Evening star., 1944-10-23
Eisenhower's Choice
Of D Day May Have
Prevented Disaster
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press.
SUPREME ALLIED HEADQUAR-
TIERS. PARIS, Oct. 23.-Gen. Eisen-
hower's historic decision to 60 ahead
with the invasion of Normandy on
June 6 despite risky weather may
have saved the whole Allied assault
from a disaster as stark as that
which wrecked the Spanish Armada
in 1888 in the same treacherous
Channel, it was disclosed officially
yesterday.
If the operation had been DELAYED
beyond June to take advantage of
proper tide conditions, it probably
would have been launched in calm
water on the night of June 17-18
and might have been swamped by
the gale which broke over the Chan
mel at dawn June 18.
AS 1t was, high Allied officers who
directed and carried out the stu
pendous task of building two arti-
flclal ports in England and trans
porting them to Normandy'S beaches
told correspondents here that the
gale created widespread havoc.
Through three raging days that
storm almost destroyed one great
beach port which the Americans had
tWo-thirds completed at st. Aubin
1t damaged the port which the Brit
ish had slightly more than half fin
ished at Arromanches, hurting it SO
badly that the landing of supplies
was put about week behind sched-
ule at a crucial time in the beach,
head expansion.
American Port Hard Hit.
Rear Admiral William Tenant
planning and operations control of :
ficer in charge of these harbors, said
there was only fractional chance
a ratio of half day in a year
that such a winter" north-wind
storm would hit the beaches in June
But it did, hurting 14-foot waves
against the uncompleted structure
OF breakwaters and piers.
The American port was hardest
hit because it was on deeper, more
shifty sands, and lacked the pro-
lection of shoal.
1T was very sad that after all
their work, energy and great drive
the Americans had put into building
their port that the gale should have
wrecked such large part of it," Ad-
miral Tenant said.
Fortunately at that time they
were on the point of capturing Cher
bourg,. and it was decided they
should assist the British with all
they could save of their pier road
way, that the deep-water breakwater
OF caissons should be abandoned.
but that the block ship breakwater
should be extended strengthened
and double banked, with the port
becoming shallow-water harbor.
AS such, 1t has functioned since
shortly after the gale and has landed
its quota of tens of thousands of
tons of stores"
Job Is Done.
The British port handled AS. per
cent of all British supplies put
ashore up to the time that other
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the 21st Army Group front.
BY now the British concrete port
and the American breakwater-
guarded harbor have done their lob.
"One day now along will come
normal winter gale and that will be
the end of it ALL" Admiral Tenant
said
Brigadier Marvin Walter, in
charge of the shore party for con-
struction of the ports. said that alto
gether it took about 1900 men to
get the British port into operation
virtually completed in 81 days.
He said that through a mixup
caused largely by relatively rough
weather on D day, the headquarters
unit supposed to direct the port sur
vey and construction got ashore be-
fore a Marine Commando force
scheduled to land first at AFRO
manches and mop up the Nazis. So