Marching Orders: The Untold Story of How the American Breaking of the Japanese Secret Codes Led to the Defeat of Nazi Germany and Japan

by Bruce Lee

the end of D day they are far short of their target lines of advance. On the positive side, however, some 150,000 troops are ashore and digging in. Every hour they stay in place, or slowly work forward, means it will be that much more difficult for the Germans to dislodge them. “One cannot overstate the importance of the fact that the commander of the invading forces knew that Hitler was not committing his reserves,” says Robert T. Crowley. “The significance of this priceless information gave Eisenhower and his staff a sense of confidence that rubbed off on everyone. It helped make the troops believe they would succeed. And the credit for creating all the deceptions, fooling the Germans and getting inside Hitler’s brain belongs to the British. They were, in 1944, a generation ahead of everyone in this regard. I don’t know anyone better in terms of psychological warfare than the British. They were the masters of the game.”