![]() ![]() Under intense fire, the engineers struggled to clear the beach obstacles later landings bunched up around the few channels that were cleared. The defenses were unexpectedly strong, and inflicted substantial casualties on landing U.S. Difficulties in navigation caused most of the landing craft to miss their targets throughout the day. The Allied plan called for initial assault waves of tanks, infantry, and combat engineer forces to reduce the coastal defenses, allowing larger ships to land in follow-up waves. The German strategy was based on defeating any seaborne assault at the water line, and the defenses were mainly deployed in strongpoints along the coast. Of its 12,020 men, 6,800 were experienced combat troops, detailed to defend a 53-kilometer (33 mi) front. Opposing the landings was the German 352nd Infantry Division. The battle-hardened 1st Infantry Division was given the eastern half. Army Rangers redirected from Pointe du Hoc, assaulted the western half of the beach. The untested American 29th Infantry Division, along with nine companies of U.S. The primary objective at Omaha was to secure a beachhead 8 kilometers (5 miles) deep, between Port-en-Bessin and the Vire river, linking with the British landings at Gold to the east, and reaching the area of Isigny to the west to link up with VII Corps landing at Utah. Taking Omaha was to be the responsibility of United States Army troops, with sea transport, mine sweeping, and a naval bombardment force provided predominantly by the United States Navy and Coast Guard, with contributions from the British, Canadian and Free French navies. Landings here were necessary to link the British landings to the east at Gold with the American landing to the west at Utah, thus providing a continuous lodgement on the Normandy coast of the Baie de Seine (Bay of the Seine river). ![]() "Omaha" refers to an 8-kilometer (5 mi) section of the coast of Normandy, France, facing the English Channel, from east of Sainte-Honorine-des-Pertes to west of Vierville-sur-Mer on the right bank of the Douve river estuary. ![]() On June 6, 1944, the Allies invaded German-occupied France with the Normandy landings. Omaha Beach was one of five beach landing sectors of the amphibious assault component of Operation Overlord during the Second World War. ![]()
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