Royal Air Force / Wikimedia Commons
The most important day for allies in World War II not only had masterminds Strategic battlefield – also had the essential help of an intelligent meteorologist.
D -Day, a formalist known as Operation Overlord, It had a great genius of meteorology behind.
The also called Landing in Normandyin France, took place in the second World War II on June 6, 1944. It is considered the most important operation for the victory of the Allies and the end of World War II, for marking the beginning of the end of the German occupation over France . And the date was not random.
At that time, British meteorologist James Stagg was responsible for Met Officethe United Kingdom National Service of Meteorology, created in 1854 by Vice Admiral Robert Fitzroy, tells a.
In 1939, he was appointed director of the Kew Observatory, built in 1769 by order of King Jorge III.
The choice for D -Day began to be planned a year earlier. Stagg was looking for a height with favorable weather conditions.
In the first place, the night before it had to be full moonnot only to help planes drop parachutists, but also to help US vessels hit the beaches during high tide.
The full moon would do soto detect the obstacles placed by the Germans and calculate the right time to lower the ramps so that soldiers could land without being too exposed to enemy machine guns. There was also a few clouds, so as not to interfere with air bombardment.
Initially, President Eisenhower chose June 5. However, he came across the objections of an officer with reserved, tall and thin behavior. “Here comes a stagg of 1.80 m high and a dark stagg “, It was the famous comment by Admiral Sir George Creasy, referring to Stagg’s pessimism in relation to time.
Discussions were soured: some strategies believed in Stagg, while others considered that their statements had no foundation.
At the time, without satellites, meteorology was not the exact science of now, and predictions could vary significantly and predictions were rarely accurate beyond two days.
Stagg then predicted an 8 -hour hiatus for the invasion, on the 6th. This was because there would be an open in bad weather, which if not used would have to suspend the inventive for two weeks. The captain decided to believe the meteorologist.
And I’m glad it did it: if I had waited another time, it wouldn’t be so lucky, since June 19 and 22, Normandy was hit by a storm that would have unable to landsince the boats were not conceived to resist such agitated seas.
Although the weather had improved, they blown heavy winds, the waves were higher than expected, and the currents pushed some landing vessels away from the planned points. This factor, combined with the fact that German forces is numerically stronger than expected, made Operation Overlord only considered complete almost a week later.
Still, it is only thanks to Stagg that the allies’ victory was achieved: it was the beginning of the end of World War II – and all thanks to a meteorologist.
