June 6, 1944

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0><script type="text/javascript" src="http://hb.lycos.com/hb.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://ratings.lycos.com/ratings/lycosRating.js.php"></script> <script type="text/javascript"><![CDATA[//><!]]></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://scripts.lycos.com/catman/init.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-start.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-middle.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/ad/code-end.js"></script> <noscript> <img src="http://members.tripod.com/adm/img/common/ot_noscript.gif?rand=793537" alt="" width="1" height="1" />  <iframe frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" width="728" height="90" src="http://ad.yieldmanager.com/st?ad_type=iframe&ad_size=728x90&section=209094"></iframe>  </noscript> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=110 BGCOLOR="#999933" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="03c006e0ddwnfv.gif"> <div> The Internet Museum of the Second World War</div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=190 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" background="03dbec00esnpes.gif"> <div> Next Exhibit</div> <div> <A HREF="id88.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Reds Resurgent"><U><IMG SRC="26550140.gif" border=0 width="80" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <bR> <div> Previous</div> <div> <A HREF="id70.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Into the Jungles"><U><IMG SRC="26650140.gif" border=0 width="80" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <bR> <div> Related Exhibits <A HREF="id85.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Atlantic Wall"><U><IMG SRC="1b850140.gif" border=0 width="80" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <div> <I>(The Atlantic Wall)</I></div> <bR> <div> Index</div> <div> <A HREF="id52.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Index Page"><U><IMG SRC="26850140.gif" border=0 width="80" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <bR> <div> Home Page</div> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Web Site Title"><U><IMG SRC="26950140.gif" border=0 width="80" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=370 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> June 6th, 1944</div> <div>   The waters of the English Channel were rather rough on the early morning of the sixth of June, 1944. A few damp and bored German sentries patrolled the barb-wired fences and barricades of this section of the seemingly-endless Atlantic Wall. Although there was a full moon and this meant defences were supposed to be extra-alert, life along the Atlantic Wall had become nothing more than routine. An occasional P-47 would perhaps strafe the tranches or a few B-26's make a sudden raid, but little else. There was absolutely no suspicion that just over the horizon of that churning, grey, water was the largest invasion force ever to be assembled. Hundreds of thousands of troops, thousands of airplanes, dozens of warships, transport ships, and clouds of barrage balloons were making their way towards Hitler's doorstep - Fortress Europe was about to be besieged.</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="2fec4b10.jpg" border=0 width="196" height="177" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <I>Above:</I> <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Courier New" >Feld Marschal Erwin Rommel instepcting the Atlantic Wall</FONT></div> <div>   While the Germans at Normandy sat and drank coffee, behind them thousands of US and Canadian parachute troops were sent out to capture key bridges and other objectives just behind the backs of the German defenders. Reports began to drift into German headquarter units that some paratroops had struck the Caen bridges, and gliders were spotted in multiple locations. Although this could mean something serious, the high-brass German officers were sure this was merely a decoy. The real invasion would come at Calais. Besides, anti-glider obstacles were in place in nearly 50% of all large open fields in Normandy. If any gliders tried to attack, they would be ripped to shreds while landing.</div> <div>   And once again we visit that lone German sentry along the Atlantic Wall, and although he didn't know it, he was standing on a beach which the Allis had code named "Omaha." Picking up his Zeiss field-glasses, he scans the horizon. At first nothing in the grey wind-swept sea is noticable, but then, after much squinting and focusing, he sees a black dot. Blinking, he looks again harder. There were then <I>two</I> black dots! Sweeping the field glasses over the horizon, he is struck almost rigid by <I>hundreds</I> of ships, with hundreds of barrage balloons like a sinister umberella, proceeding directly towards <I>him!</I> He screams the alarm and the Oberst in command surveys the now well visible horde of ships coming his way. "<I>Gott im Himmel...."</I></div> <div> <I>  </I>As alarms ring out and ammunition is brought to the readied machine guns, a squeal of shells breaks the monotonous sound of the slow breaking waves and eruptions of large-calibre shell explosions break out over the peaceful Atlantic Wall. And after that moment for over an hour the beaches were doused with a liberal coating of high explosive, some coming from warships off-shore, others from bombers raining light case anti-personell bombs and sometimes an armour-piercing bomb in hope of destroying a heavy concrete bunker or machine gun nest. If the Germans were brave enough to look up from their trenches in the midst of this bombardment, they would have seen hundreds of little boats being filled with troops and start making their way towards the beaches.</div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="2f854c80.jpg" border=0 width="340" height="200" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div>   And as soon as it starts, the bombardment suddenly ceases as the last pair of 5-inch shells explode near a anti-tank obstacle. The Germans look up, yes, plenty of Germans had survived the bombardment which was mostly inaccurate, and hundreds of little boats filled with helpless Americans were heading for the beaches. <I>"Ha,"</I> thought a German soldier as hw watched some amphibious American tanks sink in the choppy waters. "<I>They can't even get their tanks to the beaches." </I></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><IMG SRC="30246cf0.jpg" border=0 width="326" height="207" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div>   Once the little boats get in range, mortar fire begans to pepper the waters, and occasionally an explosion would erupt close enough to a landing craft to spray its occupants with water and jagged fragments of steel. Then the rifles began to go off, and the machine guns, and that fateful moment when the first landing craft's door slaps into the water the pitiful troops are mercilessly ripped to shreds by dozens of machine guns and rifles which had been patiently waiting for targets. "<I>This is target practise"</I> thought the Germans, "<I>They will never make it up this beach</I>"<I> </I></div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <I><IMG SRC="2f66f710.jpg" border=0 width="367" height="369" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></I></div> <div> <I>  </I>The beleagured Americans sook refuge behind the steel anti-tank obstacles. The Germans were beginning to realise that by placing these imposing structures on the beaches to overturn tanks they had unwittingly given the enemy a place to find scant shelter. Soon, more and more landing craft hit the beach, and more, and the scant shelter behind the tank and landingcraft obstacles was occupied by piles of soldiers. </div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="30600ae0.jpg" border=0 width="512" height="174" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div>   The only direction to go was up the beach, and the Germans watched in horror as the Americans advanced up the beaches faster than they could cycle the bolts of their rifles. There were simply too many targets, in such density, and not enough Germans available to ebb the flow. Whenever an MG-34 barrel would overheat and need to be replaced with another, the Americans would charge in such drastic numbers that the rifles could not stop them. Eventually, the German mortar teams had to stop their bombardment because the Americans had advanced so close to the German lines that firing mortar shells at them would undoubtedly endanger the Germans too. </div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="30046dc0.jpg" border=0 width="326" height="220" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div>   On both sides grenades flew, and finally the Americans began to make use of their semi-automatic M1 rifles, while the Germans were stuck with the slower-firing Mausers. At last, a well-aimed grenade cleared a weak point in a German trench, and seconds later the first hole in Hitlers unbreakable Atlantic Wall was punched. The Americans had blown a hole into Hitler's fron door ... </div> <div>  (Taken from "<I>Poland to Normandy - The High Tide of the Third Reich"</I> written by the author of this website) </div> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <IMG SRC="304197d0.jpg" border=0 width="281" height="381" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> <div> <I>Above: </I>French memorial for an American soldier</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id88.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Reds Resurgent"><U><IMG SRC="1c650140.gif" border=0 width="80" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A> </div> <div> (Continue Tour)   </div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id71.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Into Italy"><U><IMG SRC="1b950140.gif" border=0 width="80" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id52.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Index Page"><U><IMG SRC="1b550140.gif" border=0 width="80" height="20" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></A></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>