Reference no: EM133310998

Setting: World War II had many battle fronts scattered around the world. One of the most epic and harshest battlefronts was the east European lines where the Soviet Union had been engaged in a life or death struggle against the Nazi war machine since 1941. Once the U.S. became fully committed to the war against Germany in 1942, a plan was eventually proposed to use England as a staging ground to invade Nazi held western Europe and then subsequently squeeze the Germans from two fronts. A cross-Channel attack (amphibious invasion) is a risky endeavor because Adolf Hitler knew this invasion would eventually take place so he built what he called his "Atlantic Wall," which consisted of various defensive fortifications on the likely landing sites from southern France to Norway. The Supreme Commander of Allied forces, American General Dwight Eisenhower is in charge of this massive undertaking. The chain smoking Eisenhower spends over a year attempting to plan every aspect of the Operation (code name: Overlord) to ensure victory but at the same time, minimize unnecessary casualties.

The gravity of the outcome of the impending invasion is immense. If it succeeds then it will prove to be the beginning of the end of Nazi, Germany, but if it fails then Germany may win the war. After accounting for every imaginable detail, Eisenhower gave the greenlight to go, and this order sends 4,000 invasion ships, 600 warships, 10,000 aircraft, and more than 175,000 Anglo-American led troops into Normandy, France.

On June 6, 1944, the effort to liberate the continent of Europe has begun.

Your assignment: Proceed to the link below and review the "Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force" (D-Day Order of the Day). Just scroll down a bit and it is the image to the right. This letter was personally written by Eisenhower, and it was issued to every Allied serviceman before they embarked in the assault. Many veterans of D-Day (as this operation becomes known as) still have this letter. Please review the letter and comment on the quality of the words used in terms of the magnitude of the moment. Eisenhower is sending thousands of troops into harms way (5,000 killed, wounded, missing). Do you think this letter inspired soldiers heading off into battle, with their future uncertain? Do you think the letter captures the historic importance of the moment?

Also assign it a score from one to ten (1 being not good to 10 being excellent....Martin Luther King's speech, "I Have a Dream" and the "Gettysburg Address" would be a ten). Justify your scaled number.