Omaha Beach
......A misty fog seeped by the boat as they approached shore. Gunfire could be heard in the distance, getting louder and louder the closer they came to shore......
In August, 1942 France was invaded by Germany. France, Being occupied by the Gremans wass too close to the U.K. Allied forces had every reason to belive that the Germans were planing an Axis invasion on the U.K. In April, 1942 the allies decided that they wanted to invade France and push into Germany, possibly winning the war. It was at that time the U.S put in a plan called operation Bolero to build up allied forces. The American army was in charge of building British transportations and establishing their camps. The shipments got off to a slow start, adding only 24,682 troops to the 11,962 already stationed in the British Isles. There after from 1942-1943 153,000 GI's were added and troops were now at a peak of 216,699 in April, 1944. Meanwhile, cargo shipments imported 500,000 tons af aids and army supplies a month, too much for Britians small ports and labor forces. Extra Airforce and tanks were added. On the morning of June 4th, 1944 the invasion was set to take place. Omaha beach was just one of the many beaches invaded on D-Day. June 6th, 1944 the invasion began. Higgens boats filled with soilders sped across the Dover Strait and the English channel. Omaha, by contrast, was the most difficult in physical terms as well as millitary. They invaded at low tide with much beach area to cover (about 1/4 mile).The rocky coast provided a steep coast line before land provided the perfect position for bunkers and machine gun positions. The wide, rocky coast stretced for 8 miles, and at the highest it was 200ft tall, at Point du Hoc. What makes Omaha beach so unique is their near vertical bluff banks leading the plateu edge up to 150 ft high. Men could scramble up it, but not vehicles. Omaha beach was heavily defended by the Germans since it was the only large beach with a 25-mile stretch of coastline. There were three beach exits which invading soilders met at a point after over-running the beach.
"As our boat touched sand and the ramp went down, I became a visitor to hell" ---PRIVATE HARRY PARLEY, E COMPANY, 2ND BATTALION 116TH INFANTRY REGIMENT---
Many soilders never toughed the shore. There were poles and metal sticks protruding out of the beach sand. They prevented boats, tanks and other vehicles from making it on the beach. Soilders ducked for cover behind these. Thousands were blown up or shot. The casualties were 2,400 Americans killed, wounded or captured. Finally, the Germans surrendered to the Americans.
