Eisenhower and SHAEF Commanders Review D-Day Weather, Bombing Plans, and Civilian Warnings Four Days Before the Normandy Invasion (1944)

Date: June 2, 1944

Created By: J.E. Reid

Original or Replica: Original

Era: D-Day and the Normandy Invasion, The General

Collection: Eisenhower Presidential Library

Citations: DDE’s Pre-Presidential Papers, Box 136, Conferences Supreme Commanders (Jan-June 1944); NAID #12004923

These top-secret minutes record the 21st meeting of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) on June 2, 1944, just four days before the D-Day invasion of Normandy. Chaired by General Dwight D. Eisenhower, the meeting brought together senior Allied commanders to consider several critical issues affecting the coming invasion. Much of the discussion centered on the weather forecast and its potential impact on naval and air operations. Eisenhower directed that preparations continue and scheduled another meeting that evening for further examination of the forecast.

The commanders also reviewed plans for Allied bombing on D-Day and the days afterward. Air Chief Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory described plans to bomb transportation routes through French towns and villages to slow German reinforcements moving toward the invasion area. Recognizing the danger to civilians, commanders discussed warning French residents through leaflets while avoiding disclosures that might compromise the invasion. Eisenhower approved the bombing as an operational necessity for helping ground forces establish a secure foothold. The meeting also addressed psychological warfare efforts to provide appropriate warning leaflets. The minutes offer a revealing look at the difficult military and humanitarian decisions Eisenhower and his commanders confronted immediately before D-Day, particularly the balance between operational necessity, secrecy, weather conditions, and the risk of French civilian casualties.