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THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT
RECORD OF CONVERSATION BETWEEN THE PRIME MINISTER AND GENERAL DE GAULLE ON THE 4TH JUNE, 1944.
THE PRIME MINISTER said that he had wished to see General de Gaulle in order to tell him – as he had been unable to do by telegraph – of the forthcoming operation. He felt that it would have been a very bad thing in the history of our two countries if an operation designed tb liberate France had been undertaken by British and American Forces without the French being informed. His intention had been to invite the General a little before D day. A mass of shipping of every kind, amounting to some 4,000 ships, had been assembled in the ports, and 150,000 assault troops had been embarked for the first wave of the attack. In view of the weather, however, it had been decided to postpone the operation for 24 hours at least, from the previous I) day, and probably, since the forecasts were bad, until D + 3. The operation, whenever it took place, was to be preceded by an airborne landing of 3 divisions. On present weather forecast this would not, be possible immediately and it would obviously detract from the value of the initial assault, if the air were absent. The enemy had placed strong defences along the northern coast of France, which, according to the military authorities, could only be moved at the lowest tide. It was intended to use minesweepers as soon as the light broke. But if the operation were put off until D + 3, as was probable, we might have to sweep the minefields in daylight.
THIS DOCUMENT IS THE PROPERTY MAJESTY'S GOVERNMENT
RECORD OF CONVERSATION BETWEEN THE PRIME MINISTER AND GENERAL DE GAULLE ON THE 4TH JUNE, 1944.
The Prime Minister told General de Gaulle that he wanted to explain the upcoming operation to liberate France, because it would have been wrong to carry it out without informing the French.
He said that a huge number of ships, about 4,000, had been gathered in the ports, and 150,000 troops had been prepared for the first wave of the attack. However, because of the weather, the operation had been postponed for at least 24 hours, and it might have to be delayed even longer.
The plan included an airborne landing of three divisions [troops being dropped by parachute or gliders behind enemy lines], but the present weather meant this could not happen, and without the air support, the first landings on the beaches would be more dangerous and less likely to succeed.
The German defences along the northern coast of France were very strong, and could only be dealt with when the tide was lowest. Minesweepers would try to clear the minefields as soon as there was enough light, but if the attack was delayed, this might have to be done in daylight.
This is a record of a conversation which took place between Winston Churchill and General de Gaulle on 4th June 1944. De Gaulle was the leader of the ‘Free French’ forces (‘Free France’ was the French government-in-exile and its military forces) fighting against Germany and was based in Algiers (part of French North Africa at the time). In the source, Churchill is giving De Gaulle an overview of the plan and explaining its delay.
Churchill circulated these notes to the War Cabinet on 9th June 1944.
By 1944, the Allies had been fighting Nazi Germany for nearly five years. Much of Western Europe, including France, was under German occupation. As early as 1942, the Allies had started planning a large invasion of northern France to begin the liberation of Western Europe. This was codenamed ‘Operation Overlord’. Germany was already fighting a huge war on the Eastern Front against the Soviet Union, and opening a second front in France would force the Nazis to fight on two sides.
Following France's surrender, the Free French forces were led by General Charles de Gaulle from Allied territory. These forces continued the fight against the Nazis, while the 'French Resistance' fought back within the German-occupied country. The Resistance was an underground movement made up of French citizens who took part in acts of sabotage, intelligence gathering, and guerrilla warfare to undermine the German occupation and aid the coming Allied invasion. Churchill had invited De Gaulle to Britain to brief him on the Allied plans for Operation Overlord on the eve of what was meant to be D-Day (the launching of the invasion) – D-Day was originally planned for 5th June but had to be delayed. The plans for Operation Overlord were led entirely by Britain and the USA and were completely secret; De Gaulle had not been involved at all and was not privy to any information prior to this date.
Remember we are hoping that this source can be useful to us in investigating why Operation Overlord was such a remarkable achievement. So we’re looking for:
Which of the inferences below can be made from this source?
| On a scale of 1-5 how far do you agree that this source supports this inference? | Which extract(s) from the source support your argument? | |
|---|---|---|
| The invasion might fail without air support. | | |
| The weather could stop an invasion from happening. | | |
| Churchill thinks the invasion will still go ahead despite the delay. | | |
| Planning for the invasion was quite simple. | | |
| The Germans had no chance of stopping the invasion once it started. | | |
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➜ Source 2
