stettinius issued this statement:

freedom from suffering and oppression is at last on the horizon. For the people of China and the Far East also, this day heralds the beginning of a new era.

Our men and those of our Allies are making the supreme sacrifice in order that we and all men may live in peace and freedom. For us at home this is the time not for rejoicing – that can come later – but for every one of us to put everything he has into his job to speed the day of victory.

Soviet envoy’s statement

Ambassador Gromyko’s statement was as follows:

Very good and encouraging news. The catastrophe of fascist Germany is drawing nearer. What Hitler and his criminal clique have dreaded most has happened. Germany is forced to carry on the war on two fronts.

The Soviet people wish all success to our Allies in this most important military undertaking, which is speeding up our common victory over the mortal enemy of mankind – Hitlerite Germany. I am sure that the American soldiers and officers, as well as other Allied forces taking part in this operation, will exhibit staunchness and bravery worthy of this event.

There is no doubt that the combined blows of the powerful Allied coalition will insure a speedy and complete victory over the enemy.

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58

Congress marks day with prayers

Members voice confidence in our arms, then resume old party contentiousness

Washington – (June 6)
Congress was stirred deeply by word that the Allied invasion of continental Europe from the north was on and turned today to prayers for speed and complete victory with a minimum of human losses.

The members voiced confidence in the skills and plans of our military and naval leaders.

“Grant that on this D-Day of liberation,” was the supplication of the Rev. Dr. Frederick Brown Harris, chaplain of the Senate, “weapons of freedom forged in fires of faith may pierce the shields of pagan steel and the cruel invaders’ walls, reared in treachery and tyranny and oppression, may crumble and fall at the boast of Allied might.

Upon our dear boys in this fearful baptism of fire, of whom we think today with special tenderness, lifting them up on the winds of our intercession as knights of Thy Righteous will, and upon the hosts of oppressed now at last to emerge from dark dungeons of thralldom pour thy enabling grave as together they strike the blow on that fair and storied land where the grapes of wrath are stored.

We pray today, this day of days, for our enemies with calloused hearts and warped minds and poisoned conceptions. Forgive them, they know not what they do.

In the House, the Rev. Dr. James Shera Montgomery prayed:

In our prayer, we bring unto Thee our heroic sons and daughters of the battle lines who have surrendered their secret hoys, their aspirations and the blessings of the years. Amid the walls and bulwarks of savage war embrace them in Thy fatherly arms, reveal Thyself unto them in mercy and hide not Thy face from them; comfort them in the face of all adversaries as their swords of righteousness prevail.

In the Senate and House, heads were bowed in silent prayer. Senators joined in reciting the 23rd Psalm. The prayer composed last night by President Roosevelt was read in both chambers.

Senator Alben W. Barkley, Majority Leader, said:

I am sure I speak the sentiment of the Senate, when I say that we all recognize the solemnity of this hour, the great, tragic importance of the events which are now in our minds and hearts, and that all we need to do, and all we probably should do now, or can do, is to pray fervently and devoutly for the success of our troops and those of our allies.

Senator Wallace H. White Jr., Minority Leader, said that the day was shadowed by the possibilities of disaster, but in it there was the substantial promise of a glorious ending.

The spirit of unity left the House as the day progress and as it continued its contest over legislation designed to extend the statute of limitations on court-martial proceedings against RAdm. Husband E. Kimmel and Maj. Gen. Walter C. Short, commanders at Pearl Harbor.

Party lines were drawn as Republicans succeeded in extending the limitation for only three months.

In the Senate, consideration of the bill to extend the Emergency Price Control and Stabilization Acts led to sharp criticism, mostly by Democrats, of the lack of flexibility in the OPA.

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59

City greets news quietly, solemnly

No noisy outbursts, no large crowds, but calm confidence marks reaction to invasion
By Russell Porter

The people of New York City received the invasion news calmly. There was no celebration, no outburst of enthusiasm, no sign of fear or depression. The prevailing mood was one of deep solemnity, of sober realization that this was only the beginning, that the road might be hard and bloody and that many might lose sons and brothers before the battle was won.

At first the atmosphere was charged with anxiety and worry as the majority of New Yorkers awakened to gain their first information on the landings. Later, as the good news came in of initial successes and unexpectedly light losses, a feeling of quiet confidence and encouragement spread throughout the city. In every section of the five boroughs there were faith and hope in victory and the safety of U.S. and Allied soldiers and sailors. This spirit of quiet confidence was typical of the whole nation’s reaction to D-Day.

Churches held special services

Two attitudes were characteristic of New Yorkers on this most momentous day in American and world history. One was the kneeling posture, head bowed, eyes cast down in prayer; the other was the upright stance, head lifted, eyes raised to read the news on bulletin boards and electric signs. These symbolized the city’s principal reactions – a profound intensification of religious feeling, and a great hunger for news.

The first of these reactions was demonstrated in a spontaneous desire for prayer that swept over the entire city. Churches of every denomination were crowded. Special services were held, special masses and special prayers of intercession were said, special candles were lighted. In schools, hospitals, courtrooms, public buildings, theaters, war plants, stores, stock exchanges and other places where people congregate, routine proceedings were halted for brief prayers or moments of silence in tribute and respect to the armies of liberation. Hymns were sung at D-Day assemblies in the public schools, which held one-minute periods of silent devotion. Audiences stood with bowed heads in the theaters.

Mayor leads in prayer

Mayor La Guardia led a prayer in City Hall for the success of the Allied troops and for the comfort of mothers and wives of the soldiers and sailors. Archbishop Francis J. Spellman of St. Patrick’s Roman Catholic Cathedral, read a “Prayer for America” at mass and later over the radio – a prayer he had composed himself, for a “just, merciful and wise” victory, for “guidance for our leaders” and “protection for our sons.” Bishop William T. Manning, officiating at the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral of St. John the Divine, prayed for “speedy victory for the forces of right and freedom for the sake of all mankind,” and for “a righteous peace.” Rabbi Samuel H. Goldstein of Temple Emanu-El gave thanks for the fighting men of this and all the United Nations who have left their homes to liberate Europe from Nazi tyranny and “establish justice among men and righteousness among peoples.”

All the churches and synagogues were open, from the big cathedrals to the smallest houses of worship and meeting halls. Fifty thousand attended a public prayer meeting at the Eternal Light in Madison Square.

The religious fervor was accompanied by a quick upsurge of patriotism, demonstrated particularly in a rush of blood donors to the Red Cross and in accelerated sales of war bonds and stamps.

The overwhelming demand for news from the front made itself felt on all sides. People gathered around the radios in their homes, in stores, in restaurants and bars, in taxis parked in the street and elsewhere, to get the latest bulletins, watched newsflashes on movie screens or waited at the newsstands for successive editions of the newspapers with the details.

Everywhere in the city the same spirit was reported. From the luxury apartments of Park Avenue to the tenements of the Lower East Side and Harlem, the German-American section in Yorkville and Little Italy, Chinatown and all such settlements, all the elements in New York’s melting pot reached in the same way.

Fifth Avenue, the city’s great showplace, was decked with American and Allied flags. The doors of the big churches in the avenue were flung wide open, and people kept going in and out all day long. Some of the big department stores closed at 1:00 p.m., others at 4:00 p.m. – out shut down for the entire day – so that their employees could attend church services. Many business officers closed early or gave their workers long lunch hours for the same purpose.

Large crowds are lacking

Except for the churchgoers, there were no unusual crowds. It was apparent that war workers had stuck to their jobs turning out more equipment for the Armed Forces instead of taking the day off to rush into the streets and demonstrate.

This was also true in Times Square, where people lined the sidewalks to watch the electric bulletins on The New York Times Tower but did not congregate in abnormal fashion; in Wall Street, and in the other main thoroughfares throughout the greater city.

If anything, the street crowds in the center of the city were smaller than normal yesterday and last night, presumably because people were staying home to listen to the radio and read the papers.

President Roosevelt’s invasion prayer was read to the audiences of Broadway theaters, which were crowded last night, as were the nightclubs. The audiences were kept informed of late news developments through announcements from the stage.

In some restaurants, no food or liquor was served during President Roosevelt’s broadcast of his prayer. Radios were turned out so the diners could listen and join in the prayer if they chose, and many did so.

In Wall Street, the buying and selling of stocks and bonds was halted briefly at both the New York Stock Exchange and the Curb Exchange while prayers were offered.

Wounded veterans of the Italian, North African and Pacific campaigns in this war joined in the prayers at the veterans’ hospitals in the city, while veterans of world War I took part in nonsectarian services held by American Legion posts and other veterans’ organizations. They made heartfelt pleas that casualties would be light in the Battle of Europe.

Soldiers and sailors of the United States and the allies, especially British and Canadian soldiers and British and French sailors, appeared on the streets in the usual numbers and were eyed with even more than the ordinary respect. They appeared to share the solemn mood of civilians. There did not seem to be as much skylarking as usual among the men on leave in the big city. Last night, they were not roistering around streets to any great extent. On the contrary, they were sitting in the United Service Organizations and other canteens, their ears glued to the radios, or their eyes fastened on the newspapers, just like everybody else.

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60

Editorial: Let us pray

The President’s prayer last night was the nation’s prayer. This nation was born in the only revolution in history made in the name of God. It was born of the conception that the rights of man are not conveyed to him by any accident of class or color, race or creed, are not conferred or withheld by any government, but are given him by God as the inalienable birthright of the human being. it is to defend this inherent right of the human being, the right of free will, against the most ambitious tyranny that ever shadowed the earth that we are today storming the beaches of Europe with the legions of all the people, conquered and marked for conquest, who would rather die fighting than live as slaves.

We have come to the hour for which we were born. We go forth to meet the supreme test of our arms and of our souls, the test of the maturity of our faith in ourselves and in mankind, and it is fitting that in this hour we at home, citizens of all confessions and no confession, should follow the ways of our fathers and solemnly place the fate of our country, our cause and our sons, in the hands of God.

We pray for the boys we know and for millions of unknown boys who are equally a part of us. A year, two years ago, they were the grinning, careless youngsters we saw on the campuses and ballfields and streets of every American town. Now they are steeled and exalted into men; they are the heroes in the hardest and most crucial adventure in history. All too literally, their flesh and their spirit are our shield, the shield of the Republic. “Lead them straight and true, O Lord of Hosts; give strength to their arms, stoutness to their hearts, steadfastness to their faith.”

We pray for our country, this country that is ourselves, as strong as we are strong, as great as we are determined to make and keep it great. In the eyes of our soldiers, looking back for one last look at home as they go forward into the unknown dangers before them, we see that “home” means to them all the world is fighting for. In this moment of pure light that burns away all trivial issues, they see the war aims with perfect clearness, and so do we. Our prayer is to be worthy of their courage and their faith in us and the future and brave enough to keep on fighting for peace when they have won it for us.

The cause prays for itself, for it is the cause of the God who created men free and equal. Victory may be hard to win, but it is as certain as the eventual triumph of good over evil is always certain. In this searching hour we are humble as well as proud. We know that we are paying not only for the awful sins of those who willed war but for the sons of those who did not will peace hard enough to take responsibility to maintain it. We are paying also for our own sins. Let us pray for the grace to avoid committing them over again. On our knees let us seek the wisdom to turn the victory we will buy with a great price into a reign of justice.

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61

Blood donors swamp Red Cross; 300% rise in bookings in city

Thousands of New Yorkers, anxious to take some active part in D-Day swamped blood bank centers in Manhattan and Brooklyn yesterday in their eagerness to make blood donor appointments. By 8 o’clock last night, weary volunteer workers reported a 300% increase in “future bookings” over a normal day.

As early as 8:30 a.m. yesterday, the telephones in the booking rooms began to ring. Shortly thereafter, the number of women answering these calls for the New York chapter of the American Red Cross had to be doubled. One man reported that he had telephoned steadily between 9:00 a.m. and noon before he was able to make an appointment.

Hundreds of men and women appeared at the center, 2 E 38th Street, without appointments and waited as long as three hours to fill in when cancellations occurred. These were far below average. Other persons, unable to wait, made appointments for the future.

Invasion “jitters” apparently directed many to the blood bank. One woman, who waited two hours for a possible cancellation, said she was too nervous to sit at home and listen to the radio. Others revealed that they had wandered aimlessly, wanting to do something “useful,” until they found themselves in the neighborhood of the centers.

The long line of potential donors contained many who had never given blood before and an equal number who had. One man was waiting to make his 15th donation. Two women were celebrating their birthdays as well as D-Day. A family of three waited three hours “just in case our nephews and cousins who are taking part in the invasion might need the plasma.”

Servicemen and women, who are rushed through without appointments, also helped to swell the crowd. A dozen sailors appeared en masse. WACs and SPARS came in twos and threes. A soldier who had 25 minutes between trains thought there might be time for him to give blood.

Col. Earle Boothe, director of blood donor service, urged volunteers to keep appointments to assure a steady flow of plasma during the next few critical months. He appealed to residents not to relinquish their resolve to donate blood if they could not obtain immediate appointments.

The United Press reported a similar rush in Washington to give blood.

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62

Editorial: The invasion

The first reports from the battlefront sound like an answer to the prayer that accompanied our troops, smashed by Allied bombers and by the guns of the United Nations’ navies at least sections of the vaunted German “Atlantic Wall” have crumbled, and our troops are established on beachheads along a front from Le Havre to Cherbourg, while Allied parachute and glider troops leaping beyond the “wall” are fighting in Caen, nine miles in the interior, and according to enemy reports even north of Rouen, 41 miles from the coast.

Certainly in the first phases of the invasion, Allied strategy has been brilliant. Instead of striking at the high cliffs opposite Dover, where the Germans expected the attack, and had therefore placed their heaviest fortifications, Gen. Eisenhower struck at the low-lying sandy beaches of Normandy, using methods which had produced such excellent results in Sicily, at Salerno and at Anzio. And the location of the landings also indicates the further plan, which seems aimed at putting the whole Normandy Peninsula into Allied hands as a base for a drive up the Seine Valley directly on to Paris. But the landings in Normandy are merely the first of a series which may now be expected to crash other beaches of France, both north and south, and possibly those of other countries as well.

Yet though the enemy’s “Atlantic Wall” has proved to be quite vulnerable in spots, the German Command has still mobile armies estimated at some 50 divisions in France, in which it has placed its main reliance to bring the Allied invasion to a halt. These armies will counterattack and attempt to drive the allies back into the sea. As Gen. Eisenhower said, the landing is but the opening phase and great battles lie ahead. But the enemy armies can scarcely move until they are certain where the main blow is to come from, and they cannot be quite certain while other invasions are still pending. That is the advantage of the initiative, which is now firmly in Allied hands.

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63

Editorial: France

It is the strange but noble destiny of France to welcome passionately in secret an army of invaders that must bring more destruction and death upon her, who has suffered so much and so long. It will soon be four years since the armistice with Germany was signed after six disastrous weeks. What a monstrous irony it is to recall the strictly “correct” behavior of the Nazi troops in Paris. The Parisians were nit impressed. The artificial, clumsy, Teutonic politeness was soon thrown off. In 1941, Pétain’s “honorable peace” had turned into reneging of the armistice terms. The Nazis put a stranglehold upon French industrial and economic life, made almost two million French captured soldiers do forced labor, refused to reduce the enormous overcharge for the support of the army of occupation.

Violence, sabotage inevitably followed. The slaughter of “hostages” began. It is now in its fourth year. The work of the French groups of resistance has been continuous. In the face of death, they have never flinched. They are now ready and waiting to aid the friendly invaders, not merely by information but by arms. French soldiers are among the friendly invaders. In Africa, in Italy, in the air and on the sea, Frenchmen have fought for us and for themselves.

In these fateful hours, Americans send their wishes and hopes to these brave and enduring fighters for freedom. For the mother of modern freedom, Americans have a kindness that is more than historical. Who that has been in France, that federation, we might call it, of little provinces or countries, each with its individual charm, can help loving it? Unyielding and indomitable people of France, have faith and courage! We are coming.

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64

Editorial: Weapons and the invasion

Where were those “secret weapons” of the Germans when Allied troops swarmed over the sands between Le Havre and Cherbourg? That rocket shell of diabolically ingenious Nazi physicists which was loaded with so lethal a charge of liquid air and uranium salt that it could destroy all life within a range of 500 yards – where was it? And what about the preposterous German bomb which, when it exploded, would freeze everything within a quarter of a mile and clog the Channel with icebergs to block transports? So far as we can tell at this early stage of the invasion, both sides used weapons that have been familiar ever since the Allies landed at Salerno.

When Hitler began his depredations neither side had today’s weapons. The equipment evolved in four years came only in stages, by way of Russia, North Africa and Italy. Hence the invasion was conducted with the aid of an accumulated engineering experience. Bombers of unprecedented carrying capacity and range, troop-laden gliders towed by “locomotive” planes, rocket guns big and small, radio-controlled shells with wings, radar, machines to generate steam and oil fogs that conceal square miles, jet-propelled fighters – the invaders had them all and more to boot. These are the engineering surprises of the present war. In 1918, we could speak chiefly of gas and the tank.

A foothold was gained on the shores of France partly because of these innovations, but largely because of a plan and an organization without a parallel. We have not only to think of 4,000 larger vessels in the Channel, 11,000 planes in support, several hundred naval vessels to cover the transports, tanks, special artillery in every size and for every destructive purpose, balloon barrages, but also of a masterly coordination of movement in three dimensions. Everything had to be thought of – from dehydrated food to typewriters, from mine sweeps to binoculars. We may be sure that the engineer was everywhere the director and coordinator. For this was essentially a stupendous engineering enterprise. If Addison could eulogize Marlborough at Blenheim as he who “rides in the whirlwind and directs the storm,” what shall we say of Eisenhower and a terrific mechanical tornado?

In the swirl of this directed tornado, we must include a mighty armada of transatlantic freight-carriers and the factories of Chicago and St. Louis, the oil refineries of Tulsa, the jeep and tank plants of Detroit and Toledo, the tailoring lofts of New York. No wonder a thrill runs through millions of workers in North America and Britain. They, too, are human gears and levers in a titanic invading machine. The screech of the tool that saws steel 5,000 miles from France is echoed in the screech of shells in flight. Science and technology interwoven with daring on French beaches to fashion a spiritual fabric in which the democracies are wrapped – that is what the invasion means.

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65

Völkischer Beobachter (June 8, 1944)

Harte Kämpfe an der normannischen Küste –
Kraftvolle Abwehr gegen die zweite Angriffswelle

Große Verluste des Feindes an Menschen, Waffen, Schiffen, Flugzeugen

Berlin, 7. Juni –
Nachdem die deutschen Truppen am Nachmittag des 6. Juni die zwischen Cherbourg und Le Havre aus der Luft gelandeten Briten und Nordamerikaner teils ins Meer geworfen und teils auf schmale Küstensäume zurückgedrückt hatten, begann der Feind, wie erwartet, in den Abendstunden die zweite Angriffswelle. An zahlreichen Stellen flogen schwere Bomber mit angehängten Lastenseglern in Gruppen von je 100 Flugzeugen und mehr in das normannische Küstengebiet ein. Zahlreiche Staffeln gerieten in das Sperrfeuer der Flak oder die Geschoßgarben der deutschen Jäger.

Die Masse der Lastensegler ging im Orne-Abschnitt nieder. Die übrigen klinkten südlich Le Havre, im Raum von Carentan sowie an der Ost- und Westküste der Halbinsel Cotentin aus. Außerdem bombardierten schwere Verbände des Feindes die Abriegelung der Landestellen und das Hinterland. In harten nächtlichen Kämpfen rieben unsere Truppen die Masse der in ihrem Rücken gelandeten Fallschirmeinheiten auf und säuberten das Hinterland von Versprengten. Die Verluste des Gegners an Menschen und Waffen waren außerordentlich hoch. Die Höhenrücken im Innern der normannischen Halbinsel und das Gelände zwischen Orne und Vire sind von zahllosen abgestürzten Lastenseglern und gefallenen Fallschirmspringern bedeckt. Mehrfach gerieten geschlossene Einheiten in deutsche Gefangenschaft.

Gleichzeitig legte der Feind mit schwerer Schiffsartillerie eine Feuerglocke über die alten Landestellen und begann Verstärkungen an Land zu bringen. In einem Abschnitt schoben sich zwischen den ausgebrannten oder noch schwelenden Wracks von über 30 großen Landungsfahrzeugen die vollbesetzten Boote an den Strand heran. Die Küstenverteidigung und unsere in Wellen angreifenden Kampfflugzeuge hielten unter den Briten und Nordamerikanern blutige Ernte. Von Bomben getroffen sank unter anderem ein etwa 6000 bis 7000 BRT großer Transporter. Während der Ausschiffung griffen leichte deutsche Seestreitkräfte die in der Seinebucht zusammengezogene feindliche Landungsflotte an.

Mehrere der sichernden Kriegsschiffe erhielten Torpedotreffer. Weitere Schiffsverluste hatte der Feind durch das Feuer schwerer Batterien und durch hochgehende Seeminen.

Nach dem Niederkämpfen der hinter unseren Küstenbefestigungen aus der Luft abgesetzten Truppen drückten unsere Verbände von neuem auf die Landestellen. Ein kleinerer Brückenkopf im Gebiet der Viremündung und nördlich davon sowie die Widerstandsnester im Innern der normannischen Halbinsel wurden beseitigt.

Die Lage der einzelnen Landepunkte zueinander läßt Rückschlüsse auf die Absichten des Gegners zu. Die Nordamerikaner versuchen durch ihre am Vire und gegenüber der Kanalinsel Jersey an Land gebrachten oder abgesetzten Kräfte die normannische Halbinsel mit Cherbourg abzuschnüren. Aus den Vorstößen der im Raum der Orne-Mündung stehenden Briten ist weiterhin erkennbar, daß der Feind seinen dortigen Brückenkopf zu erweitern erstrebt. Kennzeichnend für den bisherigen Ablauf der Kämpfe ist neben dem riesigen Aufgebot des Gegners an Menschen, Waffen, Schiffen und Flugzeugen vor allem die Tatsache, daß er alle seine verfügbaren Kräfte immer nur in dem gleichen Raum einsetzt. Die sowohl in den Morgenstunden, wie in den Nachmittagsstunden vor der Küste zwischen Calais und Dünkirchen beobachteten feindlichen Verbände hatten offenbar nur die Aufgabe zu täuschen. Sie haben bislang jedenfalls keinen Landeversuch gemacht.

In den ersten 24 Stunden der Invasion hat sich der Feind durch rücksichtslose Opfer starker Kräfte und durch Masseneinsatz seines von zwei Weltreichen bereitgestellten Materials eines etwa 40 Kilometer breiten, jedoch nur wenige Kilometer tiefen Küstenstreifens sowie einiger kleiner Landestellen bemächtigen können. Dieses Ergebnis mußte er mit riesigen Verlusten an Menschen sowie zahlreicher Schiffe, Flugzeuge und Waffen bezahlen. Der Gegner hat die Stärke der deutschen Abwehr zu spüren bekommen, und jeden Schritt weiter beantworten unsere Truppen durch immer härter werdende Gegenschläge.

66

Italienische Front: Nebenkriegsschauplatz –
‚Deutsche Führung urteilt richtig‘

e. a. Italienisches Hauptquartier, 7. Juni –
Der anglo-amerikanische Invasionsversuch hat im faschistischen Italien sogar die Räumung Roms und alles, was damit zusammenhängt, in den Schatten gedrängt.

Die Kommentare der italienischen Presse arbeiten den Zusammenhang, der zwischen den Ereignissen an der Südfront und dem Invasionsversuch in Frankreich besteht, klar heraus. Regime Fascista schreibt:

Die deutsche Führung ist nicht überrascht worden. Sie wußte, daß die Anglo-Amerikaner, wenn sie den Krieg fortsetzen und nicht mit den Bolschewisten brechen wollten, den Befehlen Stalins gehorchen mußten. Noch besser wußte die deutsche Führung, wo die Landung erfolgen mußte. Sie hat sich dabei durch die große Offensive in Italien nicht ablenken lassen, die aus politischen Gründen Rom zum Ziel hatte.

Die ersten Nachrichten aus Frankreich trösten uns nach der Bitterkeit, mit der wir den Verlust Roms vernommen haben. Immer mehr überzeugen wir uns davon, daß unter rein militärischen Gesichtspunkten die italienische Front nur ein Anhängsel der Entscheidungsschlacht ist, die die Anglo-Amerikaner in Frankreich führen müssen.

Auch Republica Fascista bringt die Räumung Roms mit dem Invasionsversuch in Zusammenhang und schreibt, in beiden Fällen gehe es um die europäische Kultur, aber es sei absurd, anzunehmen, weil Rom geräumt worden sei, würde Europa dem feindlichen Ansturm erliegen. Im Gegenteil sei das von farbigen Truppen geschändete Rom zum Symbol der für die Zukunft der europäischen Kultur kämpfenden Truppen geworden.

67

Kurschat: Das Aushalten an der Ostfront erhält seinen Sinn

pk. Die Invasionsschlacht um Westeuropa hat begonnen! Wie ein Lauffeuer dringt diese Nachricht in den Mittagsstunden des 6. Juni durch die Stellungen unserer Grenadiere an der östlichen Abwehrfront gegen den Bolschewismus. Die gespannten Erwartungen der bevorstehenden Ereignisse haben sich aufgelöst in ein tiefes Gefühl der Erleichterung. Keiner unserer Ostfrontgrenadiere unterschätzt den Ernst der Lage und die Schwere der Aufgaben, die den Kameraden an der Kanalfront aufgebürdet sind. Keiner aber verkennt auch, daß der Invasionsbeginn das Heranreifen der endgültigen Entscheidung über Sieg und Niederlage in diesem Weltringen gewaltig vorantreibt.

Ohne Zweifel steht der Invasionsbeginn mit der augenblicklichen Lage an der Ostfront in ursächlichem Zusammenhang. Das eherne Halt, das unsere Ostgrenadiere den durch den Wintervormarsch maßlos gewordenen Sowjets von Narwa bis zum unteren Dnjestr boten, unsere glänzenden Abwehrerfolge an der Südfront – die Zerschlagung des bolschewistischen Großangriffs beiderseits Tigins, die Bereinigung der Brückenköpfe von Butor und Rascäti und der Flußschleife von Koschnitze und endlich die deutsch-rumänischen Angriffserfolge nördlich Jassy – ließen gewiß die Forderung Stalins nach der Invasion in Westeuropa in den letzten Wochen immer dringender werden. So mußte sich das alliierte Oberkommando endlich bequemen, dem Befehl des Kremls zu folgen und in das Blutbad der Invasion zu steigen.

Die gefährlichen Entwicklungen dieses Winters an der Ostfront erhalten durch den Auftakt der Entscheidungsschlacht in Westeuropa ihren Sinn. Wie oft haben sich die deutschen Grenadiere im Süden der Ostfront während der schwerwiegenden Absetzbewegungen vom Unterlauf des Dnjepr über Ingulez, Ingul und Bug zum Dnjestr gefragt, ob es keinen Ausweg gebe, die rückläufigen Bewegungen aufzuhalten. Einige frische Divisionen hätten Entscheidendes erreichen können, und jeder wußte, daß im Westen ein ganzes Heer bestausgerüsteter, ausgeruhter Verbände lag. Manchmal wollten sich in die Herzen jener fast bis zur Erschöpfung kämpfenden Soldaten Zweifel einschleichen an das Sinnvolle des Opfers, das sie Tag für Tag bringen mußten. Aber sie fanden in den Stellungen am unteren Dnjestr das Bewußtsein ihrer eigenen Stärke wieder, wenn auch mancher sich vielleicht fragen mochte: War die Freigabe riesiger Gebiete wirklich gerechtfertigt? Wäre durch den Einsatz von Westreserven nicht doch die Lage im Osten früher zu stabilisieren gewesen?

Die Ostfront hat die ihr vom Führer gestellte Aufgabe auch ohne die Hilfe der Divisionen des Warteheeres im Westen lösen können. Eine Auslese von hervorragenden Offizieren und in allen Feuern des Winterkrieges zu Stahl gehärteten Männern hat einem vielfach überlegenen Gegner getrotzt. Und nun sehen diese Männer, die so lange vergeblich in der scheinbaren Sinnlosigkeit einen Sinn suchten, warum der Führer in rücksichtsloser Entschlossenheit den Osten zugunsten der drohenden Invasionsfront hintanstellen mußte. Nun erkennen sie das geschichtliche Verdienst, das sie sich um die Schonung der Westreserven erworben haben, und sagen sich mit berechtigtem Stolz, daß es nicht zuletzt ihrem winterlichen Aushalten zuzuschreiben ist, daß heute eine ungeschwächte Abwehr der anglo-amerikanischen Invasionsarmeen entgegentreten kann. Die Grenadiere der Ostfront verfolgen den Kampf ihrer Kameraden mit den heißesten Wünschen. Geht es diesmal doch nicht um eine Entscheidung auf einem Teilgebiet des Krieges, sondern eben um das letzte Wägen, ehe es die Siegesschale niedersinken läßt. Es ist der feste Glaube der Ostfront, daß die Kameraden im Westen bei diesem Wägen nicht zu leicht befunden werden. Denn die Männer, die heute an der Kanalküste stehen, sind ja fast durchweg zunächst durch die Schule des Ostkrieges gegangen, die beste Schule, die einem Soldaten zuteilwerden und die auch das intensivste „Invasionstraining“ nicht wettmachen kann.

Kriegsberichter HEINRICH KURSCHAT

68

Staatsmänner zum Überfall auf Europa

Staatschef Marschall Pétain hat einen Appell an das französische Volk gerichtet, in dem er alle französischen Dienststellen, Eisenbahner und Arbeiter auffordert, auf ihrem Posten zu verbleiben.

So heißt es in dem Appell:

Franzosen! Verschlimmert unser Unglück nicht durch Taten, die tragische Repressalien über euch bringen könnten. Die unschuldige französische Bevölkerung würde die Folgen tragen. Nur durch Wahrung strengster Disziplin kann Frankreich gerettet werden. Gehorcht also den Befehlen der Regierung, erfülle jeder seine Pflicht. Die Umstände der Schlacht werden die deutsche Armee vielleicht veranlassen, in den Kampfzonen besondere Maßnahmen zu ergreifen. Fügt euch dieser Notwendigkeit!

Der Poglavnik Dr. Ante Pavelitsch erklärte einem DNB-Korrespondenten:

Die Geschichte Europas kennt das Wort Invasion seit jeher. Sie kam immer von Osten, und es handelte sich immer mehr oder weniger um halbwilde Horden, die in zivilisierte Gebiete Europas hereinbrachen, um zu plündern und zu zerstören. Die Invasion der Anglo-Amerikaner auf dem europäischen Kontinent kommt zwar nicht aus dem Osten, hätte jedoch dieselben Ergebnisse. Die Anglo-Amerikaner könnten einer Invasion des bolschewistischen Rußlands in Europa nichts entgegenstellen oder sie verhindern.

Das kroatische Volk schwur seinen unabhängigen Staat, für den es durch Jahrhunderte lebte und kämpfte, auf den es ein Recht hat, und für den es politisch und wirtschaftlich reif ist. Die anglo-amerikanische Invasion wird daher vom kroatischen Volk so aufgefaßt, als ob man es seines eigenen Staates berauben und anderen Völkern unterordnen wolle.

Aus diesem Grunde ist das kroatische Volk bereit und entschlossen, alle seine Kräfte für den gemeinsamen Kampf einzusetzen und mit dem deutschen Volk gegen jede Invasion zu streiten, denn es weiß, es kämpft für seine Freiheit und seinen Bestand.

Generaloberst Milan Neditsch, der serbische Regierungschef, sagte gegenüber einem DNB-Korrespondenten:

Auf jeden Fall wird die Londoner Rechnung, welche Serbien und die Serben in eine mit der Invasion verbundene Balkanaufstandsbewegung einsetzt, falsch sein. Wir wissen, daß uns die Anglo-Amerikaner an die Bolschewisten verraten und verkauft haben. So wandelt sich für uns wie auch für die anderen Südostvölker das Invasionsproblem in den konkreteren Fall des unerbittlich antibolschewistischen Kampfes, welchen wir schon bald drei Jahre mit steigendem Erfolg führen. Die Invasion ändert an Serbiens Standpunkt nichts. Wir sind bereit, alles für das Wohl unseres Volkes zu opfern. Wir glauben ebenso wie das deutsche Volk unerschütterlich daran, daß, wer in den jetzigen Versuchungen und Bedrängnissen durchhält, nicht nur das eigene Leben, sondern auch die Zukunft der ganzen Nation, ja ganz Europas gerettet hat.

Ministerpräsident Quisling betonte in einer Unterredung mit einem DNB-Vertreter:

Der europäische Kontinent habe ein Stadium seiner historischen Entwicklung erreicht, in dem die verschiedenen Staaten und Völker nach einer europäischen Einheit strebten, um ihre Freiheit und Existenz behaupten zu können. Das Dasein Europas müsse gegen Weltmächte verteidigt werden, die außerhalb Europas entstanden seien und die im Zeichen einer fortgesetzten Expansion den alten Erdteil mit Vernichtung und Ausbeutung auf Jahrhunderte hinaus bedrohten. England und Amerika mit ihren kapitalistischen und imperialistischen Eigeninteressen und der Weltimperialismus des Bolschewismus versuchten die rettende Neuordnung Europas mit allen Kräften zu hindern. Für jeden Europäer, der die Liebe zum eigenen Land und Volk mit dem Verständnis für das Schicksal an das Europas verbindet sei die Lage angesichts dieser Umstände völlig klar.

69

Gegnerischer Großangriff westlich Rom –
Die Mehrzahl der Feindbrückenköpfe zerschlagen

dnb. Aus dem Führer-Hauptquartier, 7. Juni –
Das Oberkommando der Wehrmacht gibt bekannt:

Die feindliche Landungsoperation an der Nordküste der Normandie zwischen Le Havre und Cherbourg wurde während des ganzen Tages durch starke Seestreitkräfte unterstützt. Zahlreiche im Rücken unserer Küstenbefestigungen abgesetzte Luftlandeverbände sollten diese Landung erleichtern und das Heranführen unserer Reserven verhindern. Sie wurden zum größten Teil nach kurzem, hartem Kampf aufgerieben, nachdem sie schon beim Absprung durch unsere Flak schwere Verluste erlitten hatten. Es gelang dem Feind von See her, an mehreren Stellen Fuß zu fassen. Die Mehrzahl seiner Brückenköpfe wurde jedoch im Gegenangriff zerschlagen. Zahlreiche Landungsboote liegen ausgebrannt vor der Küste.

Beiderseits der Ornemündung und nördlich Carentan sind heftige Kämpfe mit stärkerem Gegner entbrannt, dem es bis jetzt noch gelungen ist, diese Brückenköpfe, wenn auch mit schweren Verlusten, zu behaupten.

In den frühen Morgenstunden des 6. Juni griffen deutsche Torpedoboote in der Seinebucht einen feindlichen Schlachtschiffverband, der zusammen mit Kreuzern und Zerstörern die Landungsflotte sicherte, mit gutem Erfolg an. Leichte deutsche Seestreitkräfte stießen in der Nacht zum 7. Juni westlich Le Havre gegen einen britischen Zerstörerverband vor und erzielten mehrere Torpedotreffer. Ein Zerstörer blieb brennend Hegen. Küstenbatterien der Kriegsmarine fügten im schweren Artillerieduell Schlachtschiffen und Zerstörern starke Schäden zu. Auf den von der Kriegsmarine ausgelegten Minensperren sind mehrere feindliche Einheiten durch Minentreffer gesunken.

Die beiderseitige Kampftätigkeit in der Luft war gestern durch das Wetter stark behindert. Über dem Landungsraum wurden durch Luftverteidigungskräfte nach bisherigen Meldungen 104 feindliche Flugzeuge abgeschossen.

In Italien trat der Feind nach Versammlung starker Kräfte im Raum westlich Rom wieder zum Großangriff an. Mit überlegenen Infanterie- und Panzerverbänden gelang es ihm, beiderseits der Küstenstraße vorstoßend, nach erbittertem Kampf in unsere Stellungen einzubrechen. Auch nördlich Rom konnte der Gegner trotz heldenhaften Widerstandes unserer Truppen einen tieferen Einbruch erzielen. Schwere Kämpfe sind hier noch im Gange.

Östlich Rom führte der Feind wieder während des ganzen Tages heftige, aber vergebliche Angriffe gegen unsere Stellungen bei und westlich Tivoli.

Im Osten kam es gestern nur zu Säuberungskämpfen im Raum nordwestlich Jassy. Starke Kampf- und Schlachtfliegerverbände griffen in die Erdkämpfe ein. Und fügten den Sowjets hohe Menschen- und Materialverluste zu.

Bei der Bekämpfung des feindlichen Nachschubverkehrs durch die Luftwaffe wurden zahlreiche Bahnhöfe nachhaltig zerstört und mehrere Eisenbahnstrecken unterbrochen. In der Nacht waren besonders die Bahnknotenpunkte Proskurow und Schmerinka das Angriffsziel schwerer deutscher Kampfflugzeuge, die starke Explosionen und ausgedehnte Brände hervorriefen.

Der Kampf gegen die kommunistischen Banden auf dem Balkan wurde im Monat Mai besonders erfolgreich durchgeführt. Der Feind erlitt schwerste blutige Verluste und verlor außer 17.200 Toten 8.700 Gefangene und Überläufer. Zahlreiche Geschütze, leichte und schwere Infanteriewaffen, Munitions- und Vorratslager wurden vernichtet oder erbeutet.

Nordamerikanische Bomberverbände warfen auf verschiedene Städte in Südosteuropa Bomben und verursachten besonders in Ploesti, Kronstadt, Turnu-Severin und Belgrad Schäden und Personenverluste. Durch deutsche und rumänische Luftverteidigungskräfte wurden 21 feindliche Flugzeuge, darunter 13 viermotorige Bomber, vernichtet.

In der vergangenen Nacht warfen einzelne feindliche Flugzeuge Bomben auf das Stadtgebiet von Mannheim.

70

Auslandsecho zum Invasionsversuch

Berlin, 7. Juni –
Der Beginn der lang erwarteten Invasion hat in Europa und der übrigen Welt ein überaus starkes Echo gefunden.

PARIS: In der französischen Presse findet die Invasion unter Heranziehung aller zur Verfügung stehenden Einzelmeldungen natürlich stärkste Beachtung. Kartenskizzen zeigen das kampffeld und weisen darauf hin, daß Frankreich wieder einmal Schlachtfeld geworden ist. Die Kommentare bringen zum Ausdruck, daß die Anglo-Amerikaner Sich auf Druck Moskaus in dieses Invasionsabenteuer stürzen mußten, durch das sie in schwere, verlustreiche Kämpfe verwickelt würden, die von der deutschen Heerführung bis in die letzte Einzelheit vorbereitet seien. Die deutsche Armee verteidige an der französischen Küste Frankreich, das Reich und somit Europa.

BUDAPEST: Zum Sprecher der ungarischen Meinung macht sich das Blatt Esti Ujsag mit den Worten:

Es geht um die Entscheidung der Frage, wem Europa gehören soll, den Engländern, der amerikanischen Plutokratie oder dem bolschewistischen Terror, Die ungarische Nation wünscht von ganzem Herzen ihren deutschen Kameraden Glück. Wir Ungarn glauben und vertrauen unerschütterlich darauf, daß die letzte große Probe den Sieg an die Fahnen der für Europas gerechte Sache kämpfenden Helden heften wird.

BUKAREST: Die rumänische Zeitung Ecoul schreibt:

Unser Volk muß wissen, daß es der schwerste Augenblick ist, in dem es seinen Willen, die Ereignisse zu überleben, wie hart sie auch immer sein mögen, beweisen muß.

Und Curentul stellt fest, daß die von Stalin geforderte Invasion jetzt von den Anglo-Amerikanern ihre Verwirklichung finde. „Wir bleiben dabei aufmerksame Wächter im Osten, denn hier steht unser nationales Territorium auf dem Spiel.“

PRESSBURG: Die slowakischen Zeitungen heben alle die Bedeutung der Abwehrschlacht am Atlantikwall hervor. In dem Kampf Deutschlands, schreibt Gardista, sehe das slowakische Volk den Kampf um die Freiheit Europas, zugleich aber auch den Kampf um die eigene slowakische Freiheit.

AGRAM: Die kroatische Hrvatski Narod schreibt:

Man fühle die Größe und Bedeutung dieses Ereignisses, das jeden einzelnen Kroaten angehe, da von seinem glücklichen Ausgang der Bestand des kroatischen Staates abhängt.

SOFIA: In Bulgarien unterstreicht Sarja die Notwendigkeit einer nüchternen und ruhigen Betrachtung der Ereignisse. Die Schlacht im Westen sei entscheidend. Das bulgarische Volk sei sich in diesem entscheidenden Augenblick einig in dem Willen, seine Freiheit um jeden Preis zu wahren.

BELGRAD: Der militärische Mitarbeiter der serbischen Nachrichtenagentur Rudnik betont, daß dem Feind weder eine taktische noch eine strategische Überraschung gelang. Die großdeutsche Wehrmacht sei für alle Eventualitäten gerüstet gewesen.

HELSINKI: Die Invasion bildet auch das Hauptthema in Finnland, wobei der von Moskau ausgeübte Druck auf die Engländer und Nordamerikaner besonders betont wird. So schreibt Uusi Suomi, die Invasion sei notwendig geworden, weil die Westmächte aus Gründen der politischen Zusammenarbeit der Alliierten gezwungen gewesen seien, die Sowjetunion auf diese Weise Zu entlasten.

OSLO: Die norwegische Fritt Folk spricht von einem Triumph der deutschen Führung, deren Ansicht sich restlos bewahrheitet habe. Nun wisse es jedermann, daß es richtig war, im Osten hinhaltend zu kämpfen, um zu der großen Abrechnung im Westen gerüstet zu sein.

BERN: Wenn in der Schweiz im ersten Augenblick hier und da noch Zweifel herrschen mochten, ob es sich bei der neuen Landung nicht nur um ein neues Dieppe-Unternehmen größten Stils handle, ist im Laufe des Tages überall die Überzeugung zum Durchbruch gelangt, daß wirklich der große und ernst gemeinte Invasionsversuch der Anglo-Amerikaner begonnen hat. Der Bund stellt fest, „daß die militärische Abwehr bereit war und sich nicht überraschen ließ.“

MADRID: Die spanische Zeitung Arriba schreibt:

Im Abwehrabschnitt der Festung Europa stehen die besten Truppen Deutschlands mit dem besten Material bereit, In diesen Männern brennt eine Kampfleidenschaft, die fähig ist, Wunder zu erzeugen. Ihre Moral ist hart wie Stahl, ihre Kampftechnik ist unberechenbar stark, ihre Kriegskunst ist ungewöhnlich und ihre Führung wunderbar.

LISSABON: Das Vertrauen in die deutschen Waffen ist in Portugal wieder sehr stark in den Vordergrund getreten. An der kommenden Entscheidung hat Portugal ein großes Interesse und hofft, daß die deutschen Waffen durch ihren Erfolg auch den berechtigten portugiesischen Ansprüchen auf Selbständigkeit in seiner Innen- und Außenpolitik zum Durchbruch verhelfen.

TOKIO: Der 6. Juni wird für lange Zeit als derjenige Tag im Gedächtnis bleiben, an dem die Morgenröte der neuen Weltordnung begann, erklärte der japanische Regierungssprecher Okasaki. Der zuversichtliche Ton von deutscher Seite und die in scharfen Gegensatz dazu stehende Unsicherheit der bisherigen feindlichen Stimmen unterstreiche, wie die Aussichten beurteilt werden könnten.