Omaha Beach

"Omaha" was the code name for the second beach from the right of the five landing areas of the Normandy Invasion. It was the largest of the assault areas, stretching over 6 miles (10 kilometres) between Port-en-Bessin on the east and the mouth of the Vire River on the west. The western third of the beach was backed by a 10-foot- (3-metre-) high seawall, and the whole beach was overlooked by cliffs 100 feet high. There were five exits from the sand and shingle beach; the best was a paved road in a ravine leading to the village of Viervillesur-Mer, two were only dirt paths, and two were dirt roads leading to the villages of Colleville-sur-Mer and Saint-Laurent-sur-Mer.

The Germans under Field Marshal Erwin Rommel had built formidable defences to protect this enclosed battlefield. The waters and beach were heavily mined, and there were 12 strong points called Widerstandsnester ("resistance nests"). Numerous other fighting positions dotted the area, supported by an extensive trench system. The defending forces consisted of three battalions of the veteran 352nd Infantry Division. Their weapons were fixed to cover the beach with grazing enfilade fire as well as plunging fire from the cliffs. Omaha was a killing zone.

Omaha Beach was part of the invasion area assigned to the U.S. 1st Army, under Lieutenant General Omar Bradley. The assault sectors at Omaha were code-named (from west to east) Charlie, Dog (consisting of Green, White, and Red sections), Easy (Green and Red sections), and Fox (Green and Red sections). The beach was to be assaulted at 0630 hours by the U.S. 1st Infantry Division, with the 116th Regiment of the 29th Division attached for D-Day only. Omaha was wide enough to land two regiments side by side with armour in front, and so the 116th Regiment was to land at Dog (Green, White, and Red) and Easy preen, while the 16th Regiment, 1st Division, was to land at Easy Red and Fox Green.

Smoke streams from a landing craft hit by machine-gun fire as it approaches Omaha Beach, D-Day