Omaha Beach
As Omaha Beach , the designated Allies in World War II, a French coast in Normandy in Colleville-sur-Mer and Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer , where the landing of the V US Corps as part of Operation Neptune took place.
background
Allied preparation
American troops landed on June 6, 1944 ( D-Day ) as part of Operation Neptune at this landing zone, for which the city of Omaha in the USA was named. The beach section to the west was called Utah Beach , the three to the east as Gold , Juno and Sword Beach .
Omaha Beach - with the ten kilometers of beach between the mouth of the Vire at Vierville-sur-Mer and the small fishing port of Port-en-Bessin the longest section of the front line of the Allied landing - was divided into eight zones, coded from west to east as Charlie , Dog Green , Dog White , Dog Red , Easy Green , Easy Red (the longest at around 2.2 km), Fox Green and Fox Red .
The western third of the beach was bordered by a 3 meter high wall, and the entire beach ended at 30 meter high cliffs. There were five exits to the hinterland. The best paved was a paved road in a ravine that led to Vierville-sur-Mer. Two were just easy, dirt roads and two more were the narrow, dirt roads to the villages of Colleville-sur-Mer and Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer .
Formal and the west of the zone belonged to Charlie situated cliff Pointe du Hoc on Omaha landing area. There was a fortified German artillery position with six French 155 mm booty guns that guarded the beach and could therefore have fired on the American landing forces on the beach sections of Utah and Omaha Beach. Although the positions were often attacked by bomber groups and ship artillery, the fortifications were too strong and withstood the fire. Therefore, the US 2nd Ranger Battalion was given the order to destroy the guns on the morning of D-Day.
German defense
Omaha Beach, like the Pointe du Hoc, was located in the approximately 50 kilometers wide German "Bayeux Defense Area ", which stretched from the Vire estuary in the west to just east of Arromanches-les-Bains in the east and from the German 352nd Infantry Division was defended under Lieutenant General Dietrich Kraiss . The 709th Infantry Division joined to the west and the 716th Infantry Division to the east . The 352nd Infantry Division had taken over this coastal sector in March 1944 from the 716th Infantry Division, which had previously been separated by around 100 kilometers, whose sector was thereby halved. This change had remained hidden from the Allies until the beginning of June and was not known to the commanders of the landing forces. The actual landing zone was defended by parts of grenadier regiments 916 (under Colonel Ernst Goth) and 726 (from 716 ID, temporarily subordinated to 352 ID).
The code name of the gun emplacement at Pointe du Hoc was "Igel" or "Imme". The double name comes from the fact that this base was used by both the Air Force and the Navy and therefore different aliases were given.
In December 1943, General Field Marshal Erwin Rommel ordered an immediate expansion of the sector after inspecting the sections, and 13 well-fortified positions had meanwhile been set up. These were connected to smaller posts by an extensive system of ditches. In addition, the Germans laid extensive minefields that reached below the low-water line and set up beach barriers . These included iron barriers , barbed wire and the notorious Rommel asparagus against air landings and landing vehicles .
Resistance nests
The Germans recognized the long, open beach between Vierville-sur-Mer and Colleville-sur-Mer as a possible landing site for an Allied attack when they were planning their coastal defense systems ( Atlantic Wall ).
As on Utah Beach , they created resistance nests (WN) along the 10 km long beach, but concentrated them around 5 watercourses that cut the steep bank above the beach. Due to the slightly concave curvature of the coast, the WN 70, WN 71, WN 72 and WN 73 at the west end and the WN 60, WN 61 and the WN 62 at the east end had excellent fire areas all over the beach. Like these, WN 63, WN 67 and WN 69 were also deep behind the rocks. Houses on the coastal roads had been demolished to increase the fire area. Their material was used to build fortifications. Minefields were laid between the nests of resistance and in the watercourses, and remote-controlled flamethrowers were dug in to protect the blind spots . Everything was heavily fortified, but the Allied planners knew that a landing on Omaha would be necessary to keep Utah on the flank distant from the Anglo-Canadian beaches.
The safest route away from the beach was the gravel road west to the village of Vierville. This was blocked by an anti-tank wall, and the Germans had the WN 70 with infantry weapons and the WN 71 with two 7.5 cm cannons, one in an open pit, one in a casemate, as well as two grenade launchers and a second -cm anti-aircraft guns erected. The WN 72 at the entrance to the drainage channel was a fortress with two 8.8 cm cannons that coated the beach, a 5 cm cannon and five 5 cm grenade launchers. But WN 71 and WN 73 were understaffed. Men from construction brigades had to supplement them. The earthy path up to the St-Laurent-Exit was protected by four nests of resistance. The WN 64 had two 7.5 cm cannons, five 5 cm grenade launchers and a 2 cm anti-aircraft gun. WN 65 had a 8.8 cm cannon and a 5 cm grenade launcher in a casemate. WN 68 only had infantry weapons, but WN 66 was more heavily fortified. Protected by an anti-tank ditch, it had two 7.5 cm cannons, three Renault tank turrets set in bunkers, and six 5 cm grenade launchers.
In the depths were WN 67 and WN 69, the latter with a rocket battery. The 1st Division of the 352 Artillery Regiment of the 352nd Infantry Division under Lieutenant Colonel Wilhelm Ocker was standing with its observation posts around Houtteville in WN 59, WN 61 and WN 62, from where the artillery observer Lieutenant Frerking could adjust the fire.
The Colleville exit, just a path, was protected by three nests of resistance. WN 60 had two 7.5 cm cannons, a bunker with a Renault tank turret, four 5 cm grenade launchers and a 2 cm anti-aircraft gun. WN 61 was armed with a 8.8 cm cannon and a 5.5 cm cannon and Renault armored turret bunkers and a 5 cm grenade launcher. An anti-tank ditch lay in front of WN 62, the command post of Lieutenant Frerkings. The armament consisted of two 7.5 cm cannons in casemates, two 5 cm cannons and a 5 cm grenade launcher. The anti-tank ditch proved to be an effective obstacle. At 11:40 a.m. on D-Day, US tank drivers were looking for a place to cross it. Inland on the road to Colleville was WN 63 with a three-inch cannon. In this area the 2./GR916. focus. All the nests of resistance were surrounded by barbed wire, and the Allied planners knew that there was a dense network of minefields on the beach and inland.
Fighting
Operation Neptune started
A total of 6,991 ships crossed the English Channel between England and France in order to cross an army of approx. 200,000 men consisting of British , Americans , Canadians , French and Poles . They were supported by paratroopers from the air who had landed during the night. Utah and Omaha Beach were the landing zones of the 1st US Army under Lieutenant-General ( Lieutenant General ) Omar Bradley . The landing at Omaha Beach was conducted by the Fifth Corps, Major-General ( Major General ) Leonard T. Gerow was commanded and began at 6:30 pm (H-Hour) in the morning with the arrival of the 16th Regiment of the 1st Infantry Division and the 116th Regiment of the 29th Infantry Division assigned for this attack . The 16th regiment was assigned to the Easy Red and Fox Green sections , while the 116th was to land on the Dog sections. Due to the strong cross winds and ocean currents, only A Company of 116th reached the designated landing site. All other units were more or less driven off and missed their goals.
The landing troops suffered the greatest losses at Omaha Beach, since the 448 B-24 - bomber with 1,285 tons of bombs of the 2nd Bomb Division of the Eighth Air Force were the German positions missed or the defenses despite bombing largely intact. 117 B-24 bombers even returned to England with their cargo because they could not find their targets.
Only the naval artillery of the USS Texas , USS Arkansas , HMS Glasgow and the French warships Montcalm and Georges Leygues fired at targets on the beach and on the heights. Another problem was that the LCR (Landing Craft Rocket, landing craft armed with rocket launchers) missed their rocket salvos, which were supposed to destroy the barbed wire barn and minefields, too short into the water without damaging the German positions. The up to 30 m high steep slopes and cliffs as well as the 352nd Infantry Division stationed there since December 1943 also made it difficult to storm and secure the section.
The landing
About 50 minutes before the infantry actually landed , the swim-cased Sherman tanks ( DD tanks ) of the 741st Panzer Battalion were launched. Due to the rough seas, however, only two tanks managed to swim to the beach. Three more were brought to the beach by a landing craft whose flaps would not open at sea. 27 DDs went down at sea and the crews drowned. Their breathing apparatus only lasted for five minutes, which was too short given the turbulent sea. The floating tanks were not particularly well developed: only canvas-covered scaffolding was mounted on the conventional Sherman tanks, which could withstand waves up to 30 cm high. On this day the waves were almost two meters high. The tanks were released into the water very early, the distance to the bank was still almost five kilometers. The floating tanks were difficult to maneuver: the tank driver had no view, another soldier on the tower had to serve as a lookout. In light of this, it is surprising that some tanks even made it to the beach.
The first German resistance nest (WN 61) was switched off around 7:10 a.m. by one of the first two DD tanks to land.
Unexpected problems arose with the navigation of the infantry landing craft. Each boat was assigned a narrow stretch of beach, where the troops who landed had precise instructions on how to destroy obstacles on the beach and storm the steep coast. Despite an exact aerial mapping of the beach, the special brands could not be identified on land. In addition, strong winds and an underwater current at high tide drove the boats away, so that very few landed at their intended point. Most of them landed much further east, and the beachhead had expanded for more than four miles. For this reason, the infantry units of the 29th Infantry Division of the National Guard and the 1st Infantry Division fought in completely different locations than originally planned. On unfamiliar terrain, they came into the lines of fire in German positions unknown to them and suffered extremely high losses in some cases. So the advance got stuck in the defensive fire for the time being. In spite of everything, from 7:00 a.m., more soldiers from the next waves streamed ashore behind the troops seeking cover. It took about 40 minutes for all units to be ashore.
On the right (western) flank, the 743rd Tank Battalion was able to bring almost all of its tanks to the beach using the landing craft. Ten tanks were destroyed on the beach, four tanks sank with an LCT off Vierville, and more were lost in an explosion on the beach. Three tanks were killed by the gunners of the 9./GR726, which was subordinate to the 352nd Infantry Division. At about 13:25, about 34 tanks were on the west beach between Vierville and Saint Laurent with the 13th wave.
The engineer special brigade that went ashore and was supposed to blow up gaps in the German defensive positions usually arrived at their deployment sites 10 minutes late, if they even reached them. In many cases, the complete explosives packages and detonators were lost on the way.
Breakthrough through the German defense positions
The first major breakthrough came at 9:00 a.m. on the Dog White section. Here the defense consisted only of light, non-concentrated machine gun fire from the resistance nest 70. 31 German soldiers of the 352nd Infantry Division were captured. About 20 minutes later, Company C of the 116th Regiment and rangers of the 5th Ranger Battalion, under the command of General Norman Cota , managed to climb the steep stretch of beach and advance into the hinterland. General Cota led his men east to Vierville and then fought his way down to the beach (D1 Beach Exit).
Around 10 a.m., around 2,000 people were dead on the beach, and the officers began to regroup the remaining soldiers. They then fought their way through the minefields and obstacles near the cliffs to be able to advance further against the German positions. Shortly afterwards, the siege of resistance nest 64 east of the Ruquet valley at the E1 Beach Exit began, which was subsequently abandoned by the Germans. WN 65 fell around 10:30 a.m. With that E1 was cleared and the Americans could begin the advance into the hinterland at this point.
Two American destroyers approached Omaha within about 1,100 meters to bombard key German positions east of Les-Moulins .
In other parts of Omaha Beach, much more armed and fortified German defenses had to be overcome. General Bradley received word around noon that large units were stuck on the Easy Red stretch of beach . Further reinforcement waves arrived on the Easy Red and Easy Green sections and the wounded were transported away.
The German resistance nest 72 surrendered around 1 p.m., so that the beach exit D1 to Vierville-sur-Mer was free. Half an hour later, the German 352nd Infantry Division made a serious mistake: It incorrectly reported to the German 7th Army that the Allied attempted landing had been thrown back into the sea. It is possible that the radio message arrived mutilated at the 7th Army and was misinterpreted there.
In the Easy Red sector on the border with the Fox Green sector , at 2:35 p.m., the Americans succeeded in eliminating the strong German resistance nest 62 , from which only four German soldiers (including Hans Warnecke, Franz Gockel and the later American as the “Beast of Omaha Beach ” Heinrich Severloh ) were able to escape.
The beach exit D1 was taken under heavy fire from the German base WN 73 near a house and could not be taken by two American ranger battalions until around 5 p.m. Subsequently, troops of the 29th US Infantry Division managed to advance almost to Pointe du Hoc . Due to counter-attacks from the German side, the troops and tanks had to retreat to the last place before Pointe du Hoc.
From 8:00 p.m. onwards, further landing waves arrived, bringing additional material such as tanks and artillery.
On the west side of Omaha Beach, the 1st US Division failed to meet the daily goals. On the morning of June 7th, parts of the German 915 Grenadier Regiment made another advance towards the coast. This venture failed and led to the final collapse in the beach sector.
From June 7, 1944, the remaining German troops only withdrew because fighting with hand weapons and isolated tanks was no longer possible against the superior strength of the Allied tanks, artillery and air force.
Omaha Beach served as a port facility after D-Day. In addition to the artificial port in Arromanches-les-Bains ( Mulberry B ), a second port has been set up on the beaches of Vierville and Saint-Laurent. This Mulberry A (A-American / B-British) was destroyed by a very strong storm between June 19 and 22, 1944. The still usable parts were brought to Arromanches and the supplies were unloaded directly on the beach by LCTs, DUKWs and LSTs .
literature
- Joseph Balkoski: Omaha Beach: D-Day: June 6, 1944 , Stackpole Books, 2004, ISBN 0-8117-0079-8 .
- Mark R. Henry: D-Day 1944 (1): Omaha Beach (Campaign) , Osprey, 2003, ISBN 1-84176-367-5 .
- Tim Kilvert-Jones: Omaha Beach: V Corps Battle for the Beachhead , Cooper, 2002, ISBN 0-85052-671-X .
- James Arnold: Operation Overlord: Omaha Beach & Pointe Du Hoc 6 June 1944: 003 (Order of Battle, 3) , Ravelin, 1994, ISBN 1-898994-02-1 .
- Antony Beevor: D-Day - The Battle of Normandy , C. Bertelsmann, Gütersloh 2010, ISBN 978-3-570-10007-3 .
Web links
- American D-Day: Omaha Beach, Utah Beach & Pointe du Hoc
- More information at battletours.de
- Explanation of the fighting on Omaha Beach at www.army.mil (English)
- More information about Omaha Beach and the 916 Grenadier Regiment of the 352nd Infantry Division
- Musée Mémorial OMAHA Beach
Coordinates: 49 ° 22 ′ 10 ″ N , 0 ° 52 ′ 27 ″ W.