Operation Overlord

Utah Beach

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Amphibious landings at Utah Beach were undertaken by U.S. Army troops, with sea transport, mine sweeping, and a naval bombardment force provided by the United States Navy and Coast Guard as well as elements from the British, Dutch and other Allied navies.

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The objective at Utah was to secure a beachhead on the Cotentin Peninsula, the location of important port facilities at Cherbourg.

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D-Day at Utah began at 01:30, when the airborne units arrived, tasked with securing the key crossroads at Sainte-Mère-Église so the infantry could advance inland. On the beach, infantry and tanks landed in four waves and quickly secured the immediate area with minimal casualties. Meanwhile, engineers set to work clearing the area of obstacles and mines, and additional waves of reinforcements continued to arrive. At the close of D-Day, Allied forces had only captured about half of the planned area and contingents of German defenders remained, but the beachhead was secure.

U.S. soldiers landing on Utah Beach.

Cherbourg was captured on June 26, but by this time the Germans had destroyed the port facilities, which were not brought back into full operation until September.

Omaha Beach

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Omaha Beach refers to a 5 mile section of the coast from east of Sainte-Honorine-des-Pertes to west of Vierville-sur-Mer on the right bank of the Douve River estuary. The landings intended to link the British landings to the east at Gold with the American landing to the west at Utah. Taking Omaha was to be the responsibility of United States Army troops.

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The attack plan called for an assault waves of tanks, infantry, and combat engineer forces to reduce the coastal defenses, allowing larger ships to land in follow-up waves. But very little went as planned. Difficulties in navigation caused most of the landing craft to miss their targets throughout the day. The defenses were unexpectedly strong, and inflicted heavy casualties on landing U.S. troops. Under heavy fire, the engineers struggled to clear the beach obstacles; later landings bunched up around the few channels that were cleared. Weakened by the casualties taken just in landing, the surviving assault troops could not clear the heavily defended exits off the beach. This caused further problems and consequent delays for later landings.

US Infantry wade ashore at Omaha Beach

on the morning of 6 June 1944 - D Day.

By the end of the day, two small isolated footholds had been won, which were subsequently exploited against weaker defenses further inland, achieving the original D-Day objectives over the following days.

Gold Beach

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The objectives at Gold were to secure a beachhead, move west to capture Arromanches and establish contact with the American forces at Omaha, capture Bayeux and the small port at Port-en-Bessin, and to link up with the Canadian forces at Juno to the east.

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On D-Day at Gold, naval bombardment got underway at 05:30, and amphibious landings commenced at 07:25. High winds made conditions difficult for the landing craft, and the amphibious DD tanks were released close to shore or directly on the beach instead of further out as planned. Three of the four guns in a large emplacement at the Longues-sur-Mer battery were disabled by direct hits from the cruisers Ajax and Argonaut at 06:20. The fourth gun resumed firing intermittently in the afternoon, and its garrison surrendered on 7th June. Aerial attacks had failed to hit the Le

Men of No. 47 Commando landing on

Gold Beach near La Rivière.

Hamel strongpoint, which had its embrasure facing east to provide enfilade fire along the beach and had a thick concrete wall on the seaward side. Its 75 mm gun continued to do damage until 16:00 but was neutralised at 07:30.

Meanwhile, infantry began clearing the heavily fortified houses along the shore and advanced on targets further inland. The British Commandos of No. 47 (Royal Marine) Commando advanced on Port-en-Bessin and captured it on 7 June in the Battle of Port-en-Bessin. On the western flank, the 1st Battalion, Hampshire Regiment captured Arromanches (future site of one of the artificial Mulberry harbours), and 69th Infantry Brigade on the eastern flank made contact with the Canadian forces at Juno.

Juno Beach

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Juno Beach spanned from Courseulles, a village east of the British beach Gold, to Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, and just west of the British beach Sword. Taking Juno was the responsibility of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division on D-Day who were to cut the Caen-Bayeux road, seize the Carpiquet airport west of Caen, and form a link between the two British beaches on either flank.

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The Juno landings initially encountered heavy resistance from the German 716th Division; the preliminary bombardment proved less effective than had been hoped, and rough weather forced the first wave to be delayed until 07:35. Several assault companies took heavy casualties in the opening minutes of the first wave. Strength of numbers, coordinated fire support from artillery, and armoured squadrons cleared most of the coastal defences within two hours of landing.

Canadian soldiers landing at Juno.

Sword Beach

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Stretching 5 miles from Ouistreham to Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer, the Sword Beach was the furthest east landing site of the invasion. Taking Sword was the responsibility of the British Army with sea transport, mine sweeping, and a naval bombardment force provided by the British Royal Navy as well as elements from the Polish, Norwegian and other Allied navies.

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Of the five beaches of the operation, Sword was the nearest to Caen. The initial landings were achieved with low casualties, but the advance from the beach was slowed by traffic congestion and resistance in heavily defended areas behind the beachhead. Further progress towards Caen was halted by the only armoured counter attack of the day, mounted by the 21st Panzer Division.

Source: Wikipedia

Infantry waiting to move off Sword Beach.