There is a feeling of confidence at this headquarters to-night. No one imagines that the supreme battle which began on the beaches of Normandy early this morning will be won by the Allies without bitter fighting against a determined and desperate enemy, but there is a general sense that the ╥first hurdles╙ of invasion of the European Continent have been successfully surmounted.
It has been a day of surprises ╤ and the first surprise is that to-day should have been ╥invasion day╙ at all. For it can now be said that the operation which has been carried out was originally planned for yesterday. It was postponed on account of the weather.
When the time came for the decision to be made ╤ ╥We shall invade╙ ╤ there were clear skies and abundant promises of fine weather to come; but meteorological experts warned General Elsenhower╒s staff that the weather would change. This advice was heeded. Twenty-four hours later, when current weather seemed unsettled, the meteorologists forecast that to-day would be suitable. The supreme commander had then to decide whether he would trust the forecast or order a further postponement of the operation. He decided to trust the forecast. And so to-day the invasion began.
MINESWEEPERS╒ TASK
Weather conditions to-day in the Channel and over the French coast have not been ideal, but they have served. Throughout the night minesweepers carried out the essential first task of clearing and marking mine-free lanes, and in spite of a choppy sea and the necessity of working through a change of tide ╤ their work had to be done in one night ╤ they accomplished their task magnificently. It was the biggest, the most important and in many ways the most difficult minesweeping task in naval history, but these ╥little ships╙ cleared the way for the great armada of more than 4,000 ships that followed.
In view of the extreme importance to the German High Command of repelling our invasion it was expected that mastery of the air over the coast would be fiercely contested, but so far this contest has not occurred and Allied mastery is supreme and unchallenged. This morning some of our own fighters swept some seventy-five miles inland from the beaches to seek out German fighters ╤ but they did not find them.
Operations with air-borne troops have been taking place throughout the day on a very large scale and are believed to have been carried out with great precision. It is too early yet for reports from the ground to have come through, but it is known that casualties to aircraft taking part in these operations have been happily light.
Some idea of the scale upon which Allied air operations have been taking place can be gathered from the fact that between midnight last night and breakfast-time this morning something like 31,000 Allied airmen were in the air over France. This figure does not include air-borne troops.
NAZI DEFENCE SYSTEM
Although certain coastal areas are heavily defended, these defences do not seem to be in any great depth, and it would appear that the Germans have concentrated their defence on the beaches.
Nothing at this stage should be allowed to give any impression that our landing operations to-day were easy; but it can be said that in some ways the German defences so far have not in fact proved quite so formidable as the planners of the operations had expected. The Allied naval and air forces have been magnificent in attacking heavy coastal guns which were menacing the landing parties. One American battleship went much closer in to the coast than had ever been intended to silence with her own heavy guns a particular Germany battery.
