D-Day Pointe Du Hoc

Situated between OMAH and UTAH beaches, the POINTE DU HOC battery over looked both invasion beaches were a major threat to the assault. The battery consisted of 6 concrete casemates containing 155mm guns. Prior to the invasion, it was subject to air bombing, which may have resulted in the guns being moved 1 mile inland just prior to D-day.

The Battery was located on the top of cliffs. The assault would be conducted by the 2^nd Ranger Battalion

The landing craft used by the rangers were equipped with rocket launchers which fire ropes and grapples up the cliff. Despite landing 40 minutes late, the Rangers scaled the cliffs, naval gun fire support suppressing the enemy.

Upon reaching the fortification, the Rangers found the battery contained no guns. Upon regrouping patrols were sent out and the battery located inland. The Rangers then attacked the battery and were successful in destroying the guns.

Pointe Du Hoc

Pointe Du Hoc

Ranger Memorial Pointe Du Hoc

D-Day OMAHA Beach

The transfer from transport ships into assault craft was carried out 11 miles offshore (twice the distance the British would use) and necessitating undertaking this in the dark. Rough weather and darkness caused many craft to get out of position, notably the engineers required for clearing the beach obstacles. 

Six thousand yards from the beaches the DD tanks were launched. Only two made the beaches, the rest sunk in the heavy swell and were lost together with their crews. The conditions also caused the loss of 10 LCVP’s carrying infantry and artillery loaded into Amphibious DUKW’s made them top heavy causing them to capsize losing more than 20 guns.

The infantry approaching OMAHA BEACH were therefore without specialist beech clearing engineers, no armoured support, and short on artillery. The 3 hour journey left many sea sick, and as they arrived at the beaches, difficulties in navigation due to smoke and mist obscuring landmarks, meant the majority of landing craft missed their intended locations. In most cases the landing craft found themselves on sandbars 50 to 100 yards short of the beach, and consequently had to wade through water, often up to neck height, before they could reach the beach.

Defences on OMAHA were stronger than expected, the air and naval bombardment were ineffective, and therefore the Germans were able to bring the full weight of machine gun fire from interlocking positions on to the beaches as well as artillery and mortar fire.

Only five out of the sixteen intended engineer teams reached the beaches. Under heavy fire they struggled to clear obstacles, their task made more difficult by the infantry using them as cover from the intense fire. Only a few channels were cleared. The weakened assault troops could not clear the exits from the beach. The consequences being the second wave landing at 07:00 were without covering fire and relatively few channels had been cleared through the objectives. They therefore bunched up in the few channels cleared and congested the beach area as they were unable to exit.
At 08:30 landings were suspended, those troops in landing craft now being required to circle off shore in the difficult sea conditions which caused more casualties as craft were swamped in the swell. Landings were later resumed and tanks were brought ashore. Naval gun fire was being targeted on the defensive positions and at 09:50 the destroyers were ordered to get as close to the beaches as possible to reduce the risk of hitting their own troops.

Eventually small penetrations were made by impromptu assaults of groups scratched together from different units, aided by tank fire and naval gun fire support. This allowed two exits from the beaches to be formed. These were exploited to create a small bridgehead; however none of the original objectives were achieved.

OMAHA Beach

At Omaha beach the American War Cemetery contains 9,387 graves and memorial walls record a further 1,577 names, for those lost throughout the Normandy campaign.

NORMANDY AMERICAN CEMETERY AND MEMORIAL

D-Day - UTAH Beach

At 03:00 the troops began unloading from their transport ships into their landing craft for the 3 1/2 hour trip to the beaches. The naval gun fire support commenced at 05:00. The ships engaged on the beach defences would switch fire inland once the first troops began to land.

As the troops from the 8^th Infantry Regiment landed at 06:30, they met little opposition other than a few rounds of artillery.  However they had in fact landed at the wrong place, being over a mile to the south. Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jnr quickly took control, and devised an impromptu plan, and ordered that subsequent waves would land at the new location. The assaulting battalions in the meantime pushed on from the beaches to secure their objectives and link up with the airborne troops.

With the beaches secured, the remaining waves landed according to plan, and the link up with airborne units was achieved. The lack of enemy responses and the initiative in flexing the plan to the situation meant casualties were light, only 210 killed, missing, or wounded out of over 20,000 troops which were to land on D-Day.

UTAH Beach

D-Day - Ste Mer Eglise.

The primary objective of the American air landings was to protect the eastern flank of the seaborne invasion forces, and in particular secure the exits through the flooded area to the rear of UTAH BEACH .

Two airborne divisions were assigned to the mission. The 101^st Airborne Division were to seize and hold the exits from UTAH BEACH capture the LA BARQUETTE LOCH and destroy or capture bridges over the R.DOUVRE.  They were then to establish a defensive line to protect the southern flank.

The 82^nd Airborne would be dropped to protect the northwest flank, and in p[articular prevent counter penetration from enemy forces in the COTENTIN PENINSULAR. Their landing zones were both sides of the R.  MERDERET. The specific tasks were to capture SAINT MERE EGLISE, capture two causeways at LA FIERE and CHEF- DU- PONT , and destroy bridges on the R.DOUVRE at ETIENVILLE and BEUZEVILLE-LA-BASTILLE.

To deceive the German defenders 3 foot high dummies, ‘Ruperts’, would be dropped by parachute away from the main landing areas.

At 21:30 on June 5^th 1944 the pathfinders took off from the North Witham airbase. 30 minutes later the main body of 801 aircraft began their flight to the drop zones.  Thick cloud and bad weather, coupled with German flak defences, meant the transport aircraft flew higher and faster than planned and had to weave to avoid the anti-aircraft fires. The consequences being many paratroopers jumped at the wrong locations and were dispersed over a wide area. Most units dropped several miles from their intended drop zones (DZ).

The 82^nd division were widely dispersed, though this did have the advantage that the Germans were confused as to the size and intentions of the airborne troops. Scattered groups of men were gathered together as ad hoc units and made their way to their intended objectives.

The paratroopers from the 101^st AB were widely scattered, and many casualties were sustained as men drowned in flooded areas. By dawn only 1,100 of the divisions 6,600 men had reached their reporting positions. The second wave of glider troops had also sustained heavy casualties and much heavy equipment had been lost.  Despite the difficulties the airborne troops succeeded in securing the four vital exits from UTAH BEACH, and linked up with the assaulting troops to secure the bridgehead.

It was in Ste Mer Eglise where Private John Steele's parchute was caught on the Church Tower, and where he hung feigning death, until the town had been cleared of Germans. 

US Airborne Museum Ste Mer Eglise

US Airborne Museum Ste Mer Eglise 75mm Pack Howitzer

Musee Airborne St Mer Eglise

D-Day - Concentration & Routes

The build-up of men and material for the Normandy invasion totalled 20 American divisions, 14 British, 3 Canadian and one each from France and Poland. Nearly 8,000 aircraft, over 4,000 landing vessels, nearly 300 fighting ships were now ready. The total number of people involved was near 3 million.

Concentration areas in the south of England were defined and seaborne / airborne routes to the invasion areas designated.

Concentration and Routes June 1944

Concentration March 2012

D-Day - 6th June 1944

 In February 1944 General Dwight D Eisenhower was appointed as Supreme Allied Commander and tasked with the “securing a lodgement on the continent from which further offensive operations could be developed”

Code named OVERLORD, the invsaion would take place in Normandy, in North West France. The area chosen   lay between LE HAVRE at the mouth of the R. SEINE, in the East, through the bay of the SEINNE to the COTENTIN PENINSULAR in the West.

The operation was to be conducted by two Armies, the First United States Army right, the Second British Army left, under the command of the Twenty First Army Group. The invasion would be a combined operation with naval and air components.

The intentions were four fold:
·         To carry out airborne landings during the night D minus 1/D day in order to protect the flanks of the area where the assault divisions would land.
·         On D day to assault on a five division front with three British divisions and two American divisions between VAREVILLE 4299 and OUISTREHAM 1179 in the bay of the SIENNE.
·         To Land the two follow up divisions, one British and one American on D day and on D plus 1.
·         Thereafter to build our forces at the rate of one and a third divisions a day.

The plan was to land British and American forces on five beaches between the mouth of the R.ORNE at OUISTREHAM and the COTENTIN PENINSULAR. Prior to the sea landings, the flanks would be secured by airborne forces. Allied bombers would bombard key targets in depth prior to D-Day, and target beach defences prior to the sea landings. The assault on the beaches would be covered by naval gun fire. The French Resistance and the Special Operations Executive (SOE) were tasked with attacking logistical targets.

The timing of D-Day was crucial. Only a few days a month were available to meet the operational requirements. Full moons to assist in the navigation for both airborne and seaborne units, together with a spring tide to provide the deepest water to avoid obstacles were the ideal conditions.

On 6^th May 1944 the date for D Day was set as 5^th June. Once this was announced to the units involved, camps containing assault troops were completely sealed off and under armed guard.
By early June the weather began to deteriorate, and by the 4th conditions were unsuitable for a landing; wind and high seas would make it impossible to launch landing craft from larger ships at sea, and low clouds would prevent aircraft finding their targets.  The invasion was postponed for 24 hours.

At a vital meeting on 5 June, Eisenhower's chief meteorologist Group Captain JM Stagg forecast a brief improvement for 6 June. After discussions with his commanders, General Eisenhower said “ok, we go”

 

NVAA BATTLEFIELD TOUR NORMANDY 2012

  NVAA Normandy 2012 

D-Day Museum Portsmouth

The D-Day Museum in Portsmouth provided an informative background to the Normandy invasion, and placed the operation in context to the whole war.

 

Portsmouth

 HMS Warrior

http://www.hmswarrior.org/history

HMS Warrior was the first armour-plated, iron-hulled  built for the Royal Navy. When she entered service in October 1861, Warrior was the largest, fastest, most heavily armed and most heavily armoured warship in the world..

Portsmouth WW1 Naval Memorial

Portsmouth Naval Memorial

IN HONOUR OF THE NAVY
AND TO THE ABIDING MEMORY
OF THOSE RANKS AND
RATINGS OF THIS PORT WHO LAID DOWN THEIR
LIVES IN THE DEFENCE OF THE EMPIRE AND
HAVE NO OTHER GRAVE THAN THE SEA