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We're in southern England, the early days of June, 1944.

General Dwight D. Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force,

waits anxiously in his office for the latest meteorological report.

The skies today are low and gray. It's been stormy.

But this is England, where the weather can change by the hour.

Nearby, in Portsmouth and all along England's southern coast, hundreds of thousands of Allied troops stand ready to cross the English Channel into France.

Ships crowd the harbors, paratroopers check their gear in silence.

Air crews have memorized their routes and targets.

When the invasion comes, these forces will face heavily fortified beaches and coastal defenses.

Hitler has spent years preparing for this moment,

constructing the Atlantic Wall in anticipation of the inevitable Allied assault. And above it all,

sits Eisenhower, with the success of the operation resting squarely on his shoulders. He has had to

manage strong-willed generals, hold together a fragile international alliance, and withstand pressure

from political brass on both sides of the Atlantic.

But the greatest burden of all is knowing that should this invasion fail, the war would drag on for

years with countless more lives lost.

I'm Don Wildman, and this is American History Hip. Thanks for listening.

Our guest today is John C. McManus, professor of military history at the Missouri University of Science and Technology. Go Miners.

He is also the host of the excellent podcasts, Someone Talked, and World War II Live, which I really recommend.

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