Dominic Tierney: Doomsday Speeches: If D-Day and the Moon Landing Had Failed

Dominic Tierney is assistant professor of political science at Swarthmore College. He is the author of How We Fight: Crusades, Quagmires, and the American Way of War.

On June 5, 1944, General Dwight Eisenhower wrote down a message, carefully folded it, and placed it in his wallet. It contained a public statement in case the D-Day invasion failed. Twenty-five years later, in 1969, Richard Nixon's White House drafted a speech to use if the moon landing was unsuccessful and the astronauts were trapped on the lunar surface. This is not alternate history. This is very real history, about leaders preparing for a contingency that never transpired. More than anything, the messages reveal the fine line between triumph and disaster.

Publicly, Eisenhower radiated confidence about the liberation of Europe. But privately, he was deeply worried that the Germans would push the invaders back into the sea. After all, the Allies could initially propel only five divisions by sea and three divisions by air against an area held by 58 German divisions. If the Allies had been defeated, Eisenhower planned to issue a statement.

Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based on the best information available. The troops, the air, and the Navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone.