I have been watching the new Amazon series Hunters which is a fictional portrayal of a group of American Jewish Nazi hunters in the 70’s. This then led me to think about the Second World War and the distinction between D Day (June 6, 1944) and V-E Day (May 8, 1945). The first of those dates marked the beginning of the end of the war for the German forces, as 156,115 Allied troops (Canadian, British and American) stormed the beaches of France in Operation Overlord. They say that the Allied command planned the D Day invasion for over two years. The Canadians were charged with taking Juno Beach, and despite heavy losses did what Canadians do best and fought and pushed hard, driving German forces back. By June 11, 1944, the Allied forces had captured five beaches on the Normandy coastline and the war turned in favour of the Allied forces. With that said, the fighting during the next eleven months were some of the worst including the Battle of the Bulge in December 1945 where Hitler ordered 250,000 troops to push back the Allied forces, only to lose that onslaught of soldiers on both sides, and in defeat committed suicide at the end of April. V-E Day happened when Germany finally surrendered Europe and the war was partly over, Japan didn’t surrender until the following August.
So why go on about the history of World War II?
It is actually the period of time between D Day and V-E Day that got me thinking. While the war was essentially won on D Day, as thousands stormed the beaches of Normandy, the actual surrender came months later, and in the interim period, chaos and destruction reigned.
As our province, country and world wage war on an invisible enemy, a one-micron wide virus, D Day is perhaps in view. The modern-day allied forces are planning and while it isn’t exactly clear yet, a D Day of sorts is on the horizon when it comes to stopping the spread of the coronavirus. That day is in sight, perhaps two to three months away in Canada, but in sight nonetheless. What is less in focus it seems to me is our new V Day.
While all of our efforts are being directed towards the containment of the virus, little thought (it seems to me) is being directed towards the upcoming battle of the bulge in 2020 where the global economy will face the oncoming economic pushback of this pandemic. The costs of fighting this battle have been extreme thus far. More than 2 Trillion Dollars will likely be spent worldwide in the efforts to contain and counter this virus. Frankly, that number is so large that it doesn’t even register in my brain. But despite that, what I know to be true is that number (as insane as it is) is just the tip of the iceberg.
We are inching towards “already”. The end is in sight, despite all the critical hard work that is still needed, health experts assure us that we can stop the spread of this tiny enemy given vigilance and time. The real challenge for us all (I believe) will come in the upcoming “not yet” economic battle of the bulge. It took eleven months for the Allied forces to move from D Day to V-E Day seventy-five years ago. I think that a similar timeline in our current scenario is hugely optimistic in this modern-day battle. More of my thoughts on that to come.