D-Day Landings - 6th June 1944

In the last of a series of three videos, Deputy Chief Meteorologist Chris Tubbs uses original weather charts for the day of the invasion, Tuesday the 6th of June. He shows how there were brisk, north westerly winds coming across the country. However some shelter from the wind and waves was provided in the Channel, enabling the allied, invasion troops to land successfully in Normandy. Any later in the month and they would have lost that opportunity. Showing original footage of the landings, courtesy of the Imperial War Museum, Chris explains how the weather was the biggest unknown factor for the military command and could have changed everything. Later, Stagg wrote on the bottom of an official report to Eisenhower that had Neptune been delayed until the next suitable tides the troops would have met the worst Channel weather for 20 years. Eisenhower wrote across the bottom of the memo: "Thanks, and thank the Gods of war we went when we did."