Rare top-secret blueprint of D-Day landings on sale for $138,000

By Ed Chatterton

A top-secret WWII blueprint for the famous D-Day landings is expected to fetch $138,000 at auction after coming to light after 83 years.

The extraordinary dossier, dated July 30, 1943, was so sensitive that it was intended only for the most senior British and Allied commanders.

They provide a unique insight into the most significant military campaign of the 20th century - detailing preparatory measures prior to D-Day, the invasion itself and ongoing action in France.

Classified “Most Secret” until 1958, the documents and maps have been tucked away in the hands of a relative of a high-ranking British officer since 1960.

A near-identical archive sits in the Imperial War Museum – and auctioneers say it's the "rarest and most important item" they have ever handled.

The documents are dated almost a year before the actual invasion, which was codenamed Operation Overlord and changed the course of history.

They are set to fetch between $80,000 to $100,000 when they go under the hammer at Hansons Auctioneers in Derbyshire on February 25.

Hansons Auctioneers’ military expert, Matt Crowson, said: “This is almost certainly the rarest and most important item I have ever handled, with a historic significance that cannot be overstated.

“Original Operation Overlord planning documents are exceptionally rare, with some important WWII archives lacking them completely.

"Other surviving archives may have been broken up, with maps separated or lost.

"This complete archive is one of the most important museum-grade finds to appear on the open market in recent years.”

Hand numbered Copy 186, it is the work of Lieutenant General Frederick E. Morgan known as “the forgotten architect of D-Day,” and highlights the divergence in US and British strategy ahead of the assault.

The plans are dated four months before Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt formerly approved Operation Overlord at the Tehran Conference.

But by then, Morgan, the Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander (Designate), known by the acronym COSSAC, had already come up with a detailed plan.

Keen to avoid earlier defeats like Gallipoli and Dieppe, the document details Morgan’s more cautious approach.

In it, he writes: “The essential discrepancy in value between the enemy’s troops, highly organised, armed and battle trained, who await us in their much-vaunted impregnable defences and our troops who must of necessity launch their assault at the end of a cross-Channel voyage with all its attendant risks, must be reduced to the narrowest possible margins.”

Morgan’s blueprint proposed landing points at just three beaches along a 25-mile stretch of coast with three Allied divisions mounting an amphibious assault and two divisions in support roles.

Two brigades were to be air-dropped with another 11 divisions landed within the first two weeks through two artificial harbours that would be towed across the Channel.

Crowson added: “Morgan’s genuine fears are clearly stated in the document.

"He was deeply concerned about troops logistical vulnerability and the danger of being stuck on beaches.

"He insists as much risk as possible must be minimized before landing.”

But in December 1943 General Dwight D. Eisenhower became supreme Allied commander, and the COSSAC staff redesignated SHAEF (Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force).

Eisenhower and Field Marshal Montgomery took command, with Morgan’s three-division plan immediately expanded into a massive five-division invasion landing on beaches now famously known as Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword.

Montgomery also widened the landing area to include the Orne River estuary and the base of the Cotentin Peninsula.

Crowson said: “While D-Day, as we think of it today, was different from Morgan’s initial blueprint it is important to remember how many of his initial ideas were fundamental to its success.

“Normandy remained as the landing site and the necessity of artificial harbors known as Mulberries was recognized.

"These allowed the Allies to supply their army without having to capture a port and were flagged as essential by Morgan.

“The need for deception, as pointed out by Morgan in this document, took the form of Operation Fortitude which successfully diverted Nazis to defend Pas de Calais.

"This document was indeed the blueprint for the most audacious military campaign of WWII.”