By Times Chronicle Staff
On the eve of D-Day, the first day of the invasion of Normandy, the June 6, 1944 order of the day was issued by Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force General Dwight D. Eisenhower to the 175,000 members of the Allied forces.
The message was intended to impress upon the troops the importance of their mission which Eisenhower called a “Great Crusade.” Eisenhower also recorded a spoken version that was broadcast on British and American radio on D-Day.
The invasion of Normandy was a significant moment in the Second World War with a British, American and Canadian Allied Expeditionary Force landing in northern France on June 6, 1944, to begin the liberation of Western Europe from Nazi Germany.
Canadians landed at Juno Beach which was the Allied code name for a 10 km stretch of French coastline on D-Day. More than 14,000 Canadian soldiers landed or parachuted into France on D-Day.
The Royal Canadian Navy contributed 110 warships and 10,000 sailors while the RCAF contributed 15 fighter and fighter-bomber squadrons to the assault. There were 1,074 Canadian casualties, including 359 killed.
A printed version of General Dwight D. Eisenhower’s “order of the day,” distributed to members of the Allied Expeditionary Force on June 6, 1944. The Royal Canadian Legion Osoyoos furnished the Times Chronicle with an original copy which we reproduced here.
