History

On June 8th, 1924, George Mallory and Andrew 'Sandy' Irvine disappeared climbing Mount Everest. The question of whether they reached the summit has never been answered.

Thank you for following the D-Day live posts. I did realise that (despite some confusion amongst publications) D-Day time is normally written as GMT+2. My mistake!

Midnight: D-Day has clearly been a success. The Germans, unprepared and confused, have failed to effectively prevent the beaches being taken. Despite this, most objectives have not been taken, and the failure to take places like Caen will haunt the Allies as German reinforcements begin to arrive. But with the opening of a second front, it is the beginning of the end for the Reich.

23:00: Hitler holds the second situation conference today. In part thanks to deceptive intelligence planted by the agent "Garbo" (Juan Pujol), who himself is currently furiously trying to continue the deception, Hitler still believes this is a diversion and that the real landings will take place further north.

20:30: The army camps, like the one pictured in Blandford, Dorset, have been eerily quiet since the troops left. However, casualties are now filtering back across southern England. In Basingstoke, Hampshire, a single soldier arrives still with wet sand on him.

20:00: Rommel has finally arrived at his HQ in Chateau La Roche-Guyon. He has driven non-stop. His aide, Captain Lang, runs inside and is shocked to hear a Wagner opera playing from General Speidel's office. "General Speidel," he asks, " the invasion has begun and you're able to listen to Wagner?" "My dear Lang, do you honestly believe that my listening to Wagner will make any difference whatsoever to the course of the invasion," replied Speidel. As the three begin discussions, there is a feeling of depression.

20:00: Members of the Essex Yeomanry are tending to the wounded in a bunker above Gold beach. They have found a note to a German soldier - "Hans chéri" - from a French woman saying she'll meet him at 8pm. They wonder if she still will.

18:00: The 192nd Panzergrenadier Regiment reach the beach at Lion-sur-Mer. Weak and without air support, they are unable to continue the pincer movement, and are forced to retreat.