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When commanders and leaders of the Allied Forces first touched the
ground in Normandy, coming in by gliders, parachuted in the
dark or hitting the beaches on D-Day, the faith of Europe soley
depended on the ability of those men to reach their objectives and
then carry out their individual assignments succesfully. Their odds
were far from in favor and they would confront a well equipped,
experienced and top-trained opponent. In contradiction to the
enemy opponent they possessed a great advantage: OB West, the
German supreme commander in the west, the German army group and
division commanders would have to obtain Hitler's permission, when
reorganizing defensive positions of the Atlantic Wall or tactical
redeployment of units became urgent. General Eisenhower, the supreme
commander of the Allied Forces, had no 'need for permission' when the
Allied invasion fleet set out for the Calvados coast in Normandy, in
the early hours of June 6. It was his decision, and his alone, to
launch the biggest invasion in history - or to prospone it if
neccessary. And just like their suppreme commander, any commanding
officer of the Allied Expeditionary Forces would have to make his
decisions, based on his own common sense, his intuition and his
ability to act. |
