Our Trip: Omaha Beach

Omaha Beach

It is only because the Armed Service People who were willing to lay their lives down for us that we have the freedom to say things others may not agree with (forgive my grammar, please), do the things we have the freedoms and rights to do whether it makes others happy or not, and move about in this great country of ours. When we take that for granted, we lessen that sacrifice.

It was very surreal to be at the place I learned about where so many met their death here. To stand on the beach which was so important to take. To walk through the sand that became red with the blood spilled by those selfless soldiers.

I hope that the way I live today honors that sacrifice of yesterday.

They had several panels chronicling the scenes of the beach from 1900 onward.

I have posted the ones from during the war.

This plaque describes the sculture that was designed to honor the soldiers.

As I walked on this sand, I tried to imagine trudging through it with all the gear

they had on their backs while bullets were flying through the air.

It is so peaceful here today, and quite beautiful.

From 1941 to 1944 America and its allies pursued the goal of defeating "Germany First." Their strategy rested on a key assumption, ultimately there would have to be a massive invasion of Northwest Europe aimed at the heart of the Axis empire. This would reduce German pressure on the Soviet Union by creating a true "second front" in Europe. Germany would be trapped between the Soviets in the east and the Americans and British in the west.

By 1943 success on the battlefield and production in the factories made it possible to begin formal planning for this bold operation,the largest amphibious invasion in history. The target date was spring 1944.

In Berlin, Hitler understood that an invasion would come. Fortification of the coast of Northwest Europe was already underway. In 1943 its pace accelerated and more troops were posted in the west. The Germans expected the invasion in early 1944. They knew that it would determine the war's outcome. What they did not know was precisely when and where the Allies would strike. from nationalww2museum.com

We went up on the hill to get the perspective of the Germans. Hard to

imagine the terror and hatred on this hill today amongst all the beauty and peace.

This plaque reads:

Omaha Beach- Caumont-

June 6 (D-Day) through July 24, 1944

On Omaha beach, to your front, assault troops of the US First Infantry Division led the attack of V Corps, landing at 6:30AM on June 6, 1944 (D-Day). The BIG RED ONE soldiers encountered beach obstacles and fierce enemy fire from the bluffs which stopped their advance at the water's edge, an operation even more difficult than expected. Slowly, with support from naval gunfire, the Big red One infantrymen advanced, with heavy casualties, to the top of the bluff on your left by late morning. At day's end, V Corps had tenuous toehold 1 1/2 miles deep on the Normandy coast.

During the next week, the First Infantry Division attacked south some 23 miles to capture the high ground around Caumont which it held until late July, when the successful breakout operation was staged.

Medals of Honor for conspicuous heroism were awarded to three men for June 6th and to two more for June 10th. The names of 627 soldiers on the monument remind us of the heavy cost of that victory. Again, the Big Red one lived up to its motto- "No Mission Too Difficult, No Sacrifice Too Great. Duty First."

Formal planning for the invasion of Northwest Europe began in 1943. A group led by British General Frederick Morgan searched for the best point along the coast to strike and started drawing up assault plans. In May, at an Allied conference in Washington, D.C., a target date of spring 1944 was set for the long-awaited attack.

In December 1943 a commander for the operation was selected. The choice was an American,General Dwight D. Eisenhower. Eisenhower had directed Allied invasion forces in North Africa and Italy. He took up his new post,Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force,in January 1944. Eisenhower approved of Morgan's selection of the Normandy coast in France as the invasion site, but he increased the size of the assault force. He and his staff then prepared the details of a plan to organize, transport, land, and supply the largest amphibious invasion force in history.

The operation was code-named "Overlord." The outcome of the war rested upon its success.

The plan for Operation Overlord entailed landing nine divisions of sea and airborne troops, over 150,000 men, along a 60-mile stretch of coast in just 24 hours.

On D-Day, three airborne divisions, one British and two American, would drop behind the landing beaches. Their job,seize beach exits, capture key transportation and communication points, and block German counterattacks.

Six divisions would assault the five landing beaches. Each beach had a code name. Utah Beach was assigned to the U.S. 4th Division. The US 29th and 1st Divisions would land at Omaha Beach. Further east, the British 50th Division would assault Gold Beach and the Canadian 3rd Division would attack at Juno Beach. The British 3rd Division would take Sword Beach.

from nationalww2museum.com

There were remains of many bunkers on the hills off the beach.

A Bodyguard of Lies

"In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies."
--Prime Minister Winston Churchill, 1943

The success of Operation Overlord depended heavily on preventing Hitler from learning the date and location of the invasion. If the Germans were to gain advance knowledge of D-Day, the outcome could be disastrous. Additional divisions and arms could easily be deployed to Normandy in time to stop an Allied assault at the beach. The Allies needed to devise a plan that would keep the Germans in the dark about the invasion preparations.

Winston Churchill was one of the chief architects of the Overlord deception plan, which was code-named "Bodyguard." Churchill's enthusiasm for including elaborate deceptions in major offensive campaigns stemmed, in large part, from the failure of earlier amphibious operations,especially those at Dieppe in World War II and at Gallipoli in World War I.

In late 1943, more than six months before D-Day, the Allies,aided by the French Resistance, German double agents, and their own elaborate intelligence operations, began strategic and tactical operations to keep the Germans out of Normandy. from nationalww2museum.com