by Brett Manero
My fiancee and I recently re-watched a film that we originally saw earlier this summer. Pressure tells the familiar story of D-Day, Operation Overlord – Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France – albeit from a new perspective. Many people are at least vaguely familiar with D-Day: the largest amphibious invasion in history, a massive gathering of soldiers, sailors, airmen, planes, ships, and other equipment from the Allied nations of the Second World War: the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Free France, and others. Invading five beaches in Normandy, the Americans landed at Utah and Omaha Beaches, the British at Gold and Utah, and the Canadians at Juno. Omaha has gone down as the most famous (or infamous) because of the horrific amount of American casualties that took place, largely due to the cliffs overlooking the beach, from which the Germans easily defended the beach. The American soldiers rallied and persevered, eventually overcoming the defenses and cliffs, and footholds were established on all five beaches. The beginning of the end of Nazi Germany was thus secured.
Pressure tells the story of D-Day’s planning from the perspective of the weather. The weather on June 6, 1944, was notoriously not perfect. It was cloudy and chilly, the leftovers of the massive storm that took place the day before on June 5, leading to a one-day postponement of the invasion. James Stagg, a British officer, was in charge of the weather predictions during those fateful days. According to the film, he clashed heavily with Irving Krick, his American counterpart with whom he clashed. Apparently, this is historically accurate. Krick insisted on ideal weather conditions on June 5, while Stagg insisted that the weather would be poor. The prideful, overly-confident American was proven wrong by the weather and by the somewhat-dower Stagg, whose advice to General Eisenhauer likely saved the invasion, thousands of lives, and the liberation of Western Europe.
Pressure is not the greatest film ever made, but it’s pretty impressive. Watching it reminds one of the awe-inspiring reality of just how much went into D-Day’s planning. It’s like watching the credits of a movie: it is amazing to see how many people are involved in various areas of a film production. It was the same with D-Day: there were the soldiers and sailors and pilots, but there were also those whose sole job was to measure the weather and make the right call. James Stagg and his colleagues were exactly that. What a reminder that anyone can change history for the better, even if they are relatively unknown by most people.
The film hints at the presence of Divine Providence when on June 5, as a hurricane-like storm slams southern England and northern France, Stagg and Krick, having put their differences aside, agree that a small window of opportunity appears to be opening up for the Allies: the storm will slightly improve on June 6, allowing the Allies just enough leeway to proceed with the invasion while not pushing the invasion back for several more weeks. The invasion, while costly, was a massive success. One must wonder if Providence allowed for the weather to improve just enough for it to take place.
Pressure is a powerful film. In 2026, as fewer and fewer veterans of the Second World War remain with us, it comes at the right time. We must hold on to our gratefulness to that generation for what they did for us: secure a free Western world for the next century. The soldiers who died on the beaches of Normandy did this, as did those who made the seemingly mundane decisions about the weather.
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