H-HOUR

Cherbourg Sector

The airborne assault into Normandy, as part of the D-Day allied invasion of Europe, was the largest use of airborne troops up to that time. Paratroopers of the U.S. 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, the British 6th Airborne Division, the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion, and other attached Allied units took part in the assault. Numbering more than 13,000 men, the paratroopers were flown from bases in southern England to the Cotentin Peninsula in approximately 925 C-47 airplanes. An additional 4,000 men, consisting of glider infantry with supporting weapons, medical and signal units were to arrive in 500 gliders later on D-Day to reinforce the paratroopers. The parachute troops were assigned what was probably the most difficult task of the initial operation — a night jump behind enemy lines five hours before the coastal landings.

To protect the invasion zone's western extremity and to facilitate the Utah landing force's movement into the Cotentin Peninsula, the U.S. 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions descended on the peninsula by parachute and glider in the early hours of D-Day. The mission of the invasion force following the consolidation of a beach head was the capture of Cherbourg, a vital port. The paratroopers were badly scattered. Many were injured and killed during the attack, and much of their equipment was lost, but the brave paratroopers fought fiercely, causing confusion among the German commanders and keeping the German's troops occupied. Their efforts; hampered by harsh weather, darkness and disorganization, and initiative of resourceful Soldiers and leaders, ensured that the Utah Beach assault objectives were eventually accomplished. The British and Canadian attacks also accomplished their primary goal of securing the left flank of the invasion force.

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• Background graphic created using image courtesy of the U.S. Air Force.

Utah Beach

Utah Beach was added to the initial invasion plan, almost as an afterthought. The Allies needed a major port as soon as possible, and Utah Beach would put the U.S. VII Corps within 60 kilometers of Cherbourg at the outset. The major obstacles in this sector were not so much the beach defenses, but the flooded and rough terrain that blocked the way north.

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• Background image: U.S. Army photo.

Omaha Beach

Omaha Beach linked the U.S. and British beaches. It was a critical link between the Cotentin Peninsula, also known as the Cherbourg Peninsula, and the flat plain in front of Caen. Omaha was also the most restricted and heavily defended beach. For that reason, at least one veteran U.S. Division (lst Infantry Division) was tasked to land there. The terrain was difficult. Omaha beach was unlike any of the other assault beaches in Normandy. Its crescent curve and unusual assortment of bluffs, cliffs and draws were immediately recognizable from the sea. It was the most defensible beach chosen for D-Day; in fact, many planners did not believe it a likely place for a major landing. The high ground commanded all approaches to the beach from the sea and tidal flats. Moreover, any advance made by U.S. troops from the beach would be limited to narrow passages between the bluffs. Advances directly up the steep bluffs were difficult in the extreme.

German strong points were arranged to command all the approaches and pillboxes were cited in the draws to fire east and west, thereby enfilading troops while remaining concealed from bombarding warships. These pillboxes had to be taken out by direct assault. Compounding this problem was the allied intelligence failure to identify a nearly full-strength infantry division, the 352nd, directly behind the beach. It was believed to be no further forward than St. Lo and Caumont, 20 miles inland. The V Corps was assigned to this sector. The objective was to obtain a lodgment area between Port-en-Bessin and the Vire River and ultimately push forward to St. Lo and Caumont in order to cut German communications (St. Lo was a major road junction). Allocated to the task were 1st and 29th Divisions, supported by the 5th Ranger Battalion and 5th Engineer Special Brigade.

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• Background image: "First Wave at Omaha: The Ordeal of the Blue and Gray" by Ken Riley, courtesy of the National Guard Bureau.

Gold Beach

Gold Beach was the objective of the 50th Division (Northumbrian) of the British 2nd Army. Its primary task was to seize Arrolnanches and drive inland to seize the road junction at Bayeux, as well as contact U.S. forces on their right and Canadians on their left. The initial opposition was fierce, but the British invasion forces broke through with relatively light casualties and were able to reach their objectives in this sector. A major factor in their success was that the British assault forces were lavishly equipped with armour and "Funnies" of the 79th Armoured Division. The "Funnies" were the specialist vehicles, armed with 290 mm mortars, and designed for tasks such as clearing obstacles or minefields and destruction of large fixed fortifications. Perhaps the most famous is the "Flail" tank, which was Sherman equipped with a large roller to which lengths of chains was attached. These tanks were designed to clear terrain to their front, and detonate mine fields and other booby traps without danger to the tanks or infantry following.

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• Background image: U.S. Coast Guard photo.

Juno Beach

Juno Beach was the landing area for the 3rd Canadian Division. The Canadians were very concerned about their role in the invasion (as was most of the planning staff) as the memory of 2nd Canadian Division's destruction at Dieppe was still fresh. But many lessons had been learned, and the 3rd Canadian Division, in spite of heavy opposition at Courseulles-sur-Mer, broke through and advanced nearly to their objective, the airfield at Carpiquet, west of Caen. The Canadians made the deepest penetration of any land forces on June 6th, again with moderate casualties.

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• Background iamge: Courtesy of the Imperial War Museum, B 5218.

Sword Beach

Sword Beach was the objective of the British 3rd Infantry Division. They were to advance inland as far as Caen, and line up with British Airborne forces east of the Orne River and Caen Canal. The Orne River bridges had been seized late at night, June 5, by a glider-borne reinforced company commanded by Maj. John Howard. As at the other beaches, British forces penetrated quite a ways inland after breaking the opposition at water's edge. Unfortunately, the objective of Caen was probably asking too much of a single infantry division, especially given the traffic jams and resistance encountered further inland. The 1st Special Service (Commando) Brigade commanded by Lord Lovat, linked up in the morning with Howard's force at Pegasus Bridge on the British left. Fierce opposition from the 21st Panzer and later the 12th SS Panzer division prevented the British from reaching Caen on the 6th. Indeed, Caen was not taken until late June.

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• Background image: Courtesy of the Imperial War Museum, BU 1185.

Caen Sector

The British 6th Airborne Division area of action was located north of Caen, on the eastern banks of the Orne: paratroopers had to seize the bridges and special points of the region to protect the eastern flank of the Allied invasion zone against German counter-attacks within hours of landing.

British and Canadian forces failed to seize Caen because the Germans threw the weight of their resources and their only available armored division into the defense of the city. Despite this, these Allied troops had established themselves well ashore.

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REFERENCES

• Background image: Courtesy of the Imperial War Museum, B 5205.

THE AIRBORNE ASSAULT

Operation Overlord plan would open with an air assault. On the night before the Normandy invasion, the U.S. 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions would land by parachute and glider near the town of Ste. Mere-Eglise, securing the roads leading from the shoreline and obstructing enemy efforts to reinforce beach defenses. The next morning Bradley's First Army would arrive. The VII Corps would put the U.S. 4th Division ashore on UTAH Beach near les Dunes de Varreville.

As the day of the invasion approached, the weather in the English Channel became stormy. Heavy winds, a five-foot swell at sea, and lowering skies compelled Eisenhower to postpone the assault from 5 to 6 June. Conditions remained poor, but when meteorologists predicted that the winds would abate and the cloud cover rise enough on the scheduled day of the attack to permit a go-ahead, Eisenhower reluctantly gave the command. Expecting casualties of up to 80 percent among the airborne forces, he traveled to an air base at Newbury to bid farewell to the members of the 101st Airborne Division before their tow planes and gliders carried them off to battle.

Other units, entangled in the thickets and hedgerows of the region, failed to achieve their objectives, but by their very presence, they sowed confusion in German ranks. Reports began to surface in enemy headquarters all along the line that paratroopers were landing, but little information was available to commanders on the size and meaning of the attack. Was it a probe to test Germany's defenses, a diversion for a larger assault in the Pas de Calais, or the long-awaited invasion itself? The Allies added to the confusion by parachuting dummies wired with firecrackers far to the rear of German positions. The trick drew major enemy units away from the landing zone, where their presence might have considerably damaged the landings.

As dawn neared, bombers began to strike up and down the coast, flying the first of what would become, by the end of the day, more than 11,000 sorties against enemy batteries, headquarters, railroad junctions, and troop concentrations. The gliders Eisenhower had watched depart also arrived at their destinations. Those of the British on the left flank landed on target, as did most of those from the U.S. 101st Airborne Division. Unfortunately, fewer than half of the gliders assigned to the U.S. 82nd Airborne reached their assigned landing zones. The rest lodged in hedgerows, struck German obstructions, or floundered in the swollen marshes. By midmorning, 4,000 men of the 82nd were still unaccounted for, along with 60 percent of the equipment they had carried.

The paratroopers were badly scattered. Many were injured and killed during the attack, and much of their equipment was lost, but the brave paratroopers fought fiercely through the night and the following days, causing confusion among the German commanders and keeping the German troops occupied. Their efforts were hampered by harsh weather, darkness, and disorganization but the initiative of the resourceful Soldiers and leaders among their ranks ensured that the beach assault objectives were eventually accomplished.

PHOTO: Paratroopers cautiously move through Carentan. Photo courtesy US Army Signal Corps. U.S. Army photo.

• Background graphic created with U.S. Army photos.