they would almost all land on french soil dead. that was the prediction. the paratroopers were going to land behind enemy lines so that if the soldiers who hit the beach could make it up the hill past the first line of german defense, they would have the support of those brave paratroopers already on the ground in france having landed in the middle of the night. general eisenhower was given a vision of all of those paratroopers lying dead in french fields. and he knew that the invasion plan couldn't work without the paratroopers landing first. he also knew that the slightest change in the weather could completely defeat the invasion.