[June 6, 2023] Codenamed Operation Overlord, the invasion of German-occupied France had long been coming. Success was an outgrowth of the many leadership lessons from the failures at Dunkirk and other battlefields. Those lessons were hard-earned and cost the lives of tens of thousands of military and civilians. Yet, what did the military and civilian leadership gain from those earlier hard-fought battles? Were they able to apply those lessons on D-Day, June 6, 1944?
“History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower
Here are some lessons leading up to D-Day. Those lessons helped ensure its victory.
- Recognize that evil in the world is real and must be combated as early as possible
- Create and maintain a shared, cooperative vision among political and military leaders
- Recognize the complexity and massiveness of the many decisions are necessary to win
- Be optimistic, build and sustain the morale of the civilian population and military forces
- Understand the differences, limitations, and sensitivities of Allied Forces
- Apply commonsense, proven solutions to everyday problems but be creative and encourage innovative solutions to new crises
- Expect the unexpected, always be ready, and anticipate the enemy’s next move
- Victory and the fight against evil will not be cheap
It is difficult for us, sitting in our comfortable chairs sipping on a glass of iced tea on a warm Spring Day, to gain an appreciation of the circumstances that our forces fought under at Normandy. The sheer destructiveness unleashed the death and injury, the heroic and sometimes cowardly acts, all combined into a single point at Normandy on that particular day, just 79 years ago.
For those there and for those that supported the effort to stem the evil tide of German Nazism, Italian Fascism, and Japanese Imperialism, we thank you. Success was achieved because Allied leaders could apply the hard lessons learned from previous battles.
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Please read my books:
“Free people everywhere should remember them”: the Canadians’ role in D-Day
https://www.historyextra.com/period/second-world-war/canadian-canada-d-day-ww2-allies-contribution-effort-juno-beach/
Of the nearly 150,000 Allied troops who landed or parachuted into Normandy on 6 June 1944 as part of Operation Overlord, 14,000 were from Canadian forces.
Right, never ever forget your allies. 🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦
Thanks Gen. Satterfield for keeping your blog going now for almost 10 years. Very valuable to me.
Evil then was Nazi Germany and Imperialistic Japan (Fascist Italy was just an afterthought). But Evil does not go away. Today it is Russia, Communism, gender ideology, and Satan worshipers.
We kicked ass that day.
Excellent. Remember D-Day. For all the snowflakes out there who think they are somehow oppressed, meet some real MEN, those that were at D-Day. The snowflakes are pitiful in every way. They wiggle among the lowest of worms in our society.
Kerry, please don’t insult the worms by mentioning the Snowflake generation in the same sentence. 😎
Over at NRO Eric Hogan recalls “The angels of Omaha” with a focus on the heroics of Captain Joseph Dawson, Lieutenant John Spalding, and Sergeant Philip Streczyk at Omaha Beach 79 years ago today. “At the western end of Omaha,” he writes, “the first wave of soldiers was all but wiped out, barely able to shoot back against the Germans. Succeeding waves piled up on the sea wall. Chaos reigned. The Americans were paralyzed, unable to mount an attack against the German defenders.”
https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/06/the-angels-of-omaha/
Good article, read it.
Thank you Gen. Satterfield. My grandfather was in WWII, 90th Infantry Division. Good to see that are recognizing the lessons of this war.
D-Day, the greatest day in recorded history.
Yep, and good to see that Gen. Satterfield is giving us some wise words for today. Any of these would be valuable on any day at any time and place. Gen. S. is on top of those things that make us who we are and is able to sort thru the chaff to determine those behaviors and thoughts that make us even better, even if we don’t want to be better (because it is hard). Wonderful website that needs to be more popular.
Nailed it Max. Thanks. Great website. Long-time fan of Gen. Satterfield.
Except for when Christ rose from the dead, I agree.
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Hard to believe but WWII is now more than 75 years in the past. The beginning of the end of Nazi Germany was June 6, 1944, D-Day, the greatest invasion ever undertaken by man. God Bless our vets.
Good to hear from you Army Vet and thanks for the note.
Great to hear from you Gen. Satterfield. A very respectful article.