D-Day 6.6.1944 Page #4

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probably go for the shortest crossing.

I realised it was

a very peculiar situation.

May I ask a question?

There I was sitting talking

to the top-dog general in Germany.

Of course.

Do you think soldiers are the right people

to occupy a country once it's conquered?

Yes, I do.

Of course, we are trained to fight,

but we are also adaptable.

I believe a good soldier

has a sense of duty.

A sense of responsibility.

Do you agree?

I think a good soldier

is an honourable soldier.

And I said to myself,

"As long as he's enjoying it,

I think that might save my neck.

It's a pity the Germans and British

aren't fighting together.

- Against who?

- The Russians, of course.

I think there are too many differences

between us for us ever to be allies.

No, what differences?

Treatment of the Jews, for example.

Now you are talking about politics!

That has nothing to do with us!

Halt.

Don't worry. You will not be harmed.

You have my word as a fellow soldier.

Your Majesty, fellow soldiers,

Operation Overlord is ready.

We have assembled

the most formidable fighting force...

Admiral Ramsay,

Allied Naval Commander-in-Chief.

The naval plan is as follows -

five assault forces preceded by...

Air Chief Marshal Leigh-Mallory,

Allied Air Commander-in-Chief.

The air plan is to exploit a situation...

General Bernard Montgomery,

C- in-C, 21st Army Group.

Our priorities -

to seize the beaches and drive inland.

The threat will come

from Rommel's Panzer assault.

The first few days will be the vital ones.

It is in those days

that this battle will be won.

There will be much

hard fighting on all fronts,

but we shall win in the end.

Let us go forward to victory.

In the battle to keep

the Germans guessing,

the time has come for the British

spymasters to play their trump card

and take an extraordinary risk.

Now then, D-Day itself...

It is essential that

we maintain the deception

for at least three days

after the landings.

Garbo could send a message

saying it isn't the real invasion.

Be hard to convince them

when they have

150,000 troops on their doorstep!

To sell them the lie,

we must give them a truth.

We give them a piece of information

which they consider extremely valuable.

They will then be in the right frame

of mind to be deceived.

- Isn't that rather dangerous?

- Yes, it is.

Wars are like that, I suppose.

It's a nuisance,

but there's nothing we can do about it.

Two messages.

In the first, we give them the truth.

We say Allied troops are due to land.

On D-Day?

That information is critical.

We can't warn them.

You're their main agent.

If they see troops landing and hear

nothing from you,

they'll be suspicious.

The message must be early

enough to be a warning,

but too late to take action.

That way we seal your credibility.

The trap is set and

we send the second message.

I see.

Agent 4 is the best man for the job.

In Southampton?

He's in the right place.

He will tell them

that he has seen troops boarding ships.

He's in a sealed camp.

He can't contact the outside.

I will tell them he deserted

with two other Americans,

Ah, paratroopers.

Hmm. Signalmen or something.

- Vomit bags.

- I beg your pardon!

He saw vomit bags being

handed out to soldiers,

vomit bags and cold rations.

For the long boat trip to Normandy.

Subtle, but very believable.

Gentlemen, in these final days,

we will use our air superiority

to increase attacks

on the German transportation network.

Regrettably,

there will be civilian casualties...

but I want to share a message I received

from the leader of the Free French Forces.

He says, "General,

this is war and we expect people to die.

We would accept twice the casualties

if it meant liberation.

There was this sense of might

as well raise hell

because the worst is coming.

Charlie! Have you met John Morris,

my picture editor at "Life"?

Look at you. You're impossible!

You take fairly sharp pictures,

you're quite good-looking,

you get around,

and everyone wants a piece of you.

You're infectious.

Infectious? Is it terminal?

I think it might be for Pinky.

It's the way you carry it off

that drives her crazy.

Me too!

Hey! You wanna dance? For old times' sake?

You want a slap in the face

for old times' sake?

Can I have this dance?

Oh, God, please!

This one has got two left feet!

- Do you forgive me?

- For what?

Not being the man you want me to be.

I will never forgive you for that.

You know the thing about gamblers?

What is it that keeps them

coming back to the table?

- The money, winning?

- Losing. But not me.

I've no intention of losing.

I'll be coming home.

- OK.

- And Pinky... thank you.

For what? - For never making me

choose. Between you and the war.

Well, let's just say I'd be outnumbered.

Hello, BBC.

This is Colin Wills recording on

a quayside in Britain on June 3rd, 1944.

Across this quayside

moves a stream of men.

Men of peace going to war.

They will be among the first Allied troops

who will assault Hitler's fortress.

They count it a high honour

to be chosen for this job.

They'll do that job as well as any men

who could be chosen for it.

Have you been abroad before?

Never been outside of Herefordshire.

I went to Cardiff once.

Paris, that's where we're heading.

- Wine and birds and fancy food.

- Don't mention food!

Towards the end of 1942,

the government lowered the age

of recruiting for the services to 18.

Unfortunately for me,

I was just coming up to 18.

They said, "What would you like to do?"

I said, "Oh, RAF.

That's a nice, safe area. "

They said, "We're short of infantry.

You're going in the infantry. "

They never actually told us

that this was D-Day,

but all the boys reckoned

it was for D-Day.

You didn't really want telling, you see.

We thought about Dunkirk.

It was obvious a lot of us

were not going to come back.

Only in... in boxes, like, you know.

At noon,

we raised anchor and were ready to go.

Slowly and majestically,

as minesweepers and destroyers curved

their way into position,

we gave the lead to the other transports.

Under a gray sky, we looked at the coast

of Britain and watched it grow more dim.

Every man, soldier or sailor is learning

in detail the part he himself has to play.

The fleet of ships now embarking

on the 24-hour journey to France

is the greatest armada

the world has ever seen.

This is the opportunity

we have long awaited,

and which must be seized and pursued

with relentless determination.

The hopes and prayers of the enslaved

peoples of Europe will be with us.

We cannot fail them.

Word from the top is that "B" Company

is the safer option when we launch.

Safer?

Well, it's still in the first wave.

But it'll be behind "E" Company.

E Company goes at the front

of the front where the action is?

Action will be everywhere, Capa.

It's your choice.

You know what? I'm feeling lucky.

I'm already fleecing these guys.

I'll go with "E" Company.

If your pictures aren't good enough,

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