“The Invasion Has Begun!” – First Radio Reports Confirm Allied Landings; Nazi Command Caught Unprepared

Thunder Bay – HISTORY – In the breaking dawn of June 6th, 1944, as the steel of Allied landing craft sliced through the Channel waters and paratroopers descended through rain and tracer fire, a very different scene unfolded inside the German High Command.

Initial German radio bulletins shortly after 6:30 a.m. Berlin time confirmed Allied troops had landed along the Normandy coast. These first broadcasts, captured by shortwave operators across Europe and America, suggested confusion and disarray. Berlin’s own propaganda machine hesitated — no doubt unsure whether this was the long-feared invasion or another Allied diversion.

Crucially, inside Adolf Hitler’s headquarters — the Berghof in Bavaria — the Führer remained asleep.

Despite mounting reports from coastal observation posts and panicked calls from front-line units under attack, Hitler’s aides and senior staff hesitated to wake him.

Obsessed with micromanagement yet unpredictable and often irrational, Hitler had issued strict orders …