Normandy
D-Day
June 6th, 1944.
During the Second World War
and
in the early hours of June 6, 1944, Allied forces began
landing on the shores of Normandy, the first step in a long-planned invasion of
German-occupied France, known as Operation Overlord. Parachutists members of the
American 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions were dropped near Ste-Mere-Eglise
while British Paras were drop north east of Caen near the Pegasus Bridge.
Meanwhile seaborne assaults were made along a string of code name beaches. U.S.
troops landed on Utah and Omaha, while British and Canadian troops, which
included a contingent of Free French commandos landed at Gold, Juno and Sword.
Fifty Seven years later the beaches are still referred to by their code names.
Omaha
beach is the most famous of all. There the terrain was different as behind the
beach was a range of low cliffs into which the enemy had cunningly inserted
their defenses which consisted from small to heavy weapons to barbwire fences,
mine fields and many type of different beach obstacles that began at the low
tide line. In addition, they had recently been reinforced by an extra regiment,
a fact which was unknown to Allied intelligence. Most of the preliminary Allied
bombardments missed their targets. The first wave of GIs at Omaha were hit by a
tremendous barrage of machinegun fire, rifle bullets, 88mm and 75mm cannon,
exploding mines, mortars, and hand grenades. A Company of the 116th Regiment,
29th Infantry Division, was the first ashore. It took more than 90 percent
casualties. Those men who survived took shelter behind the concrete sea wall and
the beach obstacles that were part of the German defenses, they were pinned down
and unable to move forward. Almost all the amphibious tanks which should have
supported them were launched too far out to sea and sank, leaving the infantry
helpless. As wave after wave of landing craft swept in on the rising tide the
congestion and the carnage on the beach became a nightmare, but with supreme
courage, small groups of men now reinforced by the 1st infantry Division along
with an element of U.S. Army Rangers and with the survivors of the 29th, began
to move off toward the exits which were heavily mined, but gradually the men
succeeded in fighting their way inland, to the coastal road where they began to
drive the Germans out. By the evening a tenuous beachhead had been established
and finally Omaha beach was cleared of the enemy.
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