Operation Overlord and D-Day
On the beaches
At 10pm on the 5th June British, Free French, Canadian and
American forces set sail to face their destiny across the Channel
in Normandy. Many never returned.
The British approached beaches at Arromanches and Ouistreham were
they also fought alongside the French troops. These beaches were
given the code names of ‘Gold’ and ‘Sword’. Canadian forces
attacked at Courseilles, or ‘Juno’. The first forces however to
attack German occupied Normandy beaches were the American troops at
Ste-Mere-Eglise ('Utah' beach) and Vierville ('Omaha' Beach).
The crossing was wet and windy. Many soldiers suffered terrible
seasickness; others also had to contend with their landing craft
taking on water. Many soldiers had to bail the vessels out with
their helmets. ![[25275] 'California'](/images/%5B25275%5D-California-200_tcm4-61121.jpg "[25275]")
 Troopship
'California'
|
The American troops landing on the beaches had two main
objectives. On Omaha beach they were instructed to reach a certain
point inland (Issigny) and destroy the Pointe du Hoc gun battery.
At Utah beach they were to form a bridgehead and then join up with
airborne divisions. For many it was their first experience of
active combat.
Under heavy fire the troops disembarked from landing craft, many
drowning before even reaching the beaches. The men in boat number 1
of Able Company left their landing craft in water over their heads,
most drowned, some managed to cling to the sides of the craft. Many
troops never made it from their vessels falling under heavy machine
gun and mortar fire from defending troops ideally placed on cliffs
overlooking the beach.
Through sheer weight of numbers victory was gained eventually and
the German forces were overwhelmed. Success was achieved with a
high price in human lives.A military cemetery at nearby Colleville
holds the graves of over 9000 American troops. In total, Allied
casualties for just the 6th June were over 10,000. During the
extended battle for Normandy there were nearly half a million
Allied and German casualties. The entire region is poignantly
littered with graves of servicemen of all nationalities
involved.
|
