Soldier of Fortune Magazine The Journal of Professional Adventurers
by Jose Campos
Who fought, where they landed, and how Allied forces cracked Hitler’s Atlantic Wall on June 6, 1944.
The Plan
Operation Overlord was the largest amphibious invasion in history. Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight D. Eisenhower commanded more than 156,000 American, British, Canadian, and Allied troops who would cross the English Channel and assault five beaches along a 50-mile stretch of Normandy coastline in France. The operation was months in the planning, supported by an elaborate deception campaign designed to convince the Germans the real invasion would come at Pas-de-Calais.
The Airborne Assault — After Midnight
Hours before the first landing craft hit the beach on June 6, 1944, paratroopers were behind enemy lines. The U.S. 82nd Airborne Division (“All-American”) and 101st Airborne Division (“Screaming Eagles”) dropped into the Cotentin Peninsula beginning around 0100 hours. Amid flak and darkness, many sticks landed miles from their drop zones.
Small bands of paratroopers fought in the dark. They seized causeways, cutting communications and creating chaos behind German lines. The 101st’s mission was to secure exits behind Utah Beach; the 82nd aimed to capture Sainte-Mère-Église, which would become the first town liberated in France. British 6th Airborne Division dropped on the eastern flank, with Major John Howard’s glider-borne force famously seizing Pegasus Bridge over the Caen Canal in a precise coup de main operation just after midnight.
The Naval Bombardment
At dawn, the largest naval armada ever assembled opened fire. More than 1,200 warships — including battleships USS Nevada, Texas, and Arkansas, and HMS Warspite and Ramillies — pounded German coastal fortifications. Destroyers pushed close to shore to provide direct fire support. Despite the overwhelming firepower, many hardened German bunkers survived the bombardment largely intact, a fact that would cost dearly at Omaha Beach.
Utah Beach
The U.S. 4th Infantry Division (“Ivy Division”) led the assault at Utah, the westernmost beach. Due to a navigation error, landing craft drifted about 2,000 yards south of the intended landing zone. This turned out to be a stroke of luck, as that sector was far less heavily defended.
Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr., son of the former president and at 56 the oldest man to land on D-Day, assessed the situation.
“We’ll start the war from right here,” he said.
Casualties at Utah were the lightest of all five beaches. By day’s end the 4th Infantry had linked up with elements of the 101st Airborne and pushed several miles inland.
Omaha Beach — Bloody Omaha
At Omaha, the U.S. 1st Infantry Division (“Big Red One”) and 29th Infantry Division hit a 300-foot bluff defended by the seasoned German 352nd Infantry Division.
Most of the 32 duplex-drive (DD) Sherman tanks of the 741st Tank Battalion launched offshore sank in the rough seas before reaching the beach, leaving much of the infantry without armor support. Bombers dropped their payloads too far inland, leaving bunkers intact. Landing craft were shredded by obstacles and enfilading fire. Men drowned under the weight of their equipment, were cut down in the surf, or pinned behind the seawall with no way forward.
By mid-morning, senior commanders offshore were considering abandoning the beach entirely. Small-unit leaders held fast.
Colonel George Taylor, commanding the 16th Infantry Regiment of the 1st Division, delivered the day’s most quoted line:
“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!”
Soldiers found draws and gullies leading up the bluffs, and began to crack the German defenses from the flanks. By evening a tenuous foothold existed.
Gold Beach — The British Center
The British 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division assaulted Gold Beach in the center of the Allied line. British planners made extensive use of specialized armor, the “Hobart’s Funnies” of the 79th Armoured Division These included flail tanks to clear mines, AVRE engineering vehicles, and amphibious tanks that reached the shore intact. Gold was captured with moderate casualties.
By nightfall the 50th Division had pushed several miles inland toward the town of Bayeux, which fell the following day as the first major French city liberated.
Juno Beach — The Canadians
The 3rd Canadian Infantry Division assaulted Juno Beach, suffering the second-highest Allied casualty rate of the day behind Omaha. The Canadians hit heavily defended coastal villages — Courseulles-sur-Mer and Bernières-sur-Mer — and fought brutal street-by-street battles to clear them. Despite fierce resistance and significant losses, the Canadians recovered their momentum, driving far inland and coming within a few miles of the Caen-Bayeux road.
Sword Beach — The Eastern Flank
The British 3rd Infantry Division landed at Sword, the easternmost beach, with the mission of capturing the city of Caen on D-Day itself. French Commando units under Philippe Kieffer were among the first ashore, and fought to liberate the town of Ouistreham. The 3rd Division linked up with Major Howard’s men at Pegasus Bridge, securing the eastern flank.
The push toward Caen was blunted by a determined counterattack from the 21st Panzer Division — the only German armored division to mount a serious D-Day counterattack. Caen did not fall for weeks.
The German Response
The German high command’s response was fatally hampered by their own command structure. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, commanding Army Group B, was in Germany celebrating his wife’s birthday. Bad weather forecasts had convinced him the invasion was not imminent. When Rommel’s superior, Field Marshal Gerd von Rundstedt, requested release of the Panzer reserves to counterattack, Hitler — convinced Normandy was a diversion — refused to release them until afternoon.
By then it was too late to drive the Allies back into the sea. The deception had worked perfectly.
The End of June 6
By nightfall on June 6, approximately 156,000 Allied troops were ashore. Five beachheads had been secured. The Allies suffered more than 10,300 total casualties across all beaches. The Atlantic Wall had been cracked.
In his pocket, Eisenhower carried a note he had drafted the night before, a message taking full personal responsibility in the event the invasion failed. He never had to use it.
Jose Campos writes frequently for Soldier of Fortune.
