Warwick Pub and Project Overlord Headquarters

Heading off from Portsmouth to Warwick village had Ales at the tavern where Eisenhower would drink with his staff.

Enjoyed some nice talk a light pub lunch and a few Ales. I could tell Dad was beginning to relax and enjoy this.

Visited the Project Overlord exhibits at Southwick House.

This is the location where the Supreme Commander and staff basically planned the operation.

The giant map board used for planning the Normandy invasion is still there and set for H hour. Here is John and Dad in front of the big board and clocks that were used in planning the Operation Overlord.

We hear about the stress and the significant issues Eisenhower was facing in making this tremendous decision with some many lives and issues at stake. The uncertainty of the weather was not helping and they needed to do this when the tides and the weather were right. The responsibility was extreme and it rested ultimately on one man’s shoulders to decide when to go.

..An excerpt about Eisenhower’s decision at Southwick house.

“Ike paced and paced in the now silent room.  Minutes passed that seemed like hours.  In addition to weather and logistic woes, he knew that holding the men a further two weeks carried the same risks then as now.  And by then German intelligence would have detected the build-up and the Normandy location.  Ike's invasion force compared  to secretly moving overnight across Lake Michigan the combined populations of Kenosha, Racine and Green Bay, Wisconsin - and with all their vehicles in a heaving storm.  The chain-smoking commander stopped, turned to his staff, and quietly but firmly said, "OK. let's go."

Within thirty seconds the room emptied, leaving only a drift of blue smoke over the table, a glowing fire reflected on the polished wood floor, and a brooding General Eisenhower sitting alone near the hands of a mantelpiece clock pointing to 945pm.  Only fifteen percent of Ike's invasion force knew combat.  Fearing the worst, Eisenhower later penciled a note for the press: “Our landings have failed and I have withdrawn our troops…if any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone.”  Across the roiling English Channel, an obscure Normandy beach code-named Omaha impended in the murk.  General Irwin Rommel's seasoned army outnumbered the Allies ten to one.  The invasion of Europe was underway, and even Ike couldn't stop it.”

See this great article to learn more:

http://www.historyarticles.com/southwick.html

 

 

Next: Tank Museum Visit