In remembering D-Day, let’s take a moment to remember some of the leadership lessons that were taught that day: Plan, Resource, Determination and Courage.
1. Plan – Though nothing goes as planned it is vital to plan, it provides everyone a reference point from which to pivot. June 6, 1944, the Allied forces launched D-Day, the largest seaborne invasion in history, during World War II. The operation was codenamed Operation Neptune and was part of Operation Overlord, planning began in 1943. On the day strong winds blew landing craft east of their intended positions, one of the five beaches: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno, and Sword. Airborne troops were scattered across the battlespace by German ground fire and strong winds.
2. Resource – Mulberry harbors were two temporary portable harbors developed to facilitate the rapid offloading of cargo onto beaches during the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944. The need for the harbors was due to the fact that large ocean-going ships needed sufficient depth of water under their keels, together with dockside cranes, to off-load their cargo, and these were not available, except at the already heavily-defended French harbors. The Mulberries were created to provide the port facilities necessary to offload the thousands of men and vehicles, and millions of tons of supplies necessary to sustain Operation Overlord. The Mulberry B harbor at Gold Beach was used for 10 months after D-Day, and over 2.5 million men, 500,000 vehicles, and 4 million tons of supplies were landed before it was fully decommissioned.
3. Determination – The Allies failed to achieve any of their goals on the first day. Carentan, Saint-Lô, and Bayeux remained in German hands, and Caen, a major objective, was not captured until 21 July. Only two of the beaches (Juno and Gold) were linked on the first day, and all five beachheads were not connected until 12 June. However, the operation gained a foothold that the Allies gradually expanded over the coming months.
4. Courage – Moving forward even in the face of fear and overwhelming odds and danger. Scaling the cliffs at Point Du Hoc, Airborne Operations, Beach Landings and holding the sea; Aircrew, Seaman, Rangers, Landing Craft Drivers, Engineers, Infantry and Paratroopers all faced continuous and voluminous fire. They relentlessly pursued to close with the enemy knowing there was an overwhelming chance they would perish in their efforts.
Leadership was on display from all quarters that day. The number of people who on a moment’s notice had to take command of a situation, quickly assess, instruct and execute on an objective is uncountable. Their courage and determination won the tactical success of the day while the resources and planning provided the strategic framework to win the war.