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Map of the D-Day Beaches

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Operation Neptune – the landing phase of Overlord — called for a five-division front spread across 50 miles (80 km) of coastline; three airborne divisions (two American, one Anglo-Canadian) would also land in the pre-dawn hours of D-Day. By nightfall on D-Day Eisenhower and General Bernard Montgomery – commander of ground forces in Operation Overlord — hoped to have eight infantry divisions and fourteen tank regiments on the Normandy beachhead. The landing zone was divided into five beaches—Sword, Juno, Gold, Omaha, and Utah—with the Americans attacking Utah (the westernmost) and Omaha, the British and Canadians attacking Gold, Juno and Sword. Juno Beach was assigned to the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division (3rd CID), and covered a six-mile stretch of shoreline between La Riviere to the west and Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer to the east; the beach also encompassed Courseulles-sur-Mer and Bernieres-sur-Mer.

 6 places   |  55 miles (89 km)   |  visibility: public   |  created 23 months ago   |  2,500 views   |  1 follower   |  0 copies

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  •  Tuesday, June 6, 1944
  • Utah Beach  (6:30 am)
    Utah Beach, Sainte-Mère-du-Mont, France  |  02 33 71 58 00
    [MAP IMAGE]
    Lat/Lng: 49.418595 , -1.183041

    Utah Beach

    Utah Beach, Sainte-Mère-du-Mont, France
    02 33 71 58 00
    Close
    Casualties on Utah Beach, the westernmost landing zone, were the lightest of any beach, with 197 out of the roughly 23,000 troops that landed. The 4th Infantry Division was able to press inland relatively easily over beach exits that had been seized from the inland side by the 502nd and 506th Parachute Infantry Regiments of the 101st Airborne Division. This was partially by accident, because their planned landing was further down the beach (Brig. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt Jr, the Asst. Commander of 4th Division, upon discovering the landings were off course, was famous for stating 'We will start the war from right here.'). By early afternoon, the 4th Infantry Division had succeeded in linking up with elements of the 101st. American casualties were light, and the troops were able to press inward much faster than expected, making it a near-complete success.
    • Omaha Beach  (6:30 am)
      [MAP IMAGE]
      Lat/Lng: 49.37286 , -0.878752
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      Omaha was also the most heavily fortified beach, with high bluffs defended by funneled mortars, machine guns, and artillery, and the pre-landing aerial and naval bombardment of the bunkers proved to be ineffective. Difficulties in navigation caused the majority of landings to drift eastwards, missing their assigned sectors and the initial assault waves of tanks, infantry and engineers took heavy casualties. Of the 16 tanks that landed upon the shores of Omaha Beach only 2 survived the landing. The official record stated that 'within 10 minutes of the ramps being lowered, [the leading] company had become inert, leaderless and almost incapable of action. Every officer and sergeant had been killed or wounded [...] It had become a struggle for survival and rescue'.
      • The massive concrete cliff-top gun emplacement at Pointe du Hoc was the target of the 2nd Ranger Battalion, commanded by James Earl Rudder. The task was to scale the 30 meter (100 ft) cliffs under the cover of night, approximately at 5:30, one hour prior to the landings with ropes and ladders, and then attack and destroy the German coastal defense guns, which were thought to command the Omaha and Utah landing areas. Due to a combination of strong tides and navigational confusion the Rangers were pushed off course costing them valuable time. The infantry commanders did not know that the guns had been moved prior to the attack, and they had to press farther inland to find them and eventually destroyed them. However, fortifications themselves were still vital targets since a single artillery forward observer based there could have called down accurate fire on the U.S. beaches. The Rangers were eventually successful, and captured the fortifications. They then had to fight for two days to hold the location, losing more than 60% of their men. Afterwards they regrouped and continued Northeast to the rally point one mile from the gun emplacements on Pointe Du Hoc.
        • Gold Beach  (7:25 am)
          [MAP IMAGE]
          Lat/Lng: 49.349558 , -0.545771
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          At Gold Beach, the casualties were also quite heavy, partly because the swimming Sherman DD tanks were delayed, and the Germans had strongly fortified a village on the beach. However, the 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division overcame these difficulties and advanced almost to the outskirts of Bayeux by the end of the day. With the exception of the Canadians at Juno Beach, no division came closer to its objectives than the 50th
          • Sword Beach  (7:25 am)
            [MAP IMAGE]
            Lat/Lng: 49.3166667 , -0.3333333
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            The assault on Sword Beach began at about 03:00 with an aerial bombardment of the German coastal defences and artillery sites. The naval bombardment began a few hours later. At 07:30, the first units reached the beach. These were the DD tanks of 13th/18th Hussars followed closely by the infantry of 8th Brigade. On Sword Beach, the regular British infantry came ashore with light casualties. They had advanced about 8 kilometres (5 mi) by the end of the day but failed to make some of the deliberately ambitious targets set by Montgomery. In particular, Caen, a major objective, was still in German hands by the end of D-Day, and would remain so until mid July
            • Juno Beach  (7:35 am)
              [MAP IMAGE]
              Lat/Lng: 49.339552 , -0.44547
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              The Canadian forces that landed on Juno Beach faced 2 heavy batteries of 155 mm guns and 9 medium batteries of 75 mm guns, as well as machine-gun nests, pillboxes, other concrete fortifications, and a seawall twice the height of the one at Omaha Beach. The first wave suffered 50% casualties, the second highest of the five D-Day beachheads. The use of armor was successful at Juno, in some instances actually landing ahead of the infantry as intended and helping clear a path inland.
              Personnel of Royal Canadian Navy Beach Commando W landing on Mike Beach, Juno sector of the Normandy beachhead. 6 June 1944.

              Despite the obstacles, the Canadians were off the beach within hours and beginning their advance inland. A single troop of four tanks managed to reach the final objective phase line, but hastily retreated, having outrun its infantry support. In particular, two fortified positions at the Douvres Radar Station remained in German hands (and would for several days until captured by British commandos), and no link had been established with Sword Beach.
              •  total distance: 55 miles (89 km)

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