Omaha Beach
Photo taken from wikipedia.org
On June 6 1944, Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, France. This was the first step at taking back Europe from Nazi oppression. This was a day of valor in which young men were put to the ultimate test. There are thousands of stories that have been told of the that day, but the most infamous is the story of Omaha Beach.
This beach was tasked to the American 1st and 29th Infantry Divisions, along with the 2nd Ranger Battalion. They would have to scale the cliffs and high bluffs of the Normandy coastline to reach the main road behind the beach which was a critical part of the entire mission. This proved to be one of the most deadly missions assigned to any infantry unit on that day.
Almost from the word “go” almost everything went wrong. Landing craft arrived to far from their designated areas, the high tide forced troops to disembark in four feet of water and wade onto the shore, and the bombing from the navy failed to hit many of the bunkers and artillery emplacements. This is where things got ugly.
The young men arrived onto the beaches and all hell broke loose. Within minutes, units became leaderless, most of the first wave was mowed down by machine gunfire, and artillery was coming down accurately creating a very high list of casualties in only a few minutes. This gave the beach its nickname “Bloody Omaha.” With almost the entire objective in jeopardy, it was up to these young men from different units to band together to do their duty.
So many men went above and beyond the call of duty that day, it’s almost hard to believe. Hundreds of soldiers were killed, but their sacrifice made the liberation of Europe possible. They died with the belief that Europe must be rid of Nazi oppression. All the brave soldiers fighting that day on the land, sea, and air are true heroes.
