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and Weymouth / D-Day |
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| Big Red One |
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| Source: Various (please see
Site Credits) |
Click any picture to enlarge
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| US troops en route to embarkation, 1
June 1944 |
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Most of the Americans who embarked at Portland
and Weymouth in June 1944 were part of the US 1st Division,
the "Big Red One". They were bound for "Omaha" beach, one
of the five designated beaches over which British, Canadian
and American forces would land on D-Day, 6th June, to penetrate
Hitler's "Fortress Europe".
Landings at the other four beaches went more
or less to plan but at Omaha the Big Red One and the other
US forces to land there, part of the 29th Division and the
2nd Rangers, met fierce resistance and near disaster and the
beach acquired the name "Bloody Omaha".
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| Transferring from
the ships that carried them across the Channel, some eleven
miles out to sea, into small landing craft, the assault waves
of the Division ran immediately into trouble. The sea was rougher
than expected. Craft sank and men were violently sick. Strong,
underestimated currents, drove craft well off course and the
sick depleted force that eventually arrived on the beach, in
some state of confusion, were met by fierce well organised and
unexpectedly strong German resistance. Omaha Beach was one long
German "Killing Ground". |
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| German machine gun post |
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| German pill box |
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| Diagram of German defences |
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| Beach obstacles |
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From the low to the
high water mark obstacles had been planted to rip the bottoms
out of landing craft, many festooned with explosives. At the
back of the beach the Germans had built bunkers with machine
and anti-tank guns, sighted to fire along the beach, well sheltered
from the guns of the Allied warships. Behind these, at the top
of steep bluffs, concrete strongpoints with more machine guns
and artillery pieces were sighted to defend the exits from the
beach and to protect the German artillery "forward observers"
who directed the fire of heavy guns positioned well inland |
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Many landing craft never reached the beach.
Most unloaded their human cargo into a wall of fire. Only
5 of the 27 swimming tanks survived to support the soldiers
who did manage to cross the "killing ground". The rest sank
as they were launched at sea taking their crews down with
them.
At sea the heavy guns of the US battleships
Texas and Arkansaw and the French cruisers Montcalm and Georges
Leygues fired furious salvoes at the German positions and
destroyers raced in to take out the bunkers. Most of the junior
officers fell casualty and it was left to very senior officers
to lead small parties of brave men over the sea wall and at
the strongpoints. Slowly but surely a breachhead was gained
and by nightfall on the 6th the Big Red 1 was established
in France.
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| Beach obstacles being built |
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| Of the 4000 American
casualties suffered at D-Day 3500 occurred at Omaha. Many of
the wounded returning to hospital in England passed again through
Portland Harbour. |
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| The assault waves go in |
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| The beach at low water |
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| Survivors from sunken landing craft
come ashore |
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