You Are There… Graphic History Series.
Historical Backdrop
In June 1944, the Allied forces were preparing for the largest seaborne invasion in history — Operation Overlord, the assault on Nazi-occupied France. Our subject is General Dwight D. “Ike” Eisenhower, a 53-year-old Kansan, served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force. He commanded nearly 3 million troops from a dozen nations. The invasion needed exact tides, a full moon, and calm weather — conditions that occurred only a few days each month. A storm forced Ike to postpone the June 5 launch by 24 hours. On the night of June 4–5, in a small library at Southwick House, with rain lashing the windows, Eisenhower made the loneliest decision of the war: “OK, let’s go.” He then wrote a note accepting full blame if the invasion failed — and slipped it into his wallet. June 6 would test him like no other day.
June 6, 1944 — 3:30 AM — Eisenhower’s personal trailer (”My Circus Wagon”), Sharpener Camp near Southwick House, Portsmouth, England
You wake up to a gale-force wind rattling your trailer windows, knowing 156,000 men are waiting for your word. You stub out a Camel cigarette in an overflowing brass ashtray and rub your eyes, the fluorescent reading lamp humming above your bunk. Rain hammers the trailer’s metal roof. You’ve barely slept. The radio crackles softly with BBC weather. You reach for the silver coffee thermos on the small fold-down desk, pour a cup, and stare at the Western Union telegram pad where you scribbled hours ago: “Our landings have failed... the troops, the air and the Navy did all that bravery could do. If any blame attaches it is mine alone.” You fold the note carefully and slip it into your brown leather wallet.
June 6, 1944 — 4:15 AM — Map Room, Southwick House, Portsmouth, England
You walk briskly across the gravel drive in the drizzle, pulling open the heavy oak door of Southwick House. Inside, the air smells of pipe tobacco, wet wool, and stale tea. The enormous floor-to-ceiling map of the English Channel covers one wall, dotted with colored ship markers showing 6,939 Allied vessels crossing the dark water toward Normandy. British WRNS officers in navy uniforms move ladders, shifting tiny model ships. Admiral Bertram Ramsay nods to you. You light another Camel and watch the markers creep south. The paratroopers should be landing now.
June 6, 1944 — 6:32 AM — Outside Southwick House, gravel courtyard
