On June 6, 1944, 130,000 soldiers and 14,000 paratroopers staged the Normandy Landing, the largest naval, air, and land operation in history. Elevated to a milestone and historical myth of the Second World War, the most important conflict that humanity has suffered. It marked the beginning of the liberation of Europe under Nazi control. Undoubtedly, one of the events of the past that has made the most ink flow. Hundreds and hundreds of new works about D-Day are published every year. But maybe you still don’t know everything about this operation.
Among so much magnitude of one of the most important historical events of humanity, there are stories of ordinary people. Individual points of view that refresh the image we have of a legendary battle. Small forgotten stories of men and women who were part of a global battle even though the action was only reflected in a single point in France. Here are some curiosities that may surprise you about the Normandy Landing.
Rules of behavior: no sex or messing around with the French
At present we usually have a lot of news throughout the year that marks an event as a historical fact, something very outstanding that will remain to be remembered in the golden pages of the book about the passage of human beings through this world. Those who lived through the days of June 1944 knew that they were facing a very important event for the history of humanity, only this time it was really so. In the preparations by the British, a historic event like the one that was coming not only required achieving the objective of defeating the Nazis, but also had to be done with the grace and elegance of the English.
For this reason, before the landing, the British authorities distributed a bulletin with basic rules that the soldiers had to comply with once they arrived in France. The soldiers who leafed through these instructions found texts of a varied nature. On the one hand, there was a summary of the history of France and an explanation to understand why a military power like France had lost so suddenly against the Nazi army. From here on, rules of conduct were included, by which it was advised that no one criticize the defeat of the French:
“Many Frenchmen are convinced that they had a good army, but it was insufficiently equipped and not very well led. Many others are critical of the 1940s French Army, but they will also be offended if the criticism comes from a foreigner.”
In other words, no joking and messing with the French because they were defeated by the Nazis so as not to upset the allies and, furthermore, because everyone was needed as motivated as possible to face the tough military operation that was coming.
In addition, the brochure warned of the care that soldiers should take with French women.
“Both the young and the old are far from timid, and if you are a good intelligent man you will make friends with them, but do not confuse friendship with a willingness to provide you with their favours.”
A piper in hell
Other rules we know were not respected. The British War Office had banned the presence of musicians in World War II, an item that has been quite common in warfare throughout history.
“I want you to join my brigade, the 1st Commando Brigade, and be my assigned piper. I assume that I will listen to him play the bagpipes in a month from now, as soon as he has met with my unit in the south of the country ”.
This was the message William “Bill” Millin received from Officer Simon Christopher Joseph Frasier, an eccentric character known as Lord Lovat. He imagines that you are going to land on hell, a beach dominated by Germans, armed only with a loud and flashy bagpipe, dressed in a kilt. Well, that was D-Day for Millin. Already in the boat, before reaching the shore, he was playing:
“One of the sailors manages to get the sound of my bagpipes to be heard over the entire PA system. That has an extraordinary effect on the rest of the ships. They all start throwing their helmets and caps into the air as a sign of joy and give me a standing ovation. Knowing that I am part of the team that will point the way to landing is an unforgettable moment of pride for me”.
Millin strutted along the beach on D-Day playing his bagpipes to the din of machine guns and explosions. She would stop her melody, as a sign of respect, when she passed by fallen comrades. The Normandy Landing piper survived to tell her story.
Reference:
Cardona, P. and Villatoro, MP 2019. What they have never told you about D-Day. Principal of Books.