02.40 Field Marshal von Rundstedt commands the German army in France. He is hearing reports from Normandy of fighting but still believes an invasion is aimed at Pas-de-Calais. The 21st Panzer Division could be mobilised but Hitler is aleep at Berchtesgaden and cannot be woken to give the order.
04.40 Von Rundstedt orders the 12th SS Panzer Division and Panzer-Lehr to move immediately to Calvados. Gen Jodl, at OKW, the Armed Forces High Command, cancels the order at 06.30 and decides to wait for Hitler to wake up.
05.30 Shortly after sunrise, Allied naval forces begin bombardment of the beaches; seven battleships, 23 cruisers and 103 destroyers pound the shoreline.
HMS Belfast is among those bombarding Juno beach. USS Tuscaloosa bombards the 30 batteries around Utah beach.
06.00 The BBC broadcasts a message from Gen Eisenhower to the people of Normandy:
The lives of many of you depend on the speed with which you obey. Leave your towns at once – stay off the roads – go on foot and take nothing with you that is difficult to carry. Do not gather in groups which may be mistaken for enemy troops.
07.40 After hours without a decision, and with Hitler still sleeping, Gen Edgar Feuchtinger unilaterally orders his 21st Panzer Division to move on the eastern beaches.
07.55 The first Canadian assault wave at
Juno finds beach obstacles partly submerged by the tide. Engineers cannot clear paths to the beach; landing craft hit mines and almost a third are destroyed or damaged. Heavy casualties are sustained in the first hour on Juno. 21,400 men will be landed, with 1,200 casualties.
08.40 Hitler is still asleep at Berchtesgaden.
09.05 Hitler is finally awake at the Berghof, Berchtesgaden. He regards the news from Normandy as excellent, still thinking - thanks to Operation Fortitude's chain of deceptions - that the morning's events are a cover for the real invasion at Pas-de-Calais.
Gen Dwight D. Eisenhower, commander of SHAEF, broadcasts to Europe and says "
the hour of your liberation is approaching":
People of Western Europe: a landing was made this morning on the coast of France by troops of the Allied Expeditionary Force. This landing is part of the concerted United Nations plan for the liberation of Europe, made in conjunction with our great Russian allies.
I have this message for all of you. Although the initial assault may not have been made in your own country, the hour of your liberation is approaching.
All patriots, men and women, young and old, have a part to play in the achievement of final victory. To members of resistance movements, I say, 'Follow the instructions you have received.' To patriots who are not members of organized resistance groups, I say, 'Continue your passive resistance, but do not needlessly endanger your lives until I give you the signal to rise and strike the enemy. The day will come when I shall need your united strength.' Until that day, I call on you for the hard task of discipline and restraint.