Omaha and Utah Beaches 6 June 1944
By Hank Schrader, USMA ’71, Europe Destination & Europe River Cruise Expert
In November 1943, the Big Three (Roosevelt, Stalin and Churchill) agreed in a conference in Tehran, that the Allied Western Forces of the United States and Britain would invade France in 1944 and open a second front against the German Fortress Europe.
The clock was now ticking for the D Day invasion of France. It was a race between German defenders and the Allied invasion force.
The ideal strategy was simple for the planners of the D Day amphibious invasion—attack lightly defended beaches, secure the beach, and move men and supplies quickly inland. Next, establish or capture a port quickly to reinforce with more men and supplies. Then, defeat the German forces and win the war.
Executing it proved to be one of the most difficult military tasks every attempted.
During the massive planning operations, Pas du Calais (the most favorable landing site) and Normandy were under consideration. Both had enough good characteristics to work for an amphibious landing. But Normandy was the best choice for two reasons. There were: 1) in 1943 it was a lightly defended part of the German Atlantic Wall and 2) the Germans anticipated an attack at Pas du Calais and fortified it and constantly moved more soldiers into defensive positions.
The German Defenders
The Germans realized they weren’t prepared to properly defend the vast Atlantic Wall in 1943. The German commander, General Gerd von Rundstedt, drafted a report to Hitler about the scant fortifications and poor quality units defending the area. Hitler responded by adding General Erwin Rommel (known popularly as the “Desert Fox” for his Africa campaign) to oversee improving the defenses.
The Germans knew an invasion was coming—they just didn’t know where or when. The choice that the Germans believed the Allies would select was an invasion of Pas de Calais, as it was the most logical invasion site—only 20 miles from England and had 20 miles of good landing beaches. The allies bolstered that illusion by creating a fake force under the command of LTG George Patton, complete with fake equipment, field barracks and even a docking area near Dover. They relentlessly bombed the Calais area in the build-up phase, as well as other targets in France. In an unusual operation, they also dropped dummies by parachutes, to harass and confuse the Germans.
Dummy Paratrooper on display in the Caen Memorial Museum
Field Marshal Rommel was also convinced Calais was the prime invasion site and deployed the 208,000 man 15th Army to defend this area. The deception plan of D Day was working as hoped for the Allies.
The first priority for the Germans was protecting the major harbors, as any invading forces would need constant supplies, more men and equipment.
After securing these major ports, they then began building “Widerstandnesten” (resistance nests) along the beaches. These were a series of pillboxes, gun positions, anti-aircraft weapons and trenches. The beaches were littered with obstacles, mines (over 4 million mines) to enhance these resistance nests. Inland, flooded lowlands and stakes were planted in the ground to cut into gliders during landings and make possible airborne landing zones potential death traps.
A key concept for the Germans was to stop the invasion on the beaches, so all defensive resources were placed at or near the beach areas and no defense in depth was planned. There were reserve units to stop breakthroughs but the best reserve unit of panzer tanks could only be released by Hitler. If the Allies could breach these tough defenses, and cut off the reserve forces, they had a good chance of success.
By June 1944 all the beaches used for the D Day landings in Normandy had at least some of these defensive measures in places.
Unknown to the allies, the best defended beach in Normandy was Omaha.
The stage was set for that fateful day 6 June 1944.
Concept of the Overlord Operation
You might be surprised to know the last successful armed assault across the English Channel happened in 1066 (yes, the famous Battle of Hastings). 8 centuries later, this was about to change.
Amphibious landings are complex operations. Trying to attack with 5 divisions over a 50 mile front in Normandy from a base in England would require naval forces, air forces and army units from British, Canadian and American forces. The allied armies and massive equipment needed to ensure success only added to the complexity. 150,000 soldiers would be required, with a fleet of 5,333 ships and an air armada of over 12,921 planes.
Synchronizing an operation of this size remains one of the most amazing military feats in the history of the world.
An Overview of the Invasion
Overview of the D Day Invasion Plan Portsmouth D Day Museum 2014
Operation Overlord, the code name for the D Day invasion, was a complicated multipart attack. To soften up and destroy some of the defending German forces, the area was bombed for about 6 weeks prior to the invasion. On the early morning hours of 6 June 1944, American and British paratroopers parachuted and later landed in gliders to secure the western flank (American forces) and the eastern flank (British forces). Then, prior to the start the landings, a naval bombardment of about 30 minutes in duration started, followed by an aerial bombardment. Next, the amphibious landings took place on 5 objective beaches.
The 3 beaches in the British Second Army sector, were Gold, Juno and Sword. They were attacked by British and Canadian units.
The 2 American beaches, under the U. S. First Army (commanded by Lt. General Omar Bradley), were Omaha and Utah.
Ike gives the OK to Go! Portsmouth D Day Museum 2014
The rest of this blog is the story of American forces attack on D Day in Normandy on the Omaha and Utah beaches.
Unit Patches from the Attacking American Forces at Utah, Pointe du Hoc and Omaha Beaches
Omaha Beach
Western sector of Omaha Beach. Taken during our 2014 tour.
Omaha Beach was the objective of the 1st Division (the Big Red One) and the 29th Division (the Blue and Gray Division). On the west of this 4 mile stretch of sand and bluffs, was Pointe du Hoc (next week I will tell you the story of this mission). The east limit was the town of Ste.-Honorine-des-Pertes. The beach was divided into 4 sectors (from west to east)—they were named Charlie, Dog, Easy and Fox.
A veteran (Charles Norman Shay) from the Big Red One who survived D Day with Hank. His unit crest is from the 16th Infantry Regiment—he was a medic. Hank’s first Army unit was in the 1st of the 18th Infantry of the Big Red One. Taken 3 June 2019. He remained in the Army and retired as an E-8 (Master Sargent). He was awarded the Silver Star (not visible in the picture) for his actions on D Day and the Bronze Star.
The terrain at Omaha was advantageous for the German defenders—bluffs over 100 feet tall, back from 300 yards or more of beach depending upon the tides. It offered really good fields of fire against any attack. The best way off Omaha was fighting up the 4 draw exits through the cliffs.
Part of Omaha Beach as seen from the American Cemetery—these were good defensive positions for the German defenders to engage the American soldiers.
View of the Omaha sector from Pointe du Hoc. Taken in our 2014 tour
Those of us, like me, with military training, instantly recognize the huge terrain advantage the defenders had, when visiting the Omaha beach area. Properly integrated defensive fire, with adequate numbers of defenders, would make the open area of the beach an instant killing zone, and the draws, if properly defended, would be hard to successfully attack without tanks in support.
American planners believed Omaha was lightly defended—in 1943 it was almost completely undefended. Rommel quickly upgraded these defenses, but the intelligence reports still reported poor fortifications and an under strength regiment of German defenders.
What the attackers faced at Omaha on 6 June 1944 were 85 machine guns nests, 38 rocket launchers, 35 pill boxes, 18 antitank gun positions, 8 artillery fortified positions, 6 mortar pits, and 4 field artillery positions. These were part of the Widerstandnesten system.
Machine gun bunker guarding the beach and D-1 Draw. Take during our 2014 tour.
There were 14 Widerstandnesten (Wn) positions in the Omaha sector. They were numbered Wn 61--Wn 74. The strongest was Wn 72. These positions were maned by a battle harden division (3 battalions) of very good soldiers. If these positions could survive the aerial bombardment and naval gun fire of an attacking force, they stood a good chance of stopping the invasion at the beach.
Wn 72, covering the exit draw D-1 was the best constructed of all of the Widerstandnesten in the Omaha sector. It protected an 88 mm cannon. It is now the memorial to the 29th Division. Here are 2 photos:
Wn 72 Omaha Beach. It protect a 88mm cannon. Photo Hank Schrader
Memorial of the 29th Division, Omaha Beach
When the first soldiers hit the beach, the beach erupted into withering fire from all directions—it was utter chaos!
Success at Omaha was still in doubt 6 hours after the attack begin.
The chaotic battlefield resulted in over 2,000-2,500 men killed, wounded or missing at Omaha—no one is really sure due the confusion and carnage of this intense battle site.
The plan was for the bombers to destroy as many as possible of the defensive positions and soldiers defending this area (part 1) and then naval gun fire would take out many of the remaining defensive positions (part 2). Despite dropping around 13,000 bombs, almost all were off target, too far inland. As the invasion force neared the coast, thick smoke and fog obscure the bluffs ahead, but the naval gunners opened fire. Bright flashes and horrible noise arose from the assault area. Soldiers were confident as they approached the beach area. With all the explosions, they expected most defenders were killed. That would soon change.
The first wave of 1,450 soldiers landed from 35 landing crafts. The beach was only wide enough to support two regimental size units. On the western sector, the 116th Regiment of the 29th Division landed; on the eastern sector the 16th Regiment of the 1st Division hit the beach. They were immediately engaged by the Germans. The defensive fire was devastating, and accurate, as it was delivered from very well designed defensive positions. In less than 5 minutes, 90% of the first wave were killed or wounded.
Sculpture on Omaha Beach, from our 2014 tour.
They were unsupported by tanks for the most part. 112 tanks were available for the attack in the Omaha objective area. 64 were released to swim on their own at 0300. Many of these tanks sank. Of the 56 tanks allocated to the Big Red One sector, only 13 made it ashore. A total of 58 tanks reached the Omaha beaches during the attack; by 0700 14 are destroyed. By the end of the day only 3 tanks are operational. Here is a picture of an amphibious tank outfitted to swim ashore:
Tank outfitted to swim. From our 2019 tour. Photo Hank Schrader
On the beach, 270 desperate engineer soldiers were trying to open 16 pathways for the tanks to get off the beach from the obstacles. They have 27 minutes to achieve their mission according to the plan; only 1 pathway is opened on time. Most of the engineers are dead or wounded by the end of their 27 minute first mission.
The landing waves continued. Rifle and machinegun bullets constantly flew around; mortar and artillery shells rained down; explosions, screams, destroyed and abandoned equipment and vehicles litter the beaches (especially the destroyed burning tanks); and confusion was everywhere. The only reasons most survived was there was just too many of them for the Germans to shoot everyone and the heavy smoke that offered some concealment to the exposed soldiers.
Without tank support, the original plan to take the heavily fortified draws was not a good option for soldiers only armed with light weapons.
At 0730, several hundred surviving soldiers were huddled against the seawall, and the outlook was bleak. Most of their leaders had been killed or wounded.
In the west, General Norman Cota, commander of the 29th Division, landed and sprinted to the wall around 0730. As he rallied the soldiers, he realized going up the draws, according to the original plan wouldn’t work. The only good option was to climb the less defended bluffs.
He found a group of rangers and told them of his plan and then yelled out “Rangers Lead the Way”, which has become the official ranger moto. Within an hour, the rangers and soldiers from the 29th reached the top. The German defenses were oriented to the sea and Cota’s growing band of soldiers captured the Vierville draw (D-1) about 2 hours later by attacking them from their rear. It took the engineer soldiers 8 hours to clear the Vierville draw of mines and other obstacles.
The beach head was still an intense killing zone at about 0830. Several thousand soldiers were stranded and easy targets for the Germans. A frustrated destroyer skipper (Lt. Commander Ralph Ramey), defied his orders, steamed his destroyed as close as possible and began to blast the cliffs with his 5 inch guns. Soon, all the other destroyers followed. Within 30 minutes, they had destroyed 6 gun emplacements. The tide was turning. With less effective fire raining down on the trapped men, leaders began moving soldiers up the bluffs and into the draws. The crowded beaches were slowly clearing.
With men still vulnerable on the beach, and landing craft prohibited from landed more soldiers as there was no space, soldiers were trying to fight their way off the killing zone. In 2 hours of intense fighting, by 1100, the beach started to clear up as the men were making progress against the Germans. Some landing craft commanders again defied orders and started to land more troops. These soldiers and equipment were still under fire, but it was not as intense as at 0630. The reinforcements help rally all in harm’s way--momentum now was on the American side.
By 1300, Gen. Bradley, who had considered abandoning Omaha and land the remaining soldiers at Utah, received a message that troops who had been previously pinned down on the beach were moving up the heights behind the beach area. Victory now seemed possible.
3 hours later, the Colleville Draw was in American hands. Now three of the four draws were under American control. Not until about 2000, would the 4th draw, Les Moulins, be captured.
The stone marker is the site of the first American Cemetery established directly on the Omaha Beaches. The buried here were later moved to the larger American Cemetery.
The Americans had won at Omaha. The unrealistic plan had called for the assaulting soldiers to capture the draw exits and bluffs by H+2 (0830). It had taken all day, but they had captured the beachhead and high ground and pushed in land in some sectors.
Les Braves sculpture Omaha Beach 2019.
Memorial on Omaha Beach 2019. This is located on the Les Moulins Draw.
Utah Beach
Utah Beach 2019
Utah Beach sign 2019
The story at Utah was completely different than Omaha.
Utah Beach was the objective of the 4th Infantry Division (Ivy 4). They were supported by the 82nd Airborne Division (most common nickname is the All American Division) and the 101st Airborne Division (the Screaming Eagles).
There was a 4 part plan at Utah--the strategy here had the added dimension of paratrooper support from the 16,000 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division and 101st Airborne Divisions. They were to land after midnight by parachutes and later with gliders (part 1), followed with naval shelling (part 2) and air force bombing support (part 3). Then the landings by Ivy 4 (part 4).
The Airborne Assault—Part 1 of the Utah Beach
Part 1 of the plan, the airborne and glider assault, was the largest parachute assault ever attempted up to that time. The 101st mission code name was Albany; the code name for the 82nd mission was Boston. The overall mission was to act as a blocking force to help secure the western flank of Utah landing zone; capture the 4 causeway exits; and to establish crossing points over the Douve River to assist the link up of the beachheads of Utah and Omaha.
A former member of the 82nd Airborne poses with Iron Mike. Iron Mike is a tribute to the soldiers who lost their lives capturing and defending the bridge at La Fiere. It was part of the mission to capture and secure the river crossings during the D Day airborne landings. The original statue is at Ft. Bragg, NC, home of the 82nd Airborne..
The plan was for a night jump of both divisions to be followed up by the gliders.
A night jump is an amazing experience for many paratroopers—I still remember my first night jump in Ranger school (jump #6—my first after 5 airborne school jumps) but we were dropped at about 2000 feet, and nobody was shooting at me. The exit height was 700 feet in the D Day airborne assault! To qualify for the D Day assault, 3 successful jumps was the standard in the training prior to the airborne assault. Most paratroopers carried 125-150 pounds of equipment into the battle drop zones during the assault.
In 2014, Anne took this picture during a fly over the American Cemetery. This is a type of plane that was used by the American Forces to jump into either Albany or Boston Area of Operations.
Thompson .45 cal. Machine gun and ammo used in the D Day Assault. This is on display in the Airborne Museum in Ste. Marie Eglise, France.
A paratrooper Carbine with its jump case. Most soldiers jumped with their weapons ready instead of using the protective case. Airborne Museum
Paratrooper equipment and uniform on display in the Airborne Museum
Jump plane on display Airborne Museum 2019
The Airborne Forces, though initially scattered (one account I read reported 75% were dropped at the wrong drop zones), performed with great success in one of the most daring behind the lines attacks in the history of warfare to secure their blocking positions. Some have been critical of their overall success since mission objectives were not achieved in the time frame desired, but this just ignores the fog of war—planners often think more is achievable than realistic when executing on the ground—plans look good on paper until someone starts shooting at you!
There were two reasons for their success, in my opinion. First, the scattered forces confused the Germans—they could not focus their forces on one single area. Second, the resolve of the soldiers and their leaders—makeshift units operated to accomplish the mission, when unit cohesion was lost. Again, the individual fighting spirit of the soldiers to do the job won the day.
It was not easy—after a week of brutal fighting about 2,500 were killed wounded or missing in action from the 2 Airborne Divisions.
The Landing at Utah Beach
At 0550, the Navy opened fire on the beaches of Utah (part 2); shortly thereafter 270 B-26 bombers began extensive bombing raids (part 3). Although many defensive positions in the beach area survived this onslaught, the defenders (“Russian volunteers“ and older, less able German soldiers) were seriously shaken, and put up little resistance.
Higgins Landing Craft on display at Utah Beach
Sculpture of assault at Utah Beach taken on 5 June 2019
Despite the perceived initial success with the shelling and bombing of the objective area, it looked like initially the landing was not going as planned (part 4). The actual landing site was wrong for the first wave of landing crafts—3 of the 4 guide boats hit mines and the other landing boats got disoriented. The planned landing site was off by 1000 meters.
It turns out this lucky mistake put the Americans at a lightly defended portion of Utah, with fewer obstacles, as compared to the more heavily defended planned landing site. A quick change of plans happened—the Americans took advantage of the poorly defended area and began pushing inland.
BG Teddy Roosevelt, Jr, assistant division commander, who landed with the first wave on Utah, recognized the error but also quickly realized the poorly defended area was a huge advantage and as we like to say in the military, “seized the initiative”. He and Col. James Van Fleet, commanding officer of the 8th Regiment, started sending troops inland on route #1 and pushed into the other route causeways as the beachhead expanded. By 1100 hours, exit causeway route #1 was secure—the soldiers of the 4th had linked up with soldiers of 101st. Around noon, all 4 causeway exits were secured.
Going inland on causeway #1. This is the Leadership Monument. The WW II Foundation selected Maj. Dick Winters of Easy Company as the symbol of leadership during the D Day Invasion. It was dedicated on 6 June 2012.
For his actions on this day, Roosevelt was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Other factors helped Utah to have the fewest casualties of any of the D Day beaches—fewer than 200 dead, wounded and missing from the amphibious landings. The navy skippers launched the swimming Sherman tanks closer to the shore than called for in the plan and 28 of the 32 made it ashore. Their immediate firepower was a critical element of success on Utah. Also, the engineer units were outstanding. They quickly breached the obstacles on the beach area and created avenues through the seawalls—men, vehicles and tanks started pouring onto and slowly off the beaches.
A Sherman Tank on display at Utah Beach
1st Engineer Special Brigade Monument Utah Beach
The rapid success on Utah caused too many soldiers and vehicles landed with no safe place to go. Congestion and traffic jams ensued (along with surrendering Germans) and could have proved deadly as many of the mines were not yet cleared, but by noon all was under control.
The beach defenders and defensive positions ultimately was not the major problem for the Utah attackers; it was the exit routes. These flooded fields that restricted movement and offered the Germans easy targets exposed the attacking force, as the attackers were forced to use the 4 exit causeway routes from the beachhead area for their vehicles. Some luck, determined leaders and resolute soldiers, overcame this dangerous situation.
Utah turned out to be a roaring success. As the darkness started, around 23,500 troops and 1,700 vehicles had landed.
Sailor Monument Utah Beach
4th Division Memorial Utah Beach
90th Infantry Monument Utah Beach
Lester Holt with Hank Utah Beach 5 June 2019
My Final Thoughts
D Day was a success but what really stands out to me is the resolve of the soldiers, sailors and airmen who made the operation work. Heroic, innovative and resourceful, these military forces should be honored for their deeds. They did not really see themselves as heroes--most just wanted to live to see 7 June 1944.
The war’s end would not come for 336 days of more combat. It would have never happened so soon, if these forces had not taken the first step on 6 June 1944 that ultimately ended the German occupation of Europe.
We have led two tours in Normandy in 2014 and 2019 and those experiences have made this operation much more real for me. We owe a debt of gratitude to these folks—their sacrifice and courage will stay with me for the rest of my life.
If you have never been to Normandy and seen the D Day Beaches, I would encourage you to go.
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HANK is a certified Western European Destination Specialist (DS) who has been traveling to Europe for 48+ years. He is also an Accredited Cruise Counselor (ACC), conferred by the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA). This recognized expert in cruise and leisure travel is a retired Army Officer, and taught World Geography for 8 years. He is a `71 graduate of West Point and has earned 2 master’s degrees. His other Certifications:
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