Was General Wedemeyer the victim of political intrigue and “banished” to remove an irritant to the British planners, particularly Churchill who opposed all key elements of the plan?
The man most responsible for the planning of the bloodiest and most critical battle of World War II never was given the chance to participate in it!
D-Day, June 6, 1944, the date of the most important battle in the history of modern warfare, some say in the history of warfare ever, resulted in total Allied casualties of approximately 10,000. It is a date that is seared into our memories forever, just like December 7, 1941, or the date of John F. Kennedy”s assassination. However, very few people know that D-Day was originally scheduled for a date in June 1943, one year earlier. Even fewer people are likely to know that the one man who was chiefly responsible for the planning and the tactical enforcement of that invasion, never had the opportunity to participate in it. He was 7000 miles in China. Numerous modern military historians now believe that if the original date for the invasion was kept, casualties would have been far less. In that one year period between the original date and June 6, 1944 the brilliant German General Rommel had the opportunity to substantially strengthen the Atlantic Wall. Why then was the chief architect of the plan deprived of the opportunity to participate?
Intriguing new evidence is now surfacing , that this man, General Albert C. Wedemeyer, was shunted aside and sent to what was then considered a “backwater”, of the war, The China-Burma-India Theatre, solely because his views conflicted with those of the British War planners, especially Prime Minister Winston Churchill!
(See more about Churchill and Wedemeyer)
Learn more about this intriguing facet of American History.
General Wedemeyer is the only American to have ever attended the German General Staff School, (Kriegs Akademie), the equivalent of our Fort Leavenworth Command and General Staff School. He was there in the critical pre-war years of 1937-1938 and was introduced to all of the German tactics of modern warfare such as armored infantry assault with supporting aircraft, lighting pin point assault in force (Blitzkrieg) all of the tactics which the Germans used so successfully in the early years of World War II. Upon his return to the United States he submitted a comprehensive and detailed report to his superiors which ultimately was passed on to President Franklin D. Roosevelt who was very much impressed. Ultimately, Wedemeyer was put in charge of the committee that formulated plans for the invasion of France in the summer of 1943 by Allied armies.
The British planners, were not keen on an invasion of France at any time. Private letters and diaries of the British planners reveal that they considered the Americans amateurs at war.
Ultimately, the British with their superior negotiating and diplomatic skills, developed over centuries of dealing with Byzantine European politics, prevailed, and the 1943 invasion of France never took place as Wedemeyer and the Americans envisioned. Although the British were never in favor of any invasion into France, at any time, they were ultimately compelled to accede to the American plan for an invasion in 1944 one year later. During that one year the Nazi’s, with the help of the brilliant General Rommel were able to substantially improve the defenses on the Atlantic wall. Many historians now believe the delay of one year was responsible for the needless loss of many additional lives.
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