Men of the 16th Infantry Regiment, US 1st Infantry Division wade ashore on Omaha Beach on June 6, 1944. Image is in the Public Domain.
June 6, 1944 – D-Day
Early in the morning of June 6, 1944, something began to happen that changed the world. Over 160,000 Allied Troops, jumping out of planes or off of ships, landed on the beaches and fields of Normandy, France. By the end of the day, many had lost their lives on Sword, Juno, Gold, Utah, and Omaha Beaches. The D-Day invasion of France on June 6, 1944, was the turning point of World War II. Of all the beach landings, the landing on Omaha Beach was the bloodiest of all.
Air bombardment
It was to have obliterated any coastal stronghold of the enemy. There had been much bragging on board the ships about the accuracy of America’s B24. Referred to as “precision bombing,” the bombers could “drop a bomb in a pickle barrel.” Considering the bravado and then the men seeing the sky full of the invincible bombing machines makes it easy to understand how some young soldiers felt confident.
Visibility was difficult
There was a heavy mist of fog that extended across the water and out for miles. Many of the men on the incoming rubber boats were suffering from nausea and vomiting. Additionally, another German division reinforced the enemy’s defense on Omaha Beach, and that intelligence came too late.
Casualties
Some accounts suggest that nearly sixty-five per cent of Omaha’s five thousand casualties were lost within the first fifteen minutes of battle. Under heavy fire and with no place to hide, they struggled towards shore. Many of the wounded drowned in the deep water. Facing almost certain death, it is impossible to imagine the absolute terror they felt,
Landing crafts
As the mother ship came within nine miles of the Normandy beaches, the landing crafts began dispatching infantrymen to their beach targets. Leaders gave the nervous infantrymen pep talks over the ship’s public address systems: “Fight to get your troops ashore, fight to save your ships, and if you’ve got any strength left, fight to save yourselves.” Commanders were not sugar-coating what was going to happen. Death was a likely reality on D-Day.
First wave of watercraft heading toward Omaha Beach.
German defense
The Allied Command planned the exact landing locations and a precise timetable. The plan included the specifics for unloading the tanks and for using the cranes. The plan was that heavy aerial and ship bombardment would neutralize the German defense. The tides, however, were so choppy and high that many of the landing crafts missed their targets. Many of the tanks intended for Omaha Beach sank in the English Channel while attempting to come ashore.
The cliffs
The Germans had built formidable bunkers on the rocky cliffs leading to the beach and had heavily mined the waters around the beachhead. Sitting up high, however, on the cliffs of Omaha Beach, the Germans rained down on the Allies with a constant blast from their machine guns and mortar shells.
Minefields
On D-Day, the engineers had orders to destroy sixteen areas along the coastline, eliminating mines and other obstacles, allowing paths for the men to come ashore. They traveled in small rubber boats loaded with explosives; the Nazis saw them and blew many of them up. Engineers had to stop their work, and by 9 am only 5 ½ paths were open. Infantrymen had waded in behind them; soldiers took shelter behind the obstacles they were to blow up. Hundreds of men waded in water, shoulder-to-shoulder, and frozen in fear.
The dead
At two miles from shore and less than an hour into the invasion, bodies were visibly bobbing up and down in the water. The blood from the dead turned the sea red. Those alive washed ashore along with the dead as the tide came in. Soldiers jumped overboard, even though they were under strict orders to stay with the vessel until landing. A number of the landing craft received direct hits from enemy fire and exploded into flames, sinking fully loaded with men to the bottom of the sea.
Ramps
As the ramps opened, the men began to make their way to shore. Many found themselves in water over their heads. There were many wounded, floating, struggling to stay afloat, waving their arms and calling for help – all ignored by speeding incoming landing craft.
Debris in the water
More obstacles in the water created problems for the other vessels and slowed the invasion down. In less than two hours the debris of the invasion – reels of wire, supplies, heavy equipment, canteens, helmets, life preservers, wrecked landing crafts, and of course, the bodies of their comrades began to mount on the beach.
On the beach
The battle was going so poorly that the evacuation of the wounded was toward the enemy. The changing of the tides on D-Day meant death for some of those still floating close to shore. Desperately wishing for reinforcements, men were realizing that they were going to die.
Officers
Most of the officers had been killed, since they were the first ones coming off the landing craft. Stunned, the remaining officers were unsure of what to do. The high tide had cut off reinforcements from the landing boats, and the medics were not able to get to the wounded quickly.
Desperation
Some men had lost their glasses in the surf, and then, they could not see to find their units. Others lost equipment in the rough waves, and despite the heavy blast of bullets at them, they were searching around the water trying to recover it. Many, however, had abandoned their equipment to save themselves from drowning. Some of the soldiers said they did not know where the targets were and shot randomly at houses along the beach. Most expressed feeling disoriented and unsure what lay behind or in front of them.
The Navy
Finally, several destroyers, ignoring orders and the dangers of unseen obstacles, nearly ran aground and came in towards the shore, firing at the German positions on the cliffs. Soon, other destroyers also joined in, and the battle began to change. The tone of the infantrymen’s emotions changed as well. One of the lucky survivors said,
“I thought I was a goner, but then, I saw the Navy in close with one of their destroyers. Damn, I was proud.”
In the end, the grit and leadership shown on the beaches, along with the intervention of Navy destroyers, saved the day. For those who made it to the shore alive, getting off the beach was the next deadly problem on D-Day.
Sources:
- 1]The Longest Day (1959)
- 2] The Guns at Last Light (2013)
- 3] Overlord: D Day and the Battle of Normandy (1984)
- 4] If You Survive (1987)
- 5] March Past (1979)
- National World War II Museum
- U.S. Navy Archives
Related Reading
- Christmas Miracles in Bastogne: Patton and the Battle of the Bulge
- Midway – The Four Days When America’s Fate Hung by a Thread
- Was General George Patton Murdered?
About the Author
My grandfather served
God bless these brave men. They made the greatest sacrifice for all of us. Please don’t let their life’s forfeiture be in vain. Amen.
Thank God for all of the patriots, young & old, who sacrificed so much for the benefit of mankind!
God bless all our soldiers.
Thank You to the Greatest Generation for our Freedom.
Thank You For Our Freedom ! God Bless You !
And we thank all of them!
Thank them for their great Service.
My dad was a ww2 seabee.
God Bless all of the soldiers who gave their lives.
God bless the boys n men who serves my father my uncle Dad fought in the Philippines. Okanowa. I was one 1/2 years old my brother was two he serviced also a
Greatest GENERATION
Truly a sacrifice for our nation!
Great Americans.
Heroes – Great Americans who gave their lives that we might have a better life. I thank those of the past, and those now
Those brave men were really part of the Greatest Generation.
We are blessed that we had men willing to sacrifice their lives for the welfare of the country and the free world. Heroes all!
The Greatest Generation are passing so fast. Not only Honor our Veterans tell them thank you for your time and service and sacrifice to our Country you are not forgotten. And the people of the same age who were back home doing their part to insure our Veterans success. Thank you one and all. You are not forgotten. GOD Bless.
My dad landed 80years ago today thank god he made it safely D Day plus
James Dohan, Scotty from Star Trek, was wounded in the D day invasion
I pray all entered GOD’S KINGDOM
Thank you for your service.
God Bless! Let us never forget
Thank you for your service and sacrifice.
Bless you all for my freedom and thank you for your service and braver
My godfather landed on Ohama Beach and survived
God Bless them, for America they died for freedom. They were above amazing, prayers .
The greatest generation ever!!!
Giving BIG HUGS around to ALL , WHO , fought for freedom, but lost their live, they’re true Patriots!!!!!
God bless them all.
Thank you for the reminder!
Thank you for your service.
The greatest generation ever.
I honor all who served
My Dad fought in Italy during WWII. I see all these pictures and I wonder if the current administration thinks “white privilege” since so many of them were white . Our heritage is being tainted by people who have a lot of hate for the people that founded this country, have defended this country through these years, and now for us.
Lest not forget. They saved the world.
More than two million Allied troops were in France by the end of August. 29K Americans died.
I honor all who served
Such sacrifices by so many !
And Trump called these brave men suckers and losers vote blue from now on!
God bless them one and all
Flattop Sailor 65 71
The men that sacrificed there lives on D Day are suckered losers . According to trump . And if you vote for him , you are as sad as he is.
These veterans are leaving us. Their sacrifices were incredible and made the difference in the future of so many. Now we have politicians who are turning their backs on those sacrifices. Ask those veterans how they feel about the nonsense of today’s politics. It is heart breaking.
Rest in peace brave sons of America.
73K troops killed of 150K troops in Battle of Normandy
My grandfather served.
The word heroes cannot describe the brave men and boys who were willing to sacrifice everything to save our entire world!! Met we never forget their courage and valor!!
Such a terrible day but so thankful they all went to fight.
Thank you for your freedom. God bless you
No, Trump.our military are not suckers and losers. They are heroes.
There is No Generations Better or Worse than the Next !!! “Semper Fi”
80 years later and we still have to worry about Nazis .
The Greatest Generation are passing so fast. Not only Honor our Veterans tell them thank you for your time and service and sacrifice to our Country you are not forgotten. And the people of the same age who were back home doing their part to insure our …
Uncle Bud parachuted in on D-Day Eve and Dad would be 105 now.
The greatest generation!
Chilling the nite before how in hell could they stand it counting minutes we can only imagine how they felt but we don’t have clue what it really felt like
Tony Raguso
Naturally the Americans were saddled with Omaha.
We owe them everything.
Dad there, Louis Marino
Dad was there. Nicomedez (Nick) Romero. Thank God he came back home. Thank you to all the brave men.
OUR NATIONAL DEBT
My grandfather survived this beach.
I stood on Omaha Beach looking at the bluffs, Nazi guns, thinking an amazing accomplishment with great loss of life!