Eisenhower’s D-Day Order of the Day to Allied Forces Before the Normandy Invasion, June 6, 1944

Date: June 6, 1944

Created By: Dwight D. Eisenhower

Original or Replica: Original

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

Collection: Eisenhower Presidential Library

Citations: Museum Manuscripts transferred to the Library FY69, Box 1; NAID #12000995

This June 6, 1944 Order of the Day from General Dwight D. Eisenhower addresses the soldiers, sailors, and airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force as they prepared to launch the D-Day invasion of Normandy. Eisenhower describes their mission as a “Great Crusade” toward which the Allies had worked for months. He explains that their objectives were to destroy the German war machine, eliminate Nazi tyranny over occupied Europe, and help secure freedom in the world.

Eisenhower does not minimize the danger facing the invasion force. He warns that the German military remained well trained, well equipped, battle-hardened, and prepared to fight fiercely. At the same time, he emphasizes how dramatically the war had changed since Germany’s victories of 1940–1941. Allied forces had inflicted major defeats on Germany, weakened the Luftwaffe through sustained air attacks, and accumulated overwhelming advantages in weapons, supplies, and trained personnel. Eisenhower assures the troops that the momentum of the war had shifted toward the Allies and expresses complete confidence in their courage, devotion to duty, and skill in battle. He concludes by wishing them good luck and asking for God’s blessing upon the invasion. The document captures Eisenhower’s effort to inspire Allied forces immediately before one of World War II’s most consequential military operations.