4
AT 0251 ON JUNE 6TH, USS Ancon, headquarters ship for Admiral Hall and General Gerow, commander of V Corps, dropped anchor in the transport area twenty kilometers off Omaha Beach. The weather was not good; a strong wind was blowing from the northwest, whipping up the waves to a height of three or four feet. Breakers on the beach were also high, less than ideal for a landing.
The area selected for the V Corps landings was a slightly crescent-shaped beach about 7,000 meters in length, situated between the villages of Vierville and Colleville. Men landing there would have a large area of open sand covered with beach obstacles to negotiate before the beach turned to a shingle bank that was, in places, up to fifteen meters wide. The western half of the shingle backed up to a seawall; in the eastern half, the bank merged into low sand dunes. Running parallel to the beach was a paved road, which dwindled to little more than a track as it ran toward the eastern half of the beach area.
Behind the road, the level sand was interspersed with tall grasses and marshes. Dotted along this coast were a few summer villas, which had either been turned into fortifications or flattened to improve fields of fire. The sands then rose in steep bluffs up to sixty meters (200 feet) high and covered with rough grass, scrub, and low bushes.
The exits from the beach were by means of five small, narrow valleys. The Americans called these “draws,” and gave each one a title: D-1 (Vierville); D-3 (Les Moulins); E-1 (St Laurent); and E-3 (Colleville). The fifth draw at the extreme eastern end of the beach was designated F-1; it showed potential, but was only a steep narrow track. Once atop the bluffs the land still sloped but gave the impression of standing on top of a plateau. Here were open fields and orchards stretching back for just under a mile to the blacktop road. This road (now the D-514) passed through the coastal villages and ran from Isigny through to Port-en-Bessin.
The Germans had spent a lot of time building defenses along this stretch of coast. At low tide obstacles exposed were “Element C” (a gate-like metal structure), steel hedgehogs, and large posts driven into the sand. Most of these structures had mines or explosives, strapped to them and were designed for, and quite capable of, wrecking landing craft.
Concertina wire was laid along the top of the sea wall and dunes, and the beach flats heavily mined. In addition, the Germans built strongpoints that were especially formidable in the areas of the exit points. Every part of the beach and sands could be covered by fire from machine guns, mortars, and rifles. There were also gun emplacements that covered the entire length of the beach, housing a host of different caliber guns. Special walls were built onto the sides of these emplacements to conceal the barrels and muzzle flashes from anyone out at sea.
There were no heavy batteries at Omaha, but approximately five kilometers away, on the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc, it was believed the Germans had a battery of six 155mm French guns. These could easily range on either Omaha or Utah Beach. According to Allied intelligence, the German 716th Division was manning these defenses and it was not rated as a very strong division. It was believed that the naval and air bombardment would incapacitate them.
A German strongpoint on Omaha Beach as it appears today.
V Corp’s assault plan was for four regiments – two from the veteran US 1st Infantry Division reinforced with two from the as-yet-untried 29th Infantry Division – to land on Omaha Beach. The two regiments from the 1st Infantry were the 16th and 18th Inf. Regts. From the 29th Infantry Division came the 116th and 115th Inf. Regts. In addition there was also a Provisional Ranger Force, taken from the 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions, plus tanks, artillery, and of course engineers. This constituted “Force O.”
First ashore would be the DD tanks from the 741st and 743rd Tank Battalions. These would provide the infantry with covering fire from the water’s edge. The tanks would be closely followed by the first wave Regimental Combat Teams consisting of the 116th Inf. Regt. , 16th Inf. Regt. , plus Engineers and Rangers. Hard on their heels would be the 18th Regimental Combat Team from the 1st Infantry Division and the 115th Regimental Combat Team of the 29th Infantry Division.
On D-Day plus 1, the plan called for the follow-up force (“Force B”) to land. This included the two remaining regiments from each of the divisions: the 175th Inf. Regt. of the 29th Infantry Division, the 26th Inf. Regt. of the 1st Infantry Division, and all of the 2nd Infantry Division. Their objectives were to open the draws to traffic, to secure a beachhead, and then to push inland toward Gaumont and St Lô.
Omaha Beach, for planning purposes, was split into sections. First it was cut in half, so that the 29th Infantry Division would land in the west and the 1st Infantry Division in the east. The beaches were then further subdivided from west to east and designated Charlie, Dog Green, Dog White, Dog Red, and Easy Green, for the 29th Infantry Division. The beaches for the 1st Infantry Division were designated Easy Red, Fox Green, and Fox Red.
From twelve miles out, in the first light of dawn on June 6th, the naval guns trained around to face the shore. The GIs were already aboard their LCVPs and LCAs and were making their way toward France. For some it would be a journey of nearly four hours before they reached the shore. The sea was rough and the men with their heavy equipment made the small landing craft sit even lower in the water. Spray and solid waves came over the side adding to the misery of already seasick men. And, as if they had not already enough to contend with, they now had to bale, some with their helmets, to keep the craft from sinking. Some though, were unable to do anything about their predicament. As the Rangers headed toward the shore a frantic message was overheard on the radio:
EYEWITNESS
This is LCA 860! . . . LCA 860! . . . We’re sinking! . . . We’re sinking! . . . My God, we’re sunk!
Unidentified crewman, LCA 860
An LCI (L) sinking off Omaha Beach, June 6th, 1944.
As the naval guns opened up at 0550, Lieutenant General Omar Bradley, commander of the 1st US Army Group, plugged his ears and watched through binoculars from the bridge of the flagship USS Augusta. Bombers flew overhead to drop their loads on the beach defenses below them. To the men storming ashore, it was reassuring; surely nothing could live through this fusillade of bomb and shell. Unfortunately though, the bombers could see nothing of their targets. The landing beaches were wreathed in smoke and dust. Fearful of dropping bombs on their own men, the bombers instead released their loads into the fields behind the German defenses.
Two or three miles out to sea, the DD tanks were launched. In the 1st Infantry Division’s area, disaster struck. Of the thirty-two tanks allotted to them, twenty-seven went to the bottom of the sea, taking some of their crews with them. The rough seas had either ripped their buoyancy canvasses off or had swamped the “swimming tanks.” In the 29th Infantry Division’s area, the LCT crewmen saw what happened and decided to take their tanks directly onto the beach. Although these tanks did manage to get onto the beach they suffered badly from enemy artillery fire.
The first wave approached the beach. The troops landing on the eastern end of Omaha passed men helplessly floating on rafts or doing their best to keep afloat in the choppy seas. They were what was left of the doomed DD tanks that had sunk on the way in. Thousands of explosive rockets shot overhead, turning the whole shoreline into a mass of smoke, dust, and fire. The naval bombardment lifted, and still there was no sign of Germans anywhere.
The Germans were there all the same, safe in their bomb-proof shelters, untouched by the airforce and naval bombardments. The rockets fired onto their positions had fallen short and landed in the surf.
In addition to all these disasters, the Allies had not been informed that the second-rate German 716th Division, which had been defending this section of the coast, had now been reinforced by troops from the crack 352nd Infantry Division. The Germans could not believe their eyes as the landing craft came toward them. Each made a perfect target. 200 meters out all was still relatively quiet, then, just before touch down, the men in the landing craft heard machine gun and mortar fire. Even more worrying was the fact they could hear lead pinging around their craft, and see the huge fountains of water made by artillery and mortar explosions.
As the ramps went down it became wholesale slaughter. This was the signal the Germans had been waiting for. They poured machine-gun fire into the open mouths of the landing craft. Bodies piled up on the ramps. Men climbed over the sides of their craft, deciding to take their chances in the sea. The water was up to their waists and in some cases over their heads. Carrying heavy equipment, and with uneven footing, the going was tough. Many of them, who were not shot, drowned, unable to get their equipment off in time.
Very few of the LCVPs and LCAs carrying the infantry made dry landings. Most hit the sandbars some distance from the actual beach. For those who made it to the shore, they had to cross at least 200 meters of open beach before they reached the relative safety of the seawall. The first wave got nowhere. Men took cover as best they could, behind Omaha Beach as it appeared on D-Day – and as it appears now. obstacles or the few tanks that were ashore; others crawled in with the tide with just their heads raised above the water. Later it was found that some of them had made it simply by staggering across the beach, having been too exhausted to do anything else. The ones who sought cover behind the obstacles in the surf merely prolonged their agonies. It was the same story all along “Bloody Omaha,” as it would later be called.
Omaha Beach as it appeared on D-Day – and as it appears now.
Due to a strong coastal current and high winds virtually all the craft arrived out of position and ended up east of their objectives. This especially upset the plan for the engineer and demolition teams. They were now faced with unfamiliar terrain and defenses, different from those they had been trained to clear.
Their task was of the utmost importance, but only about half of the sixteen teams made it to the shore and they were over ten minutes late as well. They had only been allocated thirty minutes in which to complete their tasks and the engineers were sitting ducks for the German defenders. The rubber boats packed with the engineers’ explosives made excellent targets. In more than one instance direct hits were scored, touching off the prima cord and explosives, usually resulting in many deaths. Only six of the sixteen bulldozers reached the sand, and three of these were promptly put out of action by artillery. (With the exception of the DD tank, the Americans had decided not to use any AVRE tanks (see Chapter 5) to help them clear the beaches. This decision no doubt added to the price the infantry had to pay on Omaha Beach).
Despite this, the engineers found what equipment they could and began the task of clearing the beach defenses. By now they were also hampered by the quickly rising tide, which began to cover the beach obstacles. In addition troops were using the obstacles as shelter from the maelstrom of bullets. In fact, the engineers were unable to use one of their bulldozers because the infantry was using it as cover. One team managed to prepare a thirty-yard gap for blowing, and were just about to leave the vicinity and take cover, when an explosion, probably a mortar, hit the prima cord, touching off the explosives prematurely. The result killed or wounded nineteen engineers and many of the infantrymen nearby. Eventually the engineers managed to blow six complete gaps and partially clear a further three gaps.
Two of the clear paths through the beach defenses were in the 116th Infantry Division’s area. Four more were in the Easy Red sector of the 1st Infantry Division. Due to the loss of equipment only one of these paths could be marked clearly for the following waves of landing craft. Consequently the benefits of the engineers’ courage and sacrifice were lost when the incoming tide covered the unmarked gaps.
Only one group of the initial assault force came in where it was supposed to. This was Able Company of the 116th Inf. Regt., 29th Infantry Division. It landed right on target, immediately in front of the heavily defended Vierville draw on sector Dog Green. Within ten minutes it had taken 97% casualties.
EYEWITNESS
As the first men jumped, they crumpled and flopped into the water. Then order was lost. It seemed to the men that the only way to get ashore was to dive head first in and swim clear of the fire that was striking the boats. But, as they hit the water, their heavy equipment dragged them down and soon they were struggling to keep afloat. Some were hit in the water and wounded. Some drowned then and there . . . . But some moved safely through the bullet-fire to the sand and then, finding they could not hold there, went back into the water and used it as cover, only their heads sticking out. Those who survived kept moving forward with the tide, sheltering at times behind underwater obstacles and in this way they finally made their landings.
Within ten minutes of the ramps being lowered, Company “A” had become inert, leaderless, and almost incapable of action. Every officer and sergeant had been killed or wounded . . . . It had become a struggle for survival and rescue. The men in the water pushed wounded men ashore, and those who had reached the sands crawled back into the water pulling others to land to save them from drowning, in many cases only to see the rescued men wounded again or to be hit themselves. Within twenty minutes of striking the beach Company “A” had ceased to be an assault company and had become a forlorn little rescue party bent upon survival and the saving of lives.
Official report, Company “A, ” 116th Infantry Division
The same reception awaited elements of the 16th Inf. Regt., 1st Infantry Division, in the eastern sector on Fox Green in front of the Colleville Draw. To the men it was not a question of taking objectives; it was simply a question of self-preservation. There was no let-up from the defensive fire. Anything that moved on the beach became an instant target for the German machine gunners.
Charlie Company of the 2nd Ranger Battalion landed just west of Dog Green sector a few minutes after the ill-fated Able Company of the 116th Inf. Regt., Their mission was to assault the heights above the Vierville Draw and neutralize any defenses there and, further to the west, at Pointe de la Percée.
A Sherman tank at the Omaha Beach Museum.
The ramps went down on the two LCAs carrying the Rangers and they plunged out into chest-high water. LCA 1038 was raked by machine gun fire and many of the second platoon slumped over in the water, dead or dying. Lieutenant S. Salomon walked off the ramp and immediately lost his footing and floundered under the weight of equipment he was carrying. Sergeant Reed was right behind; as he moved to the left of the ramp he was hit and fell into the water.
Lieutenant Salomon looked round and managed to pull the sergeant clear of the surging ramp telling him to make it to the beach the best he could. Lieutenant Salomon then managed to make it to the base of the cliffs, despite being wounded himself. As the men of LCA 418 started disembarking, the ramp was blown off by a direct hit from a mortar. After receiving another two direct hits the LCA began breaking up. The Rangers had about thirty yards to cover before reaching the base of the cliffs. There they found a crevice in the slope and began to climb using bayonets as hand holds. Once on top the men threw four ropes, secured to stakes, down the cliff face to aid the follow-up troops. Then they immediately started clearing out the defensive positions around a nearby fortified house. Phosphorous grenades were hurled into dugouts and trenches sprayed with machine-gun fire. From their commanding position the Rangers could see the chaos on the beach below. Seeing a boat section from Baker Company of the 116th Inf. Regt. unloading below them, Captain Goranson sent a messenger to show them where the ropes were. These men then reinforced the hard-pressed Rangers. Of the original sixty-five men of the Ranger company, twenty-one had been killed, and eighteen wounded. Only one, Lieutenant William D. Moody, had been killed, shot by a sniper on top of the cliff.
The second wave came in at about 0700 and fared no better. Behind that wave came the 450 men of the 5th Ranger Battalion, accompanied by Able and Baker companies of the 2nd Ranger Battalion. They had been lying offshore awaiting a signal from Pointe du Hoc. If the assault on the coastal gun emplacement at Pointe du Hoc by the 2nd Ranger Battalion was successful, then the second wave was to follow in behind them as reinforcements. If they heard nothing, then they would land on Omaha Beach and take Pointe du Hoc from inland.
Of course, Lieutenant Colonel Max Schneider of the 5th Ranger Battalion was not to know that the assault on Pointe du Hoc was running forty minutes late. He waited an extra fifteen minutes past the allocated time, then headed toward the inferno on the Omaha Beach Sector. Witnessing the chaos before him he decided to land east of their designated landing area in the hope of finding a “quieter spot.” It was decided that Dog White was probably the best spot to be as it was still shrouded in smoke, which obscured the enemy’s view. They crossed the beach with very few casualties and joined the men of the 116th Infantry Division already sheltering there. Able and Baker Companies were not so lucky. They were to the right of the 5th Ranger Battalion and touched the sector Dog Green. They were cut to pieces. Of about 130 men, only 62 made it to the sea wall. One of the LCAs, carrying these Rangers, was blown to pieces at the water’s edge.
These determined Rangers started to probe forward, fighting their way up the bluffs in small groups. Men from the 116th Infantry Division began to join them. Rangers from Able Company were among the first ones to reach the top. This was at about 0830. Looking east they could see their brothers from the 5th Ranger Battalion were also making their way upward. It was actions such as this that finally broke the deadlock and got men moving from the beach.
Wave after wave of men and equipment continued to land on Omaha Beach, much of it well out of sequence and in disarray, fresh fodder for the German cannons. As each wave landed, more bodies and supplies piled up at the water’s edge. To the west, three companies of the 2nd Ranger Battalion, under the command of Lieutenant Colonel James Rudder, were tasked with the assault on the German gun emplacements on Pointe du Hoc, situated on the top of cliffs some thirty-five meters (100 feet) high. On completion of this task they were then expected to form a road block on the blacktop road behind Pointe du Hoc in order to keep German reinforcements from reaching Omaha from the direction of Grandcamp and Maisy. It was hoped that the Rangers would be relieved by the 29th Infantry Division, who had landed on Omaha, by noon on D-Day.
Bringing in the three Ranger companies were ten LCAs from the transport ships, both converted ferry steamers, the Ben My Chree and the Amsterdam. LCA 860 carrying Captain Harold K. Slater and twenty men of Dog Company sank in the choppy seas. The men were later picked up and returned to England, too cold and numb to take any further part in the operation that day.
The remaining nine LCAs plodded on toward the coast. As with other craft, the current had caused the small flotilla to drift eastward. When they realized that it was Pointe de la Percée in front of them, the flotilla immediately altered course, turning west, and began running a course parallel to the coast, back toward Pointe du Hoc. The original plan was for Dog Company to land west of the Pointe du Hoc while Easy and Fox Companies would land on the narrow strip of beach east of the Pointe. Because time had been lost, it was decided on the spur of the moment to land all the craft on the narrow strip to the east. So, the two remaining Dog company LCAs mixed in with the boats carrying Easy and Fox companies. During the Rangers’ assault, the battleship USS Texas was to bombard the coastline. However, because of the loss of time, the naval bombardment had already stopped when the Rangers went ashore. This gave the German defenders time to recover from the bombardment and to prepare themselves.
Having witnessed the lack of covering fire for the Rangers, the British destroyer, HMS Talybont, closed in toward Pointe du Hoc and raked the shore line with gunfire. At the same time the US destroyer, USS Satterlee, also came in close and opened up on the enemy positions.
During the aerial and naval bombardments, the small beach area to the east of Pointe du Hoc had been pockmarked with shell holes. This meant that the four DUKWs (amphibious vehicles), each carrying British fire service extension ladders to be used to scale the cliffs, were ineffective because they could not cross the cratered beach after landing. The men manning the ladders had their machine guns, mounted at the top of the ladders, trained on the German positions, but were unable to hold a steady aim as the ladders swayed from side to side far from the cliffs. To the men watching they resembled a surreal circus act. Back on the LCAs British landing craft personnel helped the beleaguered Rangers as best they could with additional covering fire.
EYEWITNESS
I fired unceasingly with my Lewis Gun at the cliff tops. Germans could be seen running into their positions. I tried to adjust my fire by moving the gun manually and managed to burn my hand badly on the barrel, it was so hot. At the same time a bullet passed by me and broke the broom handle next to me. Silly thing was, I remember thinking at the time of how I was going to explain the broken broom on returning to the mother ship. As we landed bullets were whizzing throughout the craft, but we managed to off-load and reverse away from the beach.
A/B Landing Craft Signalman JF Tolhurst, (author’s father) LCA 884
Most of the fire seemed to come down onto the beach from the eastern end of the German defenses. In addition the Germans were rolling hand grenades over the cliff edge and, whenever they had the chance, they also leaned over and fired down onto the Rangers as they climbed up.
Each LCA was fitted with three pairs of rocket-fired grappling hooks. Just before the boats landed, the rockets were fired with the intention of carrying the ropes up and over the high cliffs. The ropes, however, were sodden and heavy and many did not reach the top. The 225 strong Ranger force nevertheless climbed the cliffs with whatever means were at their disposal. Under intense fire and taking many casualties, they eventually managed to reached the top. Amazingly, the first men were up within ten minutes of landing. These highly-trained Rangers proved their courage as they went about their tasks regardless of the odds stacked against them. If a man found himself alone he would go off individually and get on with the job at hand rather than waiting for others to join him.
US 2nd Rangers mark their command post at the cliff edge on Pointe du Hoc with a flag. German prisoners file past in the background.
As the Rangers fought their way toward the concrete and steel reinforced bunkers, they were shocked to discover that the gun emplacements were in fact empty. The Germans had moved the guns as a result of the weeks of bombing by the Allied air forces prior to the D-Day landings. Lieutenant Colonel James Rudder took his command post from a small cave at the foot of the cliffs to a shell crater on the top of the cliff behind a destroyed German bunker. Using his staff, the walking wounded, and soldiers who had not yet moved inland, he set up a perimeter defense around his headquarters. During this time his headquarters was taking machine-gun fire from both flanks and snipers seemed to be everywhere. Finally an artillery observer, attached to the Rangers, called down fire from HMS Talybont. The ship promptly closed into the shore at Pointe du Hoc and blew the easterly German machine-gun position into the sea. The Rangers then made several attempts to silence the anti-aircraft position now firing at them from the extreme westerly side, but to no avail. Their attack was driven back by intensive fire from both artillery and machine guns. By now Lieutenant Colonel Rudder had himself been wounded twice.
82nd Airborne Division troops interrogating German prisoners in Orglandes.
In the meantime, a small force of Rangers had fought their way inland to the road and dug in and begun sending out patrols. One of these patrols consisted of First Sergeant Lommell and Staff Sergeant Kuhn who spotted tracks in the mud leading down a narrow, double hedgerow lane and decided to investigate. There they came across the original Point du Hoc guns, ready to fire, but with no Germans in the immediate vicinity. The two sergeants disabled the guns and returned to their positions.
The Rangers fought off numerous German counter-attacks as their numbers dwindled, but they managed to block and hold the road linking Grandcamp with the Omaha Beach area. By nightfall on June 6th, Colonel Rudder had lost over a third of his force. He had also no word of the situation on Omaha Beach. Although their ammunition was now running low and their rations were nearly non-existent, the men dug in around the orchards south of the highway and continued to beat off constant German counter-attacks. An especially important defense position for the Rangers was that held by Sergeant “L Rod” Petty who, armed with his Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) set up on a nearby wall, was covering a bridge used by the Germans counter-attacking toward the highway. Not many crossed it!
The Rangers’ situation was not ideal, but they were under orders to hold their positions until reinforcements from Omaha Beach arrived. Relief was expected that evening, but there was little sign of any help coming. With limited ammunition and supplies, it was now simply a matter of fighting until the reinforcements did arrive or until they ran out of ammunition and the Germans overpowered them.
Back on Omaha, by mid-morning on the 6th, those who were still pinned down on the beach were beginning to realize that staying on the beach was just asking to get killed. So bit by bit the men stirred themselves and began their advance inland.
Lieutenant General Omar Bradley, commander of the 1st US Army Group aboard USS Augusta, was beginning to think that the whole attack on Omaha Beach had been a disaster. Only sketchy messages were coming back from the shore and at one point he contemplated withdrawing his forces from Omaha Beach and sending them, with the rest of the American seaborne forces, directly to Utah Beach where the landing area had almost been secured. When one message arrived, pleading to send more men and not any more vehicles, Bradley obliged and decided to send more infantry into the onslaught in an attempt to break the German defenses.
In the meantime General Cota, assistant divisional commander of the 29th Infantry Division, was darting about the beach totally oblivious to the dangers around him, shouting words of encouragement to the huddled groups of his men. He was heard telling them: “Don’t die on the beaches, die up on the bluff if you have to die.” Further along the beach other officers were also eager to get their men off the beach and head inland.
EYEWITNESS
Two kinds of people are staying on this beach. The dead and those who are going to die – now let’s get the hell out of here!
General Taylor, 1st Infantry Division
While Bradley waited for news of any development in the Omaha Sector, the men who were being mercilessly attacked on the beaches began to take heed of the orders and advice they had been given. Small and scattered groups began to get up and advance. Engineers blew gaps in the barbed wire and more and more troops began making their way up the bluffs and away from the open killing ground of the beach area. Eventually Bradley received the much welcomed message he had been waiting for:
EYEWITNESS
Troops formerly pinned down on beaches Easy Red, Easy Green, Fox Red advancing up heights behind beaches.
Message from Gerow’s V Corps Headquarters
By the evening the GIs had dragged themselves away from the inferno on the beach and had captured the bluffs. Vierville was in American hands and all five draws leading away from the beach were now secure. Although the Germans still held Colleville and parts of St Laurent, the GIs had them almost surrounded. The cost had been great and V Corps had lost almost 3,000 men. Although they were still well short of their objectives, at least the Allies had now established a firm foothold on Omaha Beach.
By noon the next day, the 29th and 1st Divisions had completed clearing the Omaha Beach area. Though the Germans had counter-attacked Vierville that morning they were held off in the vicinity of the local church and finally driven back. It was during this time that St Laurent and Colleville were also taken and secured.
That same morning a battalion from the 29th Infantry Division aided by the 5th Ranger Battalion and three companies of the 2nd Rangers pushed west along the Grandcamp road. Supported by tanks, their job was to relieve the hard-pressed Ranger force on Pointe du Hoc. The remainder of the 29th remained behind and completed mopping-up operations inland from the beach area. Once this was completed, the 115th Regiment pushed west along the main Bayeux-Isigny highway to capture Longueville.
That afternoon reinforcements from the US 2nd Infantry Division landed on the St Laurent section of Omaha Beach, moved to the top of the bluffs, and went to war. General Gerow’s V Corps now consisted of the three infantry divisions the 1st, 2nd, and 29th. By nightfall on the 7th, the three infantry divisions had extended the beachhead out as far as La Cambe and Formigny.
HMS Glasgow and USS Quincy on station off Cherbourg, June 6th, 1944.
As for the beleaguered Rangers at Pointe du Hoc, they had had to hold out until midday on the 8th when the force from Omaha Beach,
Left and above; a rifle squad moves
cautiously through the Bocage. “Digging
in” was a regular pastime.
after much opposition and numerous skirmishes with the enemy, finally arrived. In the two-and-a-half days of bitter fighting, Lieutenant Colonel Rudder had lost 135 of his 225-man-strong assault force.
Despite the heavy casualties, there was to be no let up in the advance. The attack on the next town and village – Grandcamp and Maisy respectively – started at once. The Germans had failed to destroy the bridge across a small flooded valley. Under constant fire the GIs and Rangers, supported by tanks, made it to the outskirts of Grandcamp. The cruiser HMS Glasgow was standing offshore ready to bombard Grandcamp before the main assault. However, some local fishermen sailed out to the cruiser to tell them it would not be necessary to shell the town. The infantry managed to clear the town of all German resistance by the 9th.
Meanwhile, the 175th Inf. Regt. of the 29th Infantry Division, had made a twelve-mile march and within thirty-six hours was on the outskirts of Isigny. Tanks were sent into the town and found it had been almost completely ruined by the extensive naval bombardment. The tanks met very little resistance as they entered Isigny and the Germans soon retreated without even bothering to demolish the bridge there over the River Aure.
The 1st Infantry Division, meanwhile, had fanned out from the beachhead in a southeasterly direction. By nightfall on the 7th, units of the 16th Inf. Regt., supported by a force from the 745th Tank Battalion, had smashed straight down the coastal road to Huppain. Only a short distance away was Port-en-Bessin, the dividing line between the British and the American sectors.
V Corps’s next operation was to spread further south. Caumont was to be taken by the 1st Infantry Division, Bérigny and Hill 192 by the 2nd, St. Clair-sur-l’Elle and Couvains by the 29th. All these were to be taken by June 12th or 13th. With the exception of Hill 192, all these objectives were accomplished.
At this time V Corps got severely bogged down in the Bocage fighting. XIX Corps had joined them on the left, but it, too, had come to a grinding halt only a few miles from St Lô. Partly this was because the priority in ammunition and equipment was now being assigned to General Collins’ VII Corps for the capture of Cherbourg. V Corps would have to carry on fighting from one hedgerow to another, completely hemmed in, until Cherbourg was safely in American hands; then everything would be focused on the fighting in the south and a way out of the entangled countryside could be sought.
EYEWITNESS
I didn’t want to stand up and slug, but . . . at one time we were going to have to. Afterwards we can make the breakthrough and run deep.
Lieutenant General Bradley, commander, 1st US Army Group
V Corps was holding Caumont in the east, but still could not crack Hill 192. In fact, the Germans on Hill 192 would manage to hold out for the rest of June and only after heavy and costly fighting was the hill eventually taken in the beginning of July. The high ground of Clocheville had been defended by crack paratroopers of the German 2nd Corps. During the fighting the US 2nd Infantry Division alone had lost 1,200 men trying to gain the heights.
VIII Corps, on the extreme western flank, was told to take the town of Coutances. Intelligence had advised that opposition would be light. Actually, the 9th and 79th Infantry Divisions sustained horrendous losses and only reached as far as Monte Castre and Mont Gardon, halfway to their objective. The saying went around that, “The Germans haven’t much left, but they know how to use it!”
VII Corps reached Sainteny (see Chapter 3), then turned the sector over to VIII Corps and went to join up with the newly arrived XIX Corps north of St Lô. General Corlett’s XIX Corps was attacking down the Isigny-St Lô road and was about nine kilometers northeast of St Lô. Now strengthened by the arrival of VII Corps, they renewed their attack on the town.
By July 11th the 35th Infantry Division could see the outskirts of St Lô from a high vantage point. Meanwhile the 29th Infantry Division was approaching the town from the east, in the Martinville area. A week later, the 115th Inf. Regt. began picking its way through the rubble of the eastern side of St Lô. At the same time the 116th Inf. Regt. cautiously started nosing in on the northern side and began their attack. Major Howie of the 3rd Battalion, 116th Inf. Regt., was killed leading the assault. His men left him by the side of the ruined Sainte Croix Church, covered by the Stars and Stripes.
Finally the German resistance in St Lô dwindled as the Germans withdrew and the town was, at last, in Allied hands. After forty-two successive days of combat, and having sustained many thousands of casualties, it was fitting that the town should fall to the 29th Infantry Division.
The US 1st Army Group had taken four weeks to get where it was, having fought through almost static battles that were reminiscent of World War One. Now suddenly there was room to move. The four corps were soon to be joined by another three, which would constitute General Patton’s 3rd Army. The time had come for a change. There must be a breakthrough that would let Patton’s 3rd Army charge through and leave behind the infamous Bocage terrain, letting the hemmed-in armored and infantry divisions cut loose. The plan was codenamed Operation Cobra.
EYEWITNESS
It was only step by step, by small groups of five or six men supported by a tank, that we were able to capture one by one the ruins of the last houses and progress along the rubble-clotted streets.
Extract from the 29th Infantry Division Diary
The Americans were to attack on a seven-kilometer-wide front. Opposite them was the German Panzer (Lehr) Division, backed up by the 5th Parachute Division. The start line would be the Périers-St Lô road. Before the attack, the US Army Air Force would drop a carpet of bombs on the German defenses but before the bombing began the attacking divisions of VII Corps pulled back 1,200 meters from the start line as a precaution. Moments later, 2,000 bombers dropped over 4,000 tons of high explosive and napalm into a ten square kilometer area. Only light bombs were dropped because General Bradley did not want deep craters that could impede his armored advance. Unfortunately some of the bombs dropped short, falling among the American troops waiting to go into battle. Among them was Lieutenant General McNair.
EYEWITNESS
Finally on July 25th, seven weeks after D-Day, the attack was launched, from the approximate line we had expected to hold on D plus 5, stretching from Caen through Caumont to St Lô. A tremendous carpet, or area, bombing was placed along the St Lô sector of the American front and its stunning effect upon the enemy lasted throughout the day. Unfortunately a mistake by part of the bombing forces caused a considerable number of casualties in one battalion of the 9th Division and in the 30th Division, and killed General McNair, who had gone into an observation post to watch the beginning of the attack. His death cast a gloom over all who had known this most able and devoted officer.
General Dwight D. Eisenhower, supreme commander of the Allied
Expeditionary Force
At 1100 on July 25th, VII Corps launched their attack. Even after all the punishment the Germans had received, they were still able to resist. Tanks from the Panzer (Lehr) Regiment were blown upside down or lay in the bottom of huge bomb craters. Nevertheless, the Germans were masters at salvaging their equipment and managed to repair many of the less-damaged tanks and get them running again. The effect of the bombing on the German infantry, however, resulted in many being killed, wounded, or buried alive; others were too shell-shocked from the deafening and terrifying explosions to fight. Despite this, when VII Corps attacked they found that the Germans still held their positions as stubbornly as ever. Some of the initial attacks by the American infantry were stopped cold and the GIs were forced back.
EYEWITNESS
American infantry in front of our trenches are abandoning their positions. They are withdrawing everywhere.
Report from 4SS Panzer Grenadiers to divisional headquarters
There was, however, one weakness in the German defenses. The Germans were fighting in well-defended pockets of resistance, but there was no constant line of defense, so the pockets could be outflanked. This convinced General Collins that his armored divisions could now be let loose.
The US 1st Infantry and elements of the 3rd Armored Division pushed on and bypassed the main German defense pockets. This allowed them to reach Marigny. The 2nd Armored Division carried on into Canisy and by the end of the 26th both places had been secured. The following day the 1st Infantry and 3rd Armored Divisions struck southwest and gained another five miles by taking Cerisy-la-Salle.
VIII Corps was continuing to make its way south from Périers and Lessay, well on its way to Coutances. Generalleutnant Dietrich von Choltitz, commander of the German 84th Corps in the region, realized that he was about to be cut off by the Americans as they advanced south. So he began to withdraw his forces to escape the oncoming rush of US divisions. By the time the 1st Infantry and 3rd Armored Division cut the Coutances-Granville road on July 29th the majority of the Germans had managed to escape. When the 4th Armored Division finally liberated Coutances on July 30th they found that the Germans had already gone. Behind them, though, the Germans had littered Coutances with booby traps.
St Lô after its capture.
Advance of US divisions after D-Day.
Three of the German divisions, retreating to the southeast, were caught in the open, around the village of Roncey, by American fighter bombers that strafed them and destroyed many of their vehicles. The 2nd Armored Division managed to trap nearly 3,000 enemy troops of the 2nd and 17th SS Divisions while another 1,500 Germans were captured in an ambush at St Denis-le-Gast.
The break-out from the Bocage countryside was gaining momentum. At last the Americans were shaking free of the troublesome Germans and the difficult terrain. On August 1st the newly arrived 3rd Army under General Patton stormed through the Allied lines. Patton immediately sent the 4th and 6th Armored Divisions from Coutances crashing through to Avranches. Patton’s theory was to give the enemy no time to reorganize and instead keep him under severe pressure at all times. Regardless of the lack of protection offered to his flanks by the slow-moving infantry of the VII Corps, he decided to race on.
To the east, V and XIX Corps were still being held up in the Bocage country around Tessy and Torigny-sur-Vire. The men of the 29th, 30th, and 35th Infantry Divisions had to fight a four-day battle from July 27th to the 31st, in order to break through the German positions. Between them the two corps amassed over 1,800 casualties.
Tessy fell on August 1st and XIX Corps could at last push on toward Vire. On the same day, tanks of the 4th Armored Division found the bridge over the River Sélune at Pontaubault still intact. It was a lucky find. The route into Bretagne [Brittany] was now clear and the tank commanders made full use of it.
The overall plan was for VIII Corps to drive on toward Brent. The three corps of the 3rd Army were on their way to the River Loire, to the River Seine, and to the town of Orleans. It was hoped that this penetration would drive the Germans out of Brittany and enable the Allies to capture more deep water ports to service the ever-increasing demands for supplies and troops. It was also hoped that this would enable the Allies to encircle all the German forces that were fighting in Normandy between the rivers Seine and Loire.
On August 3rd, the 1st Infantry Division entered Mortain. It was here that the Germans decided to counterattack in force attempting to drive on to the coast and split the two American armies in half. On August 7th the Germans attacked from their front line between Sourdeval and Barenton. The US 30th Infantry Division was driven out of Mortain and the town was recaptured by the Germans. The following day the Americans regrouped and recovered from the surprise attack. With the aid of the US air force, the attacking Germans were stopped. During the next four days the fighting was intense, but by the 12th the Germans started to give way and slowly withdraw. The last full scale attack to hit the Americans, west of the River Seine, had been thwarted.
With Patton’s 3rd Army sweeping around south and east, and the British and Canadian troops pressing toward Falaise, the Germans were being pushed into a pocket around Mortain, Argentan, and Falaise. General Patton wanted to drive north and close the gap, thus sealing the fate of the German armies west of the Seine immediately. His superiors, however, were more cautious and would not allow such a brash move. Patton was ordered to drive east to the River Seine and form a block there. XV Corps was given the task of forming the southern jaw of the trap. The Falaise gap was closing and the end of the Battle of Normandy was at last in sight (see Chapter 7).
CIRCUIT FOUR
Circuit four. Carentan – Pointe du Hoc – Omaha Beach – St Lô – Avranches – Vire
STARTING FROM CARENTAN TAKE THE INFAMOUS old N-13 east to Isigny. (Note that there is now a new N-13 autoroute that bypasses Carentan and Isigny). Here the town was destroyed by Allied bombing and artillery. The 29th Infantry liberated the town during the night of June 8th/9th. In the center of town in the Place de Gaulle is a monument recalling the D-Day landings. The monument also honors the speech addressed to the liberated French by General de Gaulle in Bayeux on June 4th, 1944. Continue through Isigny-sur-Mer and through the next village of Osmanville to join the D-514 signposted Grandcamp-Maisy. This town has a close tie to the US Rangers, and the veteran Rangers always stay here when visiting the area for anniversaries or vacations. The Hotel du Guesclin is a recommended stay. The prices are very reasonable, with friendly staff, good food, and a sea view. (Whenever my father – one of the crewman on LCA 884 – and I have stayed there for the anniversaries we have been treated royally.) About fifty yards from the hotel is the Rangers Museum on the sea front.
This is a small but quite interesting museum dedicated to the Rangers at Pointe du Hoc. Contained inside are many artifacts donated by veterans from the Rangers, as well as a thorough but concise rundown on how the Pointe du Hoc operations were carried out. There is also a film, with some excellent footage of the invasion.
Carry on through the town back onto the D-514, and continue until you see the signpost, and a left turn, for Pointe du Hoc. A short drive down this road will bring you to an ample parking lot. This thirty-acre battlefield has been preserved as it was left back in 1944, the only addition being the fencing and footpaths for the visitor’s safety. A walk around here will allow you to explore the German troop shelters and bunkers. At the northernmost point a needle-like memorial to the 2nd Ranger Battalion stands atop an observation bunker. Below, in the bunker itself, is a memorial plaque that lists all the Rangers who lost their lives in the fighting to take this area. Still visible on the concrete bunkers and shelters are the blast marks of grenades and the bullet scars that indicate the ferocity of the fighting here.
From Pointe du Hoc take the D-514 east to Vierville-sur-Mer. On the left is the new Omaha Beach Museum (opened in time for the 55th anniversary of the landings in 1999). Just past the museum, to the right hand of the road, is a large château. On the entrance gate post is a memorial plaque in recognition that this building was used as the headquarters of the US Army Eleventh Port from June 8th to July 2nd 1944.
Take the left turn, almost opposite the château, down onto Omaha Beach. This was exit D-1 from the beach, the Vierville Draw. Look out for several memorials, on either side of the road, as you make your way down to the sea front. On the left, a plaque to the Rangers, to your right memorials to the 29th Infantry Division and US 6th Engineer Special Brigade. Take a right turn along the beach road. On the corner, to the left, is a German bunker and a large monument dedicated to the US National Guard, (of which the 29th Infantry Division was part).
Also to the left, on the sands, is a small jetty. This is built on all that now remains of the American “Mulberry Harbor” that was built but later destroyed during the great storm of June 19th, 1944 (better examples of part of the Mulberry Harbor can be seen off the coast of Arromanches – (see Chapter 6)).
The area in front of you is Dog Green beach. To the left, immediately in front of the high cliffs, is Charlie beach. This is the area where the hapless Able Company of the 116th Inf. Regt. and Charlie Company of the 2nd Ranger Battalion hit the beaches on D-Day. Just a look around, even today with most of the positions covered, will tell you that this must have been hell for the men trying to cross the open beach at mid-tide. Alongside the beach road there is now a café and gift shop, which are worth a visit and not particularly expensive.
Travel along the beach road and you will be passing through the different sectors of Omaha Beach. Midway on the right is a small monument marking the site of the first American cemetery in France after D-Day. Bodies from here were later moved to the American Military Cemetery and Memorial between St Laurent-sur-Mer and Colleville-sur-Mer.
Further along the beach, on the left, is a small inconspicuous plaque that commemorates the landing of one of many raids that were carried out by British Commandos prior to the D-Day landings. In this raid, on September 12th, 1942, Major Gus March-Phillips and three of his men were killed in a firefight on Omaha Beach. Today three of them rest in the churchyard in St Laurent-sur-Mer.
Follow the beach road around to the right and past the large Comité du Débarquement monument on the left hand side. From the roundabout/rotary, take the road that leads up toward St Laurent-sur- Mer. This is the second beach exit D-3, the Les Moulins Draw. This was also the dividing line between the 29th Infantry Division and the 1st Infantry Division and marks the line where Easy Green changes to the Easy Red sector. Just up from here on the right stands the Omaha Beach Museum. Outside is a 155mm Long Tom and a Sherman tank. Visiting this museum is thoroughly recommended: the collection of equipment and gear inside is superb.
Return to the beach road and head east where, on the right, is a superb restaurant called Le Ruquet. When digging the foundations for this restaurant they found the remains of an LCVP. Further along, the road narrows to a lane and leads to a small parking lot. Around this area are more fortifications and memorials. Continue inland along the lane and up the third beach exit E-1, the St Laurent Draw. Carry on through St Laurent-sur-Mer until you reach the D-514. Now take a left turn and follow the signs for the American Military Cemetery and Memorial until you take a left turn into its grounds.
After parking in the large parking lot, make your way on foot to the cemetery. At the entrance to the cemetery is a small visitors’ center that contains offices and a comfortable lounge for anyone who wishes to visit. The staff here are very knowledgeable and helpful and will always try to help anyone who has questions about the cemetery or wishes to know the location of a particular headstone.
The whole area has been given to the US in perpetuity and the grounds are magnificent, with well-manicured lawns and beautifully kept gardens. It slopes gently toward the sea and the white marble headstones of the 9,386 American soldiers buried here are lined up on a well-tended lawn. It is a very moving sight. Of the 9,386 headstones here, 307 mark the graves of “Unknowns.” In addition, a further 14,000 servicemen, killed in the Battle for Normandy, were returned home at the request of their next of kin. Also buried here, side by side, are a father and his son, and in thirty-three instances two brothers also rest side by side. Most of the dead buried here gave their lives in the landing operations and in the establishment of the beachhead. The headstones are of white Italian marble, and represent all religious denominations. Near the center of the cemetery is a round chapel with an overhanging roof supported by square pillars. Inside a beautiful mosaic ceiling depicts the sacrifices of the American troops.
At the eastern end of the cemetery is a memorial fronted by a large rectangular pool. The memorial (the work of architects Harbeson, Hough, Livingston, and Larson) is composed of two pavilions linked by a crescent-shaped portico circling a terrace. In the center of the portico, a nude allegorical figure raises both arms to the sky, “The Spirit of American Youth,” sculpted by Donald de Lue. On the front of the portico, the inscription reads: “This shore, marked by battle, portal of Liberty, is forever sanctified by the ideals, the courage and the sacrifice of our companions.” On the interior walls of the two pavilions, is a map of the military operations. On the facade of the pavilion on the right, the inscription translated from the French reads: “The United States of America, proud of the achievements of its sons, humble in front of their sacrifice, have erected this monument to honor their memory.”
Behind the memorial, down a short flight of steps, there is a garden and low wall on which are inscribed the names of 1,557 soldiers who have no known grave.
Follow the path from the memorial to the sea and there you will find an observation platform that overlooks the Easy Red sector of Omaha beach and the fourth beach exit, E3 – the Colleville Draw.
Return to your car and drive back to the roundabout/rotary on the D-514, at the main entrance. Take the left hand road to Colleville-sur-Mer. Just after the church, in Colleville-sur-Mer, take a left turn down a small lane (the fifth exit, F-1) to the beach and park in the parking lot there. There is much to do and see in the Omaha beach area and it is probably best to leave the car parked and hike around to see all the sights. There are many installations and fortifications up on the bluffs, so, provided you are not walking on private property, it is worth a look around.
When you return to your car drive back up the narrow lane and follow the one-way system back into the US Cemetery grounds. Return to the roundabout/rotary on the D-514 but this time take a right turn along the D-514 and return to St Laurent-sur-Mer.
At the crossroads at St Laurent-sur-Mer take a left turn onto the D-517 signposted Formigny. This village had an important crossroads and had been protected by three batteries of 150mm field guns in positions at the hamlet of Montingny. The village was finally liberated on June 8th.
Now join the N-13 in the direction of Cherbourg and head for La Cambe. Take the turning for La Cambe and follow the signs for the German cemetery. This cemetery is the largest of all the war cemeteries in Normandy, with over 21,000 German soldiers buried in the grounds. Among them is the grave of SS Hauptsturmführer Michel Wittmann (see Chapter 6). In the center of the cemetery is a grassed mound under which rest 296 bodies in a mass grave. Just outside the entrance of La Cambe cemetery is an exhibition and peace garden.
Return to the N-13 and continue in the direction of Cherbourg. Exit at the junction signposted Carentan and St Lô and take the N-174 toward St Lô. One kilometer south of the town of St Jean-de-Daye is a roundabout/rotary. Take a right turn onto the D-8 and go to le Dézert. There, in the village, is a 50mm anti-tank gun on display. This village was totally destroyed and only rebuilt between 1950 and 1960. Return to the N-174 and turn right for St Lô.
In the center of St Lô is La Place du Major Howie. There is also a bust beside the church of Sainte Croix. In the center of a roundabout/rotary on the road that leads to Bayeux is a monument to the sacrifice of 8,000 GIs. Outside the town hall in the Place de l’Hotel de Ville a memorial has been erected to the French resistance. It is made from the door of the old prison where forty-two resistance fighters died. Locked in their cells, they were killed by an Allied air raid. Many of the outlying villages were also destroyed during the fighting, and all have their own tale to tell.
Proceed through St Lô and out onto the D-999 Voie de la Liberté (Liberty Highway) leading to Avranches. In Avranches is a memorial commemorating General Patton and his 3rd Army.
Out of Avranches head south to Pontaubault. Here, the gateway to Brittany, over 1,000 vehicles crossed the bridge during August 1944. A short way further south is the American cemetery at St James which contains 4,410 graves.
After Pontaubault, turn left, heading for St Hilaire-du-Harcouët. In the center of town, at the crossroads, turn left for Mortain. Here, of course, was the scene of the great German counterattack on the night of August 6th. Around this town was some of the heaviest fighting in the entire campaign. It was not recaptured until August 12th after heavy fighting and terrible losses on both sides.
From here proceed north on the N-177 to Vire. This town was liberated on August 8th. Pass through Vire on the N-174 back toward St Lô. This will take you through Tessy/Torigny-sur-Vire, scene of the great debacle of the 29th, 30th, and 35th Infantry Divisions who faced the German 2nd Parachute Corps here between July 27th and 31st. The US divisions lost about 1,800 men here in the four days of conflict. Tessy was finally captured in the evening of August 1st. With this task completed, XIX Corps was allowed to push on toward Vire.
From here remain on the N-174, which will take you back to St Lô.