Omaha Beach France

Legendary

Stand on the beach where the American Infantry and Army Rangers defeated the German army to reach their D-Day objectives.

Photo by Richard Matthews

Company A of the 116th Infantry Regiment was among the first to reach this sand on the morning of June 6, 1944. Within minutes, about 90 percent of its men were dead or wounded.

That's why soldiers started calling it Bloody Omaha.

Omaha was the largest of the five D-Day beaches, stretching about 8 kilometers, or 5 miles, along the coast of Normandy. It faces north across the English Channel toward England, where the invasion fleet had sailed from that night.

Taking the beach was the job of the United States. Two American divisions landed here: the 1st Infantry Division on the eastern half and the 29th Infantry Division on the west, with Army Rangers alongside.

The Germans had picked a good spot to defend. Steep bluffs rose 30 meters behind a wide flat beach, and every soldier crossing it was in plain view.

The bombers that were supposed to flatten the German bunkers dropped their loads too far inland. The bunkers were still there when the boats arrived

Many landing craft hit the wrong stretch of beach. Tanks that were supposed to swim ashore sank in the rough water.

For hours, soldiers were pinned down behind the seawall with nowhere to go. Destroyers came dangerously close to shore to fire directly at the bunkers.

Small groups finally climbed the bluffs between the German strongpoints. By evening, American troops held two thin footholds about a mile inland.

About 34,000 Americans came ashore that day. Roughly 2,400 were killed, wounded, or missing, more than on any other beach.

Just to the west, Army Rangers climbed the 30-meter cliffs at Pointe du Hoc on ropes to destroy German guns. When they got to the top, the guns had been moved, so they tracked them down inland.

Walk the beach at low tide and look up at the bluffs, then imagine crossing that open sand under fire. Visit the Normandy American Cemetery on the cliff above, where more than 9,000 soldiers are buried. Drive west to Pointe du Hoc to see the bomb craters and bunkers still there.