Omaha Beach proved to be the most difficult of the whole Allied D-Day assault; indeed, it was one of the bloodiest battles of World War II. There were more than 2,000 casualties on the beach that day. Forty percent of the engineers targeted to clear the shoreline and beaches were killed. Three-fourths of the radios were destroyed or rendered unworkable. These catastrophes appeared to belie the fact that the assault was planned down to the last detail. Noncommissioned officer Stephen David Douglas recalls the extensive pre-invasion briefing:
"We were given very detailed maps and shown reconnaissance photographs of the landing site. Essentially, Omaha was a beach area with a fairly high bluff behind it. It looked like a tough spot, because the Germans had gun emplacements up on the heights trained down at the beach. We were told that there was going to be a heavy naval bombardment as well as bombing from the air, and that the beach would be pretty well worked over by the time we got there.
"I remember, as we sat there being briefed, that I was impressed with the way everything had been worked out in incredible detail--or so it seemed. The maps showed every pillbox, bunker, and machine gun nest. They even showed where the minefields were and the location and types of underwater and beach obstacles we would encounter. We knew within a matter of yards where we were to be landed, what our objectives were, and what we were to do when we got to shore." (1)
Even the best laid plans can go awry, and in the case of Omaha Beach, nearly everything that could go wrong did. The first problem was that because the naval bombardment did not commence until 0550, only forty minutes of bombing softened up resistance before Allied troops headed for shore. Furthermore, the bombers had dropped their loads a mile or so behind the beach into a swamp area, failing to eliminate the pillboxes and gun emplacements.
Thus, when the troops deployed, they faced withering firepower that slaughtered them before they could reach the shore. The naval shelling and rockets only served to pockmark the channel bottom, making the amphibious assault all that more difficult for the foot soldiers. Stephen David Douglas later described what it was like:
"The water was chest high and cold as hell. We were about a hundred yards from the beach . . . and there was a lot of surf. You are loaded down with about a hundred and fifty pounds of heavy and cumbersome gear. You can barely move, and they are firing at you. The sandy bottom, which we expected to be fairly level, was very uneven and full of holes kicked up by all of the shells and mines that had exploded. As you're fighting your way through the surf trying to get to the beach, you'd hit one of these holes and stumble ass over teakettle down over your head. Then you'd struggle to get up, and a wave would hit you and you'd go down again." (2)
Tragically, for those soldiers who did manage to reach the shore, all the planning, maps, and reconnaissance were for naught. A strong German division had unexpectedly moved into the area facing Omaha Beach. The severe weather, rough water, and strong tides had swept the Omaha force down shore, out of position, and face to face with the German division.
Caught in enemy crossfire, disoriented, and without reference points, the Allied soldiers suffered horrible losses of personnel and equipment:
"There were bodies and parts of bodies floating around, and masses of debris in the water . . . amphibious tanks . . . were being swamped by the heavy seas and going down with the guys inside obviously drowning. One of the landing craft running in with us blew up and literally disintegrated. It either hit a mine or took a direct hit from a high explosive shell. One second it was there, the next it wasn't . . . . The waves that came in ahead of us were absolutely cut down. As soon as the ramps went down the German guns were zeroed in on our guys and they were cut to ribbons . . . It was a carnage. The sea was literally red with blood." (3)
The blood bath continued until mid-morning when Allied destroyers finally managed to maneuver close to shore and began knocking out German positions. Tanks and bulldozers at last were able to knock out other enemy strongholds. The support freed the soldiers pinned down on the beach, and the paralysis of the early morning diminished. By mid-afternoon, all resistance on Omaha had ceased and fresh troops were brought in to begin the push inland. Overcoming terrible odds and heavy losses, the Allies prevailed.
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1. Reprinted with permission of Visual Education Corporation from Richard Lidz, "Normandy: June 6, 1944: David Stephen Douglas" in "Many Kinds of Courage: An Oral History of World War II" (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1980).
