Click for full-size diagram of the Omaha Beach defenses.
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Click for full-size diagram of the Omaha Beach defenses. |
"Omaha" was the code name for the second beach from the
right of the five landing areas of the Normandy Invasion. It was the largest of
the assault areas, stretching over 6 miles (10 kilometres) between Port-en-Bessin
on the east and the mouth of the Vire River on the west. The western third of
the beach was backed by a 10-foot- (3-metre-) high seawall, and the whole beach
was overlooked by cliffs 100 feet high. There were five exits from the sand and
shingle beach; the best was a paved road in a ravine leading to the village of
Vierville-sur-Mer, two were only dirt paths, and two were dirt roads leading to
the villages of Colleville-sur-Mer and Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer.
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The Germans under Field Marshal Erwin Rommel had built formidable defenses to protect this enclosed battlefield. The waters and beach were heavily mined, and there were 12 strong points called Widerstandsnester ("resistance nests"). Numerous other fighting positions dotted the area, supported by an extensive trench system. The defending forces consisted of three battalions of the veteran 352nd Infantry Division. Their weapons were fixed to cover the beach with grazing enfilade fire as well as plunging fire from the cliffs. Omaha was a killing zone.
Omaha Beach was part of the invasion area assigned to the U.S. 1st Army, under
Lieutenant General
Omar Bradley. The assault sectors at Omaha were code-named (from west to
east) Charlie, Dog (consisting of Green, White, and Red sections), Easy (Green
and Red sections), and Fox (Green and Red sections). The beach was to be
assaulted at 0630 hours by the U.S. 1st Infantry Division, with the 116th
Regiment of the 29th Division attached for D-Day only. Omaha was wide enough to
land two regiments side by side with armour in front, and so the 116th Regiment
was to land at Dog (Green, White, and Red) and Easy Green, while the 16th
Regiment, 1st Division, was to land at Easy Red and Fox Green.
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Smoke streams
from a landing craft hit by machine-gun fire as it approaches Omaha Beach,
D-Day |
The objectives of the 1st Division were ambitious. First, it was to capture the
villages of Vierville, Saint-Laurent, and Coleville; then it was to push
through and cut the Bayeux-Isigny road, and then it was to attack south toward
Tries and west toward the Pointe due Hoc. Elements of the 16th Regiment were to
link up at Port-en-Bess in with British units from
Gold Beach to the east.
From the beginning everything went wrong at Omaha. Special "DD" tanks
(amphibious Sherman tanks fitted with flotation screens) that were supposed to
support the 116th Regiment sank in the choppy waters of the Channel. Only 2 of
the 29 launched made it to the beach. With the exception of Company A, no unit
of the 116th landed where it was planned. Strong winds and tidal currents
carried the landing craft from right to left. The 16th Regiment on the east half
of the beach fared little better, landing in a state of confusion with units
badly intermingled.
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Men of the
16th Infantry Regiment seek shelter from German machine-gun fire in
shallow water behind "Czech hedgehog" beach obstacles, Easy Red sector |
Throughout the landing, German gunners poured deadly fire into the ranks of the
invading Americans. Bodies lay on the beach or floated in the water. Men sought
refuge behind beach obstacles, pondering the deadly sprint across the beach to
the seawall, which offered some safety at the base of the cliff. Destroyed craft
and vehicles littered the water's edge and beach, and at 0830 hours all landing
ceased at Omaha. The troops on the beach were left on their own and realized
that the exits were not the way off. Slowly, and in small groups, they scaled
the cliffs. Meanwhile, navy destroyers steamed in and, scraping their bottoms in
the shallow water, blasted the German fortifications at point-blank range. By
1200 hours German fire was noticeably decreased as the defensive positions were
taken from the rear. Then one by one the exits were opened.
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By nightfall the 1st and 29th divisions held positions around Vierville, Saint-Laurent, and Colleville¡Xnowhere near the planned objectives, but they had a toe-hold. The Americans suffered 2,400 casualties at Omaha on June 6, but by the end of the day they had landed 34,000 troops. The German 352nd Division lost 20 percent of its strength, with 1,200 casualties, but it had no reserves coming to continue the fight.
(Ronald
J. Drez)
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