Omaha Beach

Omaha Beach, most people you speak to instantly recognise the name of Omaha Beach from World War 2 films like The Longest Day or Saving Private Ryan. Younger people may remember it from war games like Medal of Honour. What one tends to remember are the brutal scenes which greeted the young American soldiers as they approached the beaches and disembarked. In many cases, as soon as the doors opened on the landing craft the bullets from the German MG42's were killing the Americans. The German opponents were excellent, well trained and fighting for their lives.

D-Day Beaches, image found at:http://cponline.thecanadianpress.com/graphics/2014/static/CP-Normandy-Landings.png

As the map above shows, Omaha Beach was vital to the Normandy invasion. Unless the beach was taken and troops advanced inland to link up with the British on Gold Beach and U.S troops on Utah, the bridgehead would be considerably weakened and the Germans would have more chance to push the Allies back into the sea.

What caused the massive loss of live at Omaha?

The geography of the beach was the most difficult of any. Sheer cliffs, a sea wall 1-4 meters in height, shingle which was impassable to vehicles, bunkers, trenches and blockhouses were all zeroed in on the beach which at high tide was but a few meters wide. Also there were only  four closely guarded exits off the beach which led inland.

The other beaches on D-Day made substantial use of British inventions designed to advance inland quicker minimising loss of human life, 'Hobart's Funnies' ( see previous blog posts http://oldecuriosity.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Hobart%27s%20Funnies ) The U.S troops on Omaha Beach did not have the benefit of these, they did try to launch DD tanks but 27 were lost before they made it to the beach.

Robert Capa on Omaha beach taking cover behind German beach defences found at: https://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http://www.skylighters.org/photos/hedgehog.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.skylighters.org/photos/robertcapa.html&h=300&w=449&tbnid=5dEvmT-Kj0Z7hM:&docid=hXT_dPAuT8zE4M&ei=GrxcVp6tKIT5UoCarZAO&tbm=isch&ved=0ahUKEwieovepiLnJAhWEvBQKHQBNC-IQMwglKAIwAg

At 0630hrs the first men to land on the beach were engineers who had to clear the way for the assault troops. The casualty rate among them was high - among U.S Naval Engineers the rate was 41%, (Bowman, p.64). They had to destroy beach obstacles before men could land, the beach was thick with them, tetrahedrons and stakes topped with mines to destroy landing craft and troops. The assault troops who landed next were from the American 1st Infantry Division (the Big Red One) and the 29th Infantry Division. The USAAF was supposed to bomb the beach and its defences before the landings, but had missed the target completely and dropped bombs further inland instead. The first landing craft came under fire 200-300 yards from shore. When they stopped at the beach and the ramps lowered, bullets were killing men before they could get out. It was a scene not unlike that of the First World War, one of mass slaughter.

German opposition consisted of  352nd Division and the 716th, eight battalions instead of four (H astings, p.115). They were no second rate troops. They were well trained and armed. MG42's, Neberlwerfer mortars, artillery guns and rifles all firing on the Americans as they landed.

The Americans that did survive the landing and made it onto the beach found some shelter among the beach obstacles or the shingle wall. In dribs and drabs, leaving dead and wounded comrades behind they waited, finding what little cover they could. By 0800 Officers were organising these groups and they started to advance. The most famous quote came from Brigadier Cota,

"There are only two kinds of people who are staying on this beach: those who are already dead and those that are gonna die. Now get off your butts, you're the fightin' 29th."

Meanwhile the Germans were running out of ammunition and urgently needed reinforcements. They were overwhelmed by sheer weight of numbers. Sheer determination and bravery by the U.S troops won the day at Omaha. They lost so many men due to the resilience of the German defenders and the difficult terrain. Bombs were dropped in the wrong place by the USAAF. DD tanks failed to make it to shore, but against all odds, the U.S army landed at Omaha Beach and slowly advanced inland.




Sources Used

D-Day, The Untold Story, found at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/archaeology/marine_dday_underwater_01.shtml

Bowman, M, Remembering D-Day, Personal Histories Of Everyday Heroes (2004).

Hastings, M, Overlord, (1984).

The Three Stooges The Yoke's On Me 1944

Found this brilliant (though highly racist) Three Stooges episode The Yoke's On Me from 1944. The three hapless brothers are sent to find employment on a farm where they come across an ostrich and Nissei Americans from an internment camp. Sit back and enjoy the usual chaos, but a word of warning, don't attempt any of these stunts at home

Battle of Britain 1940: Boulton-Paul Defiant: Stupid Idea or Dreadful Lead...

Battle of Britain 1940: Boulton-Paul Defiant: Stupid Idea or Dreadful Lead...

WW2 Survival Training Film AAF - Land and Live in the Desert (full)

Youtube is full of these old training films from the Second World War, enjoy this one about desert survival.

#WW2 War Against Japan - A Brutal War

A jap soldier executing an Allied prisoner, whereabouts unknown:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/columnists/article-482589/Beheaded-whim-worked-death-Japans-repugnant-treatment-Allied-PoWs.html

The war the Allies fought against Japan in Asia and the Pacific was long and bloody. One of the worst aspects of this was the Japanese treatment of prisoners. In their eyes, to be taken prisoner was a disgrace, dying in battle was more honourable. This mindset is why they mistreated and executed prisoners. After Singapore fell on 15th February 1942 more than 100,000 Allied soldiers were taken prisoner, the Japanese could not believe they had beaten an army this size with only 30,00 troops. There were no plans for prisoners of war, and Japan had not signed the Geneva Convention.

The infamous Bataan Death March in the Philippines resulted in over 7,000 soldiers killed. The building of a Burma railway killed over 13,000. The list is endless, nurses, hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians, other European civilians were murdered whenever the Japanese felt the urge (over 30,000 died in Jap POW camps https://www.forces-war-records.co.uk/prisoners-of-war-of-the-japanese-1939-1945)
The most disgraceful act post war is a refusal of successive Japanese governments to apologise for these atrocities. How can we forgive them for this if they can't acknowledge their sins?

'Fit' Japanese pow's at Hellfire Pass, Burma railway, http://hellfire-pass.commemoration.gov.au/camps-of-f-force/shimo-songkurai.php

WW2: Fighting Men - Crack That Tank (1943)

Excellent U.S training film for the infantryman on how to defeat tanks, remember, 'Stay in your foxhole'.

Messerschmitt Bf109 Underground Factory In Budapest

Me109 circa 1945, found at:http://www.luftwaffephotos.com/lme10993.htm

Found this interesting article about how whilst Hungary was subject to Allied bombing in the Second World War, fuselages and engines for Me109's were manufactured underground in a secret factory.
http://gizmodo.com/the-caves-that-held-a-secret-hungarian-aircraft-factory-1741803956

The tunnels were estimated at being 35km long, providing 180 square kilometres of space, lucky for us most aircraft factories were above ground eh?