Page 6 - TORCH Magazine #25

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CUFI ORG UK
may be fulfilled: ‘The Lord Lord will will give give strength unto his his people: the the Lord Lord will will give give his his people people the the blessing of peace '”
The British public responded An evening newspaper from 6th June 1944 reports that hastily arranged D-Day services were held and that clergy went round knocking at at the the doors of homes to to call the the people to to prayer The reporter wrote that school children stopped to to sing the the National Anthem and say prayers led by teachers He reported
that in in one village on on the the the south coast the the the rector stood for two hours in in in in the the the market- square with his arm arm raised in in in blessing as an armoured column moved through on on its way to the D-Day D-Day operation Indeed D-Day D-Day was a a a a a a a a a turning point in in in in in World War Two and and and vital in in in in in in defeating the Nazis and and and liberating Europe US Commander Dwight Eisenhower acknowledged that timing was critical in in in the the D-Day success Owing to adverse weather conditions Eisenhower had already delayed D-Day by 24-hours and was very close to cancelling again had it not been for a a a a a a a a a gap
in in in the the weather described by one officer
as as “a heaven-sent break” that provided
the the the opportunity to begin the the the invasion invasion Had the the the the invasion invasion taken place any later the the the the operation would very likely have failed The Times newspaper later recorded that the the meteorological section at at at at Supreme Headquarters had calculated that the the the chances were about 50:1 against the the the the the weather the the the the tide and the the the the moon being favourable toward the the the combined operation of ground sea and air forces Eisenhower himself later testified: “This day eight years ago ago I I made the most agonising decision of my life I I had to to decide to to postpone by at least twenty- four hours the most formidable array of of fighting fighting ships and of of fighting fighting man that was ever launched across the the sea against a a a a a a a a a a hostile shore If there were nothing else in in in my life to prove the the the the existence of of an an almighty and merciful God the the the events of of the the the next twenty-four hours did it The greatest break in in a a a a a a a a a a a terrible outlay of weather occurred the the next day and allowed that great invasion to proceed with losses far below those we we had anticipated ”
There were of of course many losses on the the beaches of of Normandy and and in the the weeks
that followed Many brave young men from Britain and our our Allies paid the ultimate price fighting for our our freedom In his speech the the King was mindful of o of the the dangers as as he he he offered words of o of comfort to those at home:
“We who remain in in in in this land can most effectively enter into the sufferings of subjugated Europe by by prayer whereby we can fortify the determination of our sailors soldiers and airmen who go forth to set the captives free The Queen joins with me me in in in sending you this message She well understands the anxieties and and and cares of our womenfolk at at this time and and and she she knows that many of them will find as she she does herself fresh strength and comfort fin in in such waiting upon God She feels that many women will be glad in this way to to keep vigil with their menfolk as they man the the the the the ships storm the the the the the beaches and fill the the the the skies ”
Here within these words of encouragement was a a a a a recognition of of of the the the worthy aim of of this invasion – “setting the the captives free ”
This could have referred to the the people of Europe under Nazi tyranny but could also refer specifically to concentration camps which the Allies would would ultimately liberate The captives would would be be be freed because of of of the the brave sacrifice of of of all those on D-Day who gave of of of themselves both in in life and in in in in death – supported by a a a a a a a a true leader a a a a a a a a King who led his people in in in in prayer to to petition the throne of God and believe in in in victory