The Greatest Deception of All Time: Britain, Ultra, and D-Day
occurred: June 5, 6, and 7. [14] It was imperative that the weather was good on at least one of these days. Otherwise, the invasion would have to have been delayed until the end of June or the beginning of July. By this tie, it probably would have been too late, as the Germans would have been better fortified. Thus the invasion had to take place in June, at the very latest, if it were to be assured a reasonable chance of success.
A massive Atlantic storm beginning on June 4 forced D-Day's postponement. [15] It appeared that the weather would prevent the landings from taking place. On the next day, however, a short break in the weather pattern emerged, leading Eisenhower to give the go-ahead for D-Day. [16] The Germans were unaware of this break; all they saw was the bad weather hitting the shores of Normandy. This ignorance was fatal to the Germans, as the Allies were able to land in almost total surprise.
Ultra was just as significant in the fighting afer the landings on June 6 as before. By the time of the Normandy invasion, Bletchey Park was reading Enigma extensively and in "real time." [17] The Allied generals were provided every conceivable piece of information about the Germans; their military command structures, the identity and operational strength of divisions being sent to Normandy, and German strategy. [18]
In the first week of the invasion, Ultra was of crucial importance. As the Allies struggled to advance beyond their beachheads, they were aware that the Germans were suffering from acute fuel shortages. [19] This encouraged them to launch immediate offensives after their beaches became secured. These offensives, although costly, managed within two weeks to conquer the French port of Cherbourg and the entirety of the Cotentin peninsula. [20] Even after one of the worst storms ever to hit Western Europe hit in late June, the Allies became entrenched enough to avoid being driven "into the sea." [21]
It is at this point that Hitler lost the war. The Germans were forced to fight a two-front war again (three with Italy). This had proved disastrous during the First World War, and it proved to be again during the Second as well. This was realized by some in the German military who started to display defeatist attitudes. The assassination attempt on June 20, 1944, against Hitler was a natural outgrowth of these attitudes. [22]
By the
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