Intelligence Success Case Study: D-Day or Operation Overload

In the mention of the term ‘D-Day,’ every historian remembers June 1944 when German troops faced the Allies (Canada, U.s and Britain). The battle happened from June that year to August and resulted in the liberation of Western Europe from the Nazi German’s control. During this period, the Canadian and British forces covered five beaches that were located along a 50-mile stretch of the Normandy, France coastline. The invasion is actually ranked as one of the largest in human existence, and extensive planning was the determining factor of victory. Before D-Day, the Allies decided to mislead Germans about the venue of the attack by conducting a large-scale deception campaign. By late August, the d and the Germans had been defeated by the Allies, and northern France was liberated. The battle at Normandy commenced after World War II and marked the end of the War in Europe and most parts of the world.

The preparation of D-Day was the initial step, and high intelligence was required then, followed by the size of troops as well as how efficient the technology was. In May 1940, not long after the end of WW II, Germany invaded northwestern France and evacuated the British and Americans who occupied the beaches. In 1943, Americans and the British were planning how to invade the coasts, and Adolf Hitler was aware and knew it would be a threat. Hitler appointed Erwin Rommel to lead the defense operations of the region despite the unclear perception the region's allies would attack. Prior to D-Day, a massive deception attack operation was conducted at Pas-de-Calais, which was a narrow channel between France and Britain rather than Normandy. Individuals who would be sent to the trick station would be sacrificed for the bigger plan to work on taking control of the coastline. The assault was a disaster where 3 378 men were killed and some taken as prisoners.

The attack at Pas-de-Calais was done to accomplish some short term goals that would be of paramount importance in the future. The Allies wanted to confuse Germans and destabilize them mentally to create panic. They would probably have focused all their energy on the English Channel or Pas-de-Calais just to get ambushed from the Normandy region. In another argument from the planners, Germans wouldn’t be sure the next geographical location allies would attack, creating panic. If they divided the troops into regions they predicted, then it meant that the German military at each station was weak. The plan made Germans believe that Norway, alongside other points, had the potential for invasion. During the Pas-de-Calais, several other tricks were used. One example was fake equipment to test the defence reaction of the Germans. Thus, by studying the test, allies would be better positioned following the coming attack.

There were special reasons why the Allies chose Normandy and not any other beach located on the coastline of France. One reason was that the Brittany coasts were far away from England. In Holland, the lands were flooded and it was not possible to set a bridge ahead. Belgian was also not a good strategic position in that currents along the route were too strong and dangerous for the troop. Norman beaches were sandy and some points were featured with pebbles. It was located near western England, thus, the most convenient place for soldiers to train. Another reason is that the beach extending to the Basque coast was surrounded by Atlantic walls, barbed wire, machine guns, and minefields. Furthermore, Germans would have least expected an attack by allies at this point. Failing to pay close attention sounded like a weakness on Allie’s side. Thus, facilitating an attack at this point meant absolute victory.

The war's progress from analysis perception was a total victory for the Allies. On June 5, 1994, an attack kicked off under the command of Eisenhower, which was delayed after a weather issue projected by meteorologists on the previous day. He ordered the troops to go ahead with the operation and told them that the world was watching. More than 5,000 ships and 11,000 aircraft left that early morning for France. On the 6th, thousands of glider troops and paratroopers were on the ground, securing exit roads and bridges. Canadian and British armies managed to defeat light opposition and captured beaches named Juno, Gold, and Sword. Americans captured Utah Beach. At Omaha Beach, there was heavy resistance where over 2,000 Americans died and some were wounded. By June 11, all beaches were secured, and more than 50,000 vehicles, 326,000 troops, and 100,000 tons of equipment were at Normandy.

In the coming weeks, the Allies penetrated the Normandy countryside, where German resistance was strong, and the landscape was dense with hedgerows and marshes. By the end of August, the Allies had reached the Seine River, Paris, and the Germans evacuated. The Normandy invasion liberated France and ended Hitler’s plans to build up the eastern front in combat against the Soviets.

Intelligence

Without a doubt, high intelligence was required to achieve victory since technological advancement was on both opponents' sides. First and foremost, the Allies changed and altered the focus of Germans. They did so by invading the English Channel or Pas-de-Calais with fake equipment. This was meant to confuse the Germans that the region was the attack point and needed to bring their troops to the region. Fake equipment indicated that a long battle was waiting ahead. Minimal focus became a weakness, and the Germans panicked, not knowing the next area to be hit. They had to predict and if they got wrong, it took a long time to bring in the forces when enemies have occupied and ready waiting.

Double agent was an intelligence strategy employed. British hired a Spanish businessman as a spy on German political matters. The British spy, Pujol Garcia, German recruited him as an agent where he was codenamed as ARABEL. They found him useful in that he travelled to Britain for business. Through his own initiative, he started sending false information about British troops to German intelligence handlers. He worked with Harris where the two were very productive from their genius plans against Germans.

What Went Wrong/Right

For Germans, something went wrong and definitely resulted in a defeat. Their leadership was in chaos during the war moment as they faced the confusion of ranks as well as the absence of commander Rommel, according to sources, was away for a leave. The absence of a leader in any group means delays, confusion, and a lack of plan. The military was not aware of the command to follow, and equipment was not even well distributed. The delegation of power by Hitler was poor as he did not consider a substitute in the absence of Rommel.

On the other hand, something went wrong for allies at Omaha Beach. Success was not felt at this point over the deaths and destruction caused to the Americans on this part of the war. Careful planning, months of training, and specially designed vehicles could not have saved the situation. Intense naval bombardment was unable to destroy German emplacement, and the planes dropped over 13,000 bombs but missed all the targets. The amphibious tanks could not make it at Omaha since vehicles were never tested on high seas. There were those launched to travel along the seas but sank in minutes, and tanks not making it were quickly destroyed.

On the contrary, some plans went right for the Allies. After the fooling attack at the Pas-de-Calais, Germans thought that Normandy One was a trick too and that allies were planning to attack north of the Seine River. As a result, Hitler refused to release the nearby divisions to join a counterattack and had calls from further fields. Adolf Hitler was also hesitant to command armored divisions to assist in keeping the defense, resulting in delays. Allies saw this as a weakness and were very quick to take out key bridges and German troops had to take long detours.

Lesson Learned

First and foremost, leadership is an essential lesson any person from any decorum would learn from the battle. One party won from a cohesive leadership whereas the other one lost due to coordination chaos. Prudence is seen as a skill any leader should have or learn. It involves understanding the limit of their achievement and having humility and discipline to avoid a rush action. After WW II, Americans and Britain had accessed the strength of Nazi troops and had to take a three years plan and training to liberate Europe by fighting the enemy. Additionally, Commander Gen D. Eisenhower demonstrated interpersonal skills that brought together the most diverse military alliance in history. There was the unity of command that eluded the American military in the Pacific, where Douglas MacArthur executed a different strategic vision from U.S. Navy admirals. On the contrary, the Germans lost the battle due to poor leadership. During the war date, Rommel was on leave, and there was no one to give a command. Besides, Adolf Hitler delayed calling division troops to counterattack the Normandy attack.

Another thing to learn is that innovations must be tested before a battle. In business, innovation is crucial in meeting the requirements of new customers but has to be rigorously tested so that they don’t disappoint at the moment of truth. During the date of the invasion, great new ideas were suggested, but most failed terribly. Paratroopers were asked to take extra ammunition in a famous tactic, ‘leg bag,’ but the weapons ripped off in the strong winds on jumping from the aircraft. Besides, at Omaha Beach, vehicles were never tested on the high seas and sunk after trying.

Lastly, D-Day taught business people that achieving success or goals is more important than how to accomplish them. The parachutes were supposed to land on specific bridges and roads that were to be destroyed. However, the actual day was disastrous, as they misjudged and landed in scattered places on French soil. They united and stormed the targets without any blame or regret that the original plan had not worked.

What could have been done be

At Omaha Beach, the large casualties would not have occurred if only the pilots had reacted accordingly to the weather conditions. They should have fled the aircraft low in order to identify key defense sites and weaken them by bombing. Instead, the aircraft flew 20 k feet above the dense clouds and could not see clearly the positions of the German military base. As a result, they bombed nearby farmland. Germans reacted aggressively and massacred the thousands of armies, some badly wounded and others drowned. Awareness of the weather conditions would have saved the situation.

As discussed above, the Allies should have tested their innovations prior to the reality. At the Omaha beach, most men had no weapons. They had lost them while parachuting in a new idea popularly known as ‘led bag.’ The lack of a working weapon led to some fleeing into the sea and getting drowned. Also, there was no one to guide them along the terrain and minefields where traps were set. At some strategic points, there were German armies waiting for them, and it was hard to overcome the traps. Lastly, communication should have been better to request assist. They had no working radios to call for help.

In the current military missions, small groups are preferred to execute a risky mission to minimize casualties. This is evident in the killing of Gadhafi, Osama bin Laden, and other terrorists despite the local defense awareness. At Omaha Beach, the Allies should have sent a small group to study the terrains and possible traps. In case they were overpowered by the enemies, radios should have been used to request assistance.

Bibliography

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Radio covers D-Day, June 6, 1944. 2004. Glenview, Ill: Audio file.

Rice, Earle. 2002. Normandy. Philadelphia: Chelsea House.