On the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings, our special 8-page feature in today's Telegraph takes a look back at how the events of D-Day were reported.
D-DAY was first reported in the Telegraph just hours after the Normandy landings.
At that time, the newspaper had three daily editions – at 1pm, 5pm and 6pm.
Early coverage focused on reports from the German Overseas News Agency and Reuters, detailing the events of that morning.
The agency said: “Early this morning, numerous landing craft and light warships were observed in the area between the mouth of the Seine and the eastern coast of Normandy.
“At the same time, paratroops were dropped from numerous aircraft on the northern tip of the Normandy Peninsula.
“It is believed that these paratroops have been given the task of capturing airfields in order to facilitate the landing of further paratroops.
“The harbour of Le Havre is at the moment being bombarded.
“German naval forces have engaged enemy landing craft off the coats.
“The long expected invasion appears to have begun.”
An ‘urgent warning’ that ‘a new phase in the Allied air offensive had begun’ was broadcast to people living near the coast in occupied countries.
Those within the 35km coastal belt who were able to leave immediately were urged to do so.
A representative of the Supreme Allied Commander said: “The Supreme Commander has directed that, whenever possible, advance warning shall be given to the towns in which certain targets will be intensively bombed.
“This warning will be perhaps less than one hour in advance of the attack.
“The warning will be conveyed in leaflets dropped by Allied planes.
“When such warning is given, people should leave the town at once, and on foot, keep off main roads was much as possible, and make with all speed for the open country.
“They should try to reach a place at lease two kilos from the edge of the town to be attacked.
“They should also keep as far away as possible from any road, railway or bridge, “People should take nothing with them that they cannot easily carry personally.
“They should not gather in large groups but should disperse as much as possible.”
Captain Ludwig Sertorius, military commentator of the German Overseas News Agency, referred to the launch of a ‘great contest between the Reich and the Anglo-Americans’ in his comments following the landings.
He added: “The Allied landing in the West today has put the German armed forces in a mood which they express with the laconic, ‘They are coming’.
“At the present moment, when the Allied invasion of Western Europe is still in its very first beginnings, nothing can be said yet about tactical and operational developments.
“We can only stress the single-mindedness with which the German Wehrmacht is facing the enemy’s onslaught, for in war ethical values are at least as important as the number of soldiers and quantity of their equipment.
“The German soldiers have always wished the invasion to come, so that they could show their moral supremacy in a fight not marked by material inferiority, such as was the case in Africa and Italy.
“All our hopes and expectations are thus expressed in the words, ‘They are coming’ – and it is good that they should come.”
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