| Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force – Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen of the Allied Expeditionary Force! You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. The hopes and prayers of liberty-loving people everywhere march with you. In company with our brave Allies and brothers-in-arms on other Fronts, You will bring about the destruction of the German war machine, the elimination of Nazi tyranny of the oppressed peoples of Europe, and security for ourselves in a free world. Your task will not be an easy 1. Your enemy is well trained, well equipped and battle-hardened. He will fight savagely. But this is the year 194! Much has happened since the Nazi triumphs of 1940-41. The United Nations have inflicted upon the Germans great defeats, in open battle, man-to-man. Our air offensive has seriously reduced their strength in the air and their capacity to wage war on the ground. Our Home Fronts have given us an overwhelming superiority in weapons and munitions of war, and placed at our disposal great reserves of trained fighting men. The tide has turned! The free men of the world are marching together to Victory ! I have full confidence in your courage, devotion to duty and skill in battle. We will accept nothing less than full Victory ! Good Luck! And let us all beseech the blessing of Almighty God upon this great and noble undertaking. The June 6, 1944, order of the day was issued by Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force General Dwight D. Eisenhower to Allied forces on the eve of D-Day, the 1st day of the invasion of Normandy. The message was intended to impress upon the troops the importance of their mission which Eisenhower called a “Great Crusade”. Eisenhower had been drafting the order since February 1944 and recorded a spoken version on May 28, that was broadcast on British and American radio on D-Day. On the eve of D-Day, June 5, 1944, the order was distributed as a printed leaflet to 175,000 members of the Allied forces. The order was intended to impress upon them the importance of the mission they were about to undertake. At the time of the invasion Eisenhower’s order was widely distributed outside of the armed forces—it was read out to 50,000 people assembled in New York’s Central Park on the evening of June 6 — and has been reproduced since in books and films about the war. Eisenhower himself adapted the “Great Crusade” line for the title of his 1948 book about the war Crusade in Europe. | |
| Image Filename | wwii0401.jpg |
| Image Size | 651.96 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 2073 x 3123 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | June 5, 1944 |
| Location | Camp Griffiss, Bushy Park |
| City | London |
| State or Province | London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Archive | National Archives and Records Administration |
| Record Number | 186473 |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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