World War II and Kentuckians: Voices of a Generation
Introduction
Campaigns
The Warriors
Women in War
The Homefront
The Enemy
Click here to read the proclamation issued by Gen Dwight Eisenhower prior to the Invasion.
Click here for an in-depth study of Hitler's Atlantic Wall.
Click here to hear Gen. Eisenhower's speech made to US troops before the invasion.
Much has been said about D-Day and the Invasion of Europe. As a defining moment, not only in World War II but world history, the landings at Normandy have since become legend. From its conception up to the actual invasion itself, D-Day was the pivotal battle of the European Campaign.
May 1944 had been chosen at the conference in Washington in May 1943 as the time for the invasion. Difficulties in assembling landing craft forced a postponement until June, but June 5 was fixed as the unalterable date by Eisenhower on May 17. As the day approached and troops began to embark for the crossing, bad weather set in, threatening dangerous landing conditions. After tense debate, Eisenhower and his subordinates decided on a 24-hour delay, requiring the recall of some ships already at sea. Eventually, on the morning of June 5, Eisenhower, assured by chief meteorologist James Martin Stagg of a break in the weather, announced, ?O.K. We'll go.? Within hours an armada of 3,000 landing craft, 2,500 other ships, and 500 naval vessels?escorts and bombardment ships?began to leave English ports. That night 822 aircraft, carrying parachutists or towing gliders, roared overhead to the Normandy landing zones. They were a fraction of the air armada of 13,000 aircraft that would support D-Day.
The airborne troops were the vanguard, and their landings were a heartening success. The American 82nd and 101st airborne divisions, dropping into a deliberately inundated zone at the base of the Cotentin Peninsula, suffered many casualties by drowning but nevertheless secured their objective. The British 6th Airborne Division seized its unflooded objectives at the eastern end more easily, and its special task force also captured key bridges over the Caen Canal and Orne River. When the seaborne units began to land about 6:30 AM on June 6, the British and Canadians on Gold, Juno, and Sword beaches overcame light opposition. So did the Americans at Utah. The U.S. 1st Division at Omaha Beach, however, confronted the best of the German coast divisions, the 352nd, and was roughly handled by machine gunners as the troops waded ashore. During the morning, the landing at Omaha threatened to fail. Only dedicated local leadership eventually got the troops inland?though at a cost of more than 2,000 casualties.
The horrific battle and struggle at Omaha Beach was felt by every soldier involved. Veteran Jonah Thomas landed at 6:33 a.m. on June 6th, 1944 with the first wave of combat engineers. The following is an account of his experience during the landing :
"The invasion was supposed to be on the 5th; they changed it because [The English Channel] was so rough. They changed it to the 6th. So the invasion was supposed to be June 5th at 6:30 in the morning and the first wave of infantry was supposed to go in. We were supposed to go in at 6:33, three minutes later we were supposed to follow them up."
"I don't know, something happened, they got messed up on the time or something. Anyhow, when we got in there, there wasn't another boat in sight. No planes, nothing, and boy [the Germans] just tore our little boat all to pieces."
When the Allied armies reached the beachhead, German troops were waiting behind the Atlantic Wall, a massive defensive structure erected from the coast of France to the northernmost tip of Norway. Even though the German high command disregarded the Normandy invasion as a diversionary maneuver, assuming Pas-de-Calais was the main target, German forces were well prepared for the on-coming troops at Omaha Beach.
"There were some navy guys in there taking us in, there was this navy ensign and three guys on [the landing craft]. They couldn't get the ramp to go down on it, so this navy guy [went] out and walked around the side to pull that pin and let that ramp down by hand. Of course they shot him off in the water. Then another navy guy went around there, they shot him off. Then another one went around there and he got that pin about halfway out and then they shot him off. Then about that time a shell hit the front, something hit the front out of the boat; I don't know if it was a mine or a shell. Anyway, it knocked a big hole in the end of the ramp and killed all of them boys in the front end, including the sergeant. It killed them all back a pretty good ways and then another one hit it and killed everybody back to where I was sitting."
"This boy standing in front of me had one hand on [my] shoulder and one hand on the other. I was sitting on a rubber boat; We were going to pull out when we got in. He hollered 'get down' and I said 'well I'm down as far as I can get.' He was standing over me and one of those shells hit and I could feel him tighten because it hit him in the back. Then another one hit and it blew his face clear back to there, his whole face off and it was laying right in my eye. I had the whole of his face, the whole side of my face was covered. I thought I had half of my head blown off but I kept digging down in my eye and finally got down to where I could see. I said well good, at least I can see. I had a mess, a whole lot of him. After that he fell across my legs and had me pinned to the boat...finally I got out of there. The boy who had his face blown off was laying there beating his hand on his leg and hollering, of course the water was coming into the boat. This medic said 'you see my medical bag?' I said 'No I don't see it,' 'Well hand me that rifle.' So he took that rifle and hit that boy in the back of the head and finished him up. Course I don't guess he would have lived anyhow."
The confusion and ensuing fight up towards the beach caused mass chaos and confusion among soldiers of both sides. After getting clear of the boats, Thomas later described the situation facing them on the beach:
"All of our officers were gone, we didn't have no officers, no sergeant, we didn't have nobody. In fact there wasn't but 13 of us still alive. So we didn't get through there much, there wasn't enough of us left to do anything. "
On June 7 the beachhead consisted of three separate sectors: that of the British and Canadians, between Caen (not taken) and Bayeux; that of the U.S. V Corps, between Port-en-Bessin and Saint-Pierre-du-Mont; and that of the U.S. VII Corps, west of the Vire River behind Utah Beach. The narrow gap between Gold and Omaha at Port-en-Bessin was quickly closed, but it was not until June 12 that the American corps were able to join hands after a bitter battle to capture Carentan. The beachhead then formed a continuous zone, its deepest point being southwest of Bayeux, where the V Corps had driven nearly 15 miles (25 km) inland.
" They didn't have any plans for us after that invasion, they figured we were all gonna get killed and then they were gonna make replacements out of us that was left. There were more of us left than they thought so they just moved replacements in there and we stayed down there for about a week. Finally we moved on in and waited for the rear echelon part of our outfit to come on in."
Above:
Members of the 82nd Airborne Division dropping into Normandy.
Above:
Seconds before hitting the beach, American soldiers nervously await their uncertain fate.
Above:
An original photograph taken during the assault up the Normandy Beach.
Above:
The great invasion force after capturing Omaha Beach. Supplies had to be driven inland from the coast during the opening stages of the European Campaign.
Left:
Typical beach obstacle on Omaha Beach.
Left:
US Army Quartermaster Corps arriving on the beach after the successful invasion.
