The Allies gambled on June 6th - and Won!

Supreme Allied Commander U.S. General Dwight Eisenhower said that the decision to proceed with the invasion of Normandy on June 6th was the toughest decision he ever made. As it happened this was the correct call. A June 3rd invasion would have been a chaotic disaster. The attack aircraft and paratroopers would have been grounded. The seas were far too rough, the landing craft would have been blown far off course all along the coastline and many of the men would have drowned in the pounding surf.

On June 6th the weather was clear enough for the massive air attacks to take place as planned and the seas were calm enough to get most of the invasion force safely onto the beaches.

What would have happened if the invasion had been delayed? No one knows. A major storm on June 23rd however destroyed one of the two man-made harbours the Allies constructed and cut the flow of troops and materials to the battle fields by 50%. Such a storm might have been the difference between success and failure.