Omaha Beach

Omaha Beach

The most famous and most difficult of the five D-day beaches. It took the highest casualties, due in particular to its topography : it was the only beach with high ground just beyond.

The impossible task here was to get off the beach as quickly as possible in order to reach the top of the bluff, when the only four exit roads were still blocked off by the German defenders. The air-bombing and naval bombardment that were supposed to disorganize them, almost completely missed.

Standing there and seeing this beach (4 miles long) all at once, when realizing about the big tides and discovering the German fortifications and gun emplacements, will leave you amazed at the extraordinary courage and sacrifice needed. You will understand why the 1st and 29th Infantry Divisions suffered more than 3 800 casualties (dead, wounded or missing) to make this battle a victory.

They had to jump out of their Landing Craft and made their way out of the cold water, past the terrible beach obstacles, as graphically depicted in “Saving Private Ryan”.