Operation Overlord, otherwise known as the D-Day invasion, was planned out far before the actual invasion took place. This means that, unlike Pearl Harbor, American news media had time to prepare for the reporting of the event and was not caught off guard when the attack finally commenced. In 1944, radio remained the fastest way to inform the public of when D-Day had begun and all around the world, citizens of the allied nations waited breathlessly for the broadcast that the liberation of France had begun, for to them, this would mean the end of the war was soon to come. Radio’s role in D-Day does not begin on June 6th (the day of the actual invasion) however, it begins on the 3rd of June. At 4:39 p.m. eastern war time, as many Americans were …show more content…
tuned into the live radio broadcast of the Belmont Stakes, the radio broadcast was interrupted by breaking news. Soon the voice of a CBS reporter was heard, citing that the associated press had issued the statement that the allied invasion of Normandy had begun. Before the live play by play of the popular horse raced continued though, the reporter reminded his listeners that this claim had not yet been verified and urged them to stay tuned for a confirmation. It only took three minutes for the associated press to correct their mistake and CBS soon passed that information on to their listeners, the report of D-Day beginning was a mistake. A rookie associated press typist by the name of Joan Ellis had accidently pressed a wrong button on her teletype transmitter, releasing the pre-planned breaking news report into the world media. Because the beaches soon to be filled with the dogs of war faced England, the world looked towards the Associated Press’s London bureau for the report that the invasion had begun, precisely where Joan Ellis was employed. Even though the Associated Press was quick to correct Ellis’s mistake, they did not correct it quick enough. By the time CBS confirmed that the report was an accident, NBC and the Mutual Broadcasting System had repeated the report to their listeners and the hoax swept the nation. Millions of listeners were shocked and excited by the relayed falsehood that was reported by over 500 radio stations, far more than the number of Americans who were tuned into the War of the Worlds broadcast. Meanwhile, two baseball teams, the Giants and the Pirates were playing a game in New York City. When the broadcast reached the stadium the game was paused. The announcer informed the crowd that D-Day had begun and after the powerful cheers subsided, asked for a moment of silent prayer. Even though this slip up from the Associated press was soon forgotten once the actual attack began three days later, it still goes to show the power radio had over the hearts and minds of the American people in these days of uncertainty and suspense.[1] “The biggest news story since creation is being reported in split seconds.
Radio really found itself on D-Day.” – Broadcasting Magazine. For radio media, D-Day was an opportunity to show the American people its stripes. For the people, the next day’s paper headline of the invasion wasn’t good enough, they needed to hear the latest news, the fastest and radio was the media for the job, and they were certainly prepared. Perhaps the first sign to the American people that the attack had begun was unnoticed in the form of a slight alteration to the well-known NBC chime. Instead of the usual G-E-C note chime, a slightly altered chime was playing in the notes G-E-C-C. This was a signal to network personnel to call their offices immediately, all they had prepared for was about to begin. This chime was heard early in the morning of June 6th, 1944 when Germany’s Trans-Ocean News Service reported that the invasion had begun, citing paratroop landings and bombardment along the northern coastal areas of France as their indication. Radio newsman however were careful in their reporting of this updating over the airwaves, making sure that their audiences were aware that the report came from a German source and it had not yet been verified by the war department. The networks had not forgotten about the false report that was widespread just a few days ago and were always weary of Nazi propaganda aimed at confusing the allies. This was an instance of a break in the usual attitude of the
media to always be the first network to crack the story or provide the most instant updates to their listeners. The fate of Europe was on the line and the radio media felt the need to get it right rather than first. To quote the CBS news chief, Paul White, “Remember, winning the war is a hell of a lot more important than reporting it.” This was spoken to his staff shortly before D-Day was too begin. Less than an hour after the initial reports from the German source, residents of coastal Europe began moving inland but avoiding main roads in response to a warning that came from the BBC. While this was happening German media sources began reporting the bombardment of LeHavre. Still, there was no confirmation from the US government that the invasion had begun until approximately three hours after the German report. Finally, General Eisenhower’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force posted in Great Britain released the confirmation at 3:33 a.m. in the form of shortwave radio that Operation Overlord had indeed begun. Both NBC and CBS broadcasted live for over twenty-four hours, covering the attack and every second of the broadcasting is still available today.
It wasn’t just when the news was delivered but also how it was delivered. It had an influence because of the great personalities of Dick Smyth, Lee Marshall, Grant Hudson and others who dramatically and entertainingly delivered the news. They reported the news “dramatically” and with the “same energy as disk jockeys had snappy writing with alliterations, and a lot of short sound bites.” They were deejays without music. This dynamic combination of news reporting made for an amusing news report; that not only captured the audience, but also kept them tuning in.
It was 1944, and the United States had now been an active participant in the war against Nazi Germany for almost three and a half years, nearly six years for the British. During that period occurred a string of engagements fought with ferocious determination and intensity on both sides. There is however, one day which stands out in the minds of many American servicemen more often than others. June 6, 1944, D-Day, was a day in which thousands of young American boys, who poured onto the beaches of Utah and Omaha, became men faster than they would have ever imagined possible. Little did they know of the chaos and the hell which awaited them on their arrival. Over the course of a few hours, the visions of Omaha and Utah Beaches, and the death and destruction accompanied with them formed a permanent fixation in the minds of the American Invaders. The Allied invasion of Europe began on the 6th of June 1944, and the American assault on Utah and Omaha beaches on this day played a critical role in the overall success of the operation. (Astor 352)
The media became alerted to the troop movement in both Panama and Fort Bragg and broadcasted to the public that the troops were likely headed to Panama. Although this OPSEC was practiced and enforced by the unit’s, the command could not force nor control the families of the deployed members from buzzing about their quick departure. The PDF was tipped off about the impending invasion. US Communications were also intercepted. “The commander of the 8th Infantry Company at Fort Espinar was told the ball ga...
Operational leaders see how the individual components of an organization fit together and use those individuals work to make a larger outcome. When they focus on a problem, they think of what works best within the process and systems to make an impact on the situation. These types of leaders play a big part in making sure that things get done in an effective and functioning manner. According to the Army Doctrine ADP 6-0, the Army over time has strayed away from operational leaders and adapted Mission Command, which gives leaders the ability at the lowest level the capability to exercise disciplined initiative in an act of carrying out the larger mission . Mission Command is made up of the following six steps: Understanding, Visualize, Describe, Direct, Lead and Assess, in which a commander is responsible for. General Patton understood the intent of the Battle of the Bulge on different levels, he was able to form a mental image for the course of actions for the allies, enemies and lead his Army into combat while guiding his officers and soldiers to succeed in meeting his intent. The Battle of the Bulge is where General Patton gained one of his greatest military achievements by using his tactical leadership and logistical genius, which in return helped him turn around the main forces and forced the Germans to drive back in their final counter-offensive. General Patton strongly exercised Mission Command by understanding, visualizing, leading, and commanding what was known as the largest and bloodiest battle during World War II.
Although Operation Overlord was a successful invasion, the leaders did a poor job in planning and losses were heavier than they needed to be. In the combining of strong American, British, and Canadian armies, the control of leadership became a problem at D-Day and affected the major decisions made for battles. One of the reasons for so many fatalities of Americans during D-Day was due to the lack of preparations and planning while using new boats and tanks in the treacherous waters. Another problem occurred during the use of the airplane bombings, and the affects that it has on the rest of the battle. The execution of Operation Overlord demonstrates poor planning through the struggles of the leadership control, through lack of preparation for the tides of the seas, and the allied forces’ poorly planned aerial attacks.
The Media Techniques Used to Produce D-day Landing on the Saving Private Ryan and The Longest Day
Have you ever been a part of something big? Maybe a it was a big game or
The Battle of Normandy was a turning point in World War II. Canada, America, and Great Britain arrived at the beaches of Normandy and their main objective was to push the Nazi’s out of France. The Invasion at Normandy by the Allied Powers winning this battle lead to the liberation of France and Western Europe. Most importantly Hitler’s was being attacked from both the eastern and western front, and caused him to lose power. If the Allied Powers did not succeed in D-Day Hitler would’ve taken over all of Europe.In a document written by General Dwight Eisenhower he persuades the allied powers to invade Normandy. Dwight Eisenhower was born on October 14, 1890. Eisenhower became the 34th president of the United States. He served as the president from January 20, 1953 through January 20, 1961. Before his presidency Dwight participated in World War I and was moved up to captain. Dwight would then take part in World War II and work his way up to becoming a General.
With World War II lasting six years, there were many battles that had taken place. Three major events that are famous from this war are D-day, Pearl Harbor and Battle of Iwo Jima. D-day, which is where Saving Private Ryan begins, is known as the largest amphibious attack in history. Before the attack could take place though there was a lot of planning done. In months before the attack, General Dwight Eisenhower led allies in an operation to make Germany believe that their main target of invasion was Pas-de-Calais, along with a few other locations. The operation that led Germany to believe this was carried out by fake equipment, a phantom army located in England, counterfeit radio transmissions, and double agents. Once Eisenhower knew Germany was mislead, he led the troops into battle. This attack began with British, American, and Canadian forces landing on five different beaches all along the coast of Normandy on June 6, 1944. By the end of the first day approximately 156,000 al...
The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor is a day that will remain infamous in the history of America. Although people know about the attack and remember it, they might not know as in-depth as Walter Lord narrates in his book Day of Infamy. Lord’s Day of Infamy is a vivid recounting of the events that occurred on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Lord articulates the story of Pearl Harbor, not only the actual bombing but also the planning involved on behalf of the Japanese and the aftermath associated with the bombing. Day of Infamy narrates all of the events in Pearl Harbor in a very concise 200 pages and it gives an hour by hour narration of what was occurring. The timeframe for his unfolding of the story is from 3:30 am on December 7, 1941 to 5:30 pm that same evening. At 3:30 most Americans were just lying in bed and relaxing on what seemed to them as just another Sunday morning. Some unlucky soldiers were at their gate post awaiting the arrival of some cargo ships. The soldiers on guard spotted a white light but when they shinned their spotlight on it the white light veered away. The soldiers dismissed it but they had no idea that it could have given them important information as to what Pearl Harbor was to undergo in the next few hours.
This date in history has now been termed D-Day. Codenamed Operation Overlord, the campaign to take Western Europe back from German hands was as Winston Churchill stated “undoubtedly the most complicated and difficult’ ever undertaken.” After many hard fought years of fighting Hitler and his axis powers, the military leaders of the allied forces with the accommodation of the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) planned an assault on the Western front of Europe through France to create a two front war, and gain a quick route into Germany. Operation Overlord was to be conducted in two phases: Operation Pointblank, an airborne assault to infiltrate German lines and meet up with the troops from Operation Neptune, the amphibious assault on the beaches of Normandy. Hitler knew of a possible invasion, but German intelligence had the assault coming from the Pas de Calais to the north. This mission had no backup plan; four years of fighting all came down to one day. 5,000 boats carrying 150,000 Americans, Brits and Canadians into the teeth of German occupied Normandy beach. There was no alternative, no looking back it was win or die.
The radio has had a huge impact on bringing information to the public about war and other government issues. Advertising and broadcasting on the airwaves was a major step in bringing war propaganda to a level where people could be easily touched nationally. Broadcasting around the clock was being offered everywhere. Before there was television people relied on the radio as a way to be entertained, the means of finding out what was going on in the world, and much more. During the World War II time period, 90 percent of American families owned a radio, and it was a part of daily life. So it was an obvious means of spreading war propaganda. During this time period, propaganda was spread throughout the radio by means of news programs, public affairs broadcasts, as well as through Hollywood and the mainstream. The average person had not even graduated high school at the time, and the average reading level of the American was somewhat low. The radio made it possible for stories and news to be delivered to everyone in plain simple English. The radio served as a medium that provided a sense of national community. Although it took time, the radio eventually rallied people together to back up the American war effort.
News, CBC. "D-Day: The allied invasion of Normandy." Canada 1 (2009). http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2009/06/02/f-dday-history.html (accessed June 24, 2011).
Stanke, Jaclyn. On the Air with the Cold War. War of the Black Heavens: The Battles of Western Broadcasting in the Cold War. Humanities and Social Science Net Online. July 1999. Web. 15 Dec. 2013.