"The Longest Day"

“The first twenty-four hours of the invasion will be decisive….the fate of Germany depends on the outcome…..for the Allies, as well as Germany, it will be the Longest Day"

-Erwin Rommel on April 22, 1944 (pictured, to the right)

Often in history, victory and defeat will hinge on a few critical hours. These hours can ensure victory, or seal defeat. At perhaps no other time is this more evident than the events of June 6^th 1944, better known as Operation Overlord, or the D-Day landings. The defeat of the Nazi regime in Europe was sealed by hundreds of thousands of men; men from every walk of life, who came together to do something extraordinary - something that will likely never be equalled in our lifetime.

This quote; told to the author, Cornelius Ryan, by Field Marshall Erwin Rommel’s former aide Captain Hellmuth Lang, is where the book get’s its name from. Once the famed “Desert Fox” who lead the Wehrrmacht in a string of victories across North Africa, Rommel is now in charge of defending occupied Western Europe from Allied invaders. Rommel, a student of history as well as a skilled tactician, is acutely aware that any invasion must be halted before the enemy can take a foothold. He believes that there is “only one chance to stop the enemy and that’s while he’s in the water” (Pg 27). Henceforth began the fortification of the coast, the maze of bunkers, trenches and dug in artillery – the things which were to soon become synonymous with any invasion. No longer in the Second World War, would an invading force be permitted a relatively unobstructed amphibious assault. The date of the invasion – yet unknown to Rommel and his commanders – was truly to become the longest day; and the one which sealed the defeat of Hitler’s regime.

This quote provides an excellent prelude to the book itself, as it is a rather foreboding outlook by Erwin Rommel, the man on whom the future of Europe hinged. Knowing the outcome of the battle, it carries even more weight, and makes you think about what could have been if the Field Marshall had his way and had not been limited by his own commanders.

Through this quote and the next two, I hope to give everyone a good feel of what the book is like, and a rough idea of how things progressed that day. This quote provides a view of the situation before the battle (feverish preparations), the next deals with the start of the landings (confusion for the Germans, optimism from the allies), and the last offers closure on the situation (Germans routed, in disoriented retreat).