Free Lecture in Honor of Memorial Day
In honor of Memorial Day, The Teaching Company is proud to present a free lecture, Eisenhower and Operation Overlord.
The largest amphibious assault in military history, Operation Overlord is considered by most people to be the turning point of World War II. The invasion of Nazi-controlled Europe on June 6, 1944, involved an armada of 5,333 Allied vessels crossing the English Channel and hitting key beaches along the coastline of France.
But even before the first wave of troop carriers beached on the shores of Normandy and other strategic landing sites, the entire world was waiting in anticipation of an Allied invasion of northwestern Europe. Where, when, and how it would come were questions that only Dwight D. Eisenhower, supreme commander of the invasion, could answer.
The decisions that Eisenhower had to make in the final hours leading up to the invasion were ones that would affect not only the outcome of the operation, but also the outcome of the war itself. Given the errant weather patterns in the region, Eisenhower had to decide whether to launch the invasion during a 36-hour window of clear weather on June 6 or to postpone the invasion until June 19. Taking the morale of his troops and the element of surprise into careful consideration, Eisenhower made the choice to launch the invasion on June 6. With an inspirational message to the Allied forces (and a letter in his pocket accepting full responsibility for the operation's potential failure), General Eisenhower commenced Operation Overlord and altered the course of both World War II and world history.
Download Eisenhower and Operation Overlord between now and July 31, 2008 to get a detailed perspective on how Eisenhower dealt with the tense preparations for an assault on which the fate of the free world depended.
Eisenhower and Operation Overlord is an excerpt from Professor Thomas Childers's 30-lecture course World War II: A Military and Social History. Professor Childers is Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania. He earned his Ph.D. in History from Harvard University and is the author of several books on World War II and modern German history. Professor Childers has won numerous teaching awards, including the Richard S. Dunn Award for Distinguished Teaching in History.
Download Eisenhower and Operation Overlord and listen to it at your computer, transfer it to your iPod or MP3 player, or burn it to a CD. Feel free to send the link to this lecture to family and friends who might also enjoy it; it is free for them as well.
Sincerely,
Brandon C. Hidalgo, CEO
The Teaching Company
image: Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, LC-USZ62-25600z |
