Paris Day Three: Omaha Beach

The official name of the invasion was Operation Overlord. It was not only the largest amphibious assault in history but also the best planned and practiced. More than 170,000 Allied troops participated in exercises for the 5 months prior to the invasion. General Eisenhower himself went and met as many of the troops as he could during their training.  Their aim was to free France from Nazi tyranny. They knew they had to get past Hitler’s Atlantic Wall, a series of reinforced concrete forts, trenches, minefields, anti-landing craft devices, all backed up by panzer divisions and battle-hardened Nazis.

Two artificial harbors were created and towed to the landing beaches. In the early morning hours, 20,000 American and British airborne troops were dropped by parachute or gliders along the coast at Normandy. Before sending in real men, dummy paratroopers filled with firecrackers were dropped behind enemy lines. 4,000 transport ships escorted by 600 warships, sailed across the English Channel and landed 175,000 men on the beaches of Normandy. Troops were supported by more than 5,000 planes dropping 500 pound bombs or firing rockets and over 2.000 fighting ships firing 5 to 14 inch cannon shells on the German line.

At Omaha beach, the Americans fell under the fire from German machine guns and cannons. In all 3 million men, 5.300 ships, 12,000 aircraft participated. Allied D-day causalities were estimated at 10,000 men.

~From my WWII class lesson

A comment about this sculpture by the artist:

I created this sculpture to honour the courage of these men: Sons, husbands and fathers, who endangered and often sacrificed their lives in the hope of freeing the French people. Les Braves consists of three elements: The wings of Hope So that the spirit which carried these men on June 6th, 1944 continues to inspire us, reminding us that together it is always possible to changing the future. Rise, Freedom! So that the example of those who rose against barbarity, helps us remain standing strong against all forms of inhumanity. The Wings of Fraternity So that this surge of brotherhood always reminds us of our responsibility towards others as well as ourselves. On June 6th, 1944 these man were more than soldiers, they were our brothers.

At Omaha, the bodies were buried in a ditch on the beach until they could later be moved to the cemetery on the hill or taken back to the States.  

An artificial port was built at Arromaches to aid the Normandy landings. Nearly 10,000 tons of equipment was unloaded there. The stones in the water were about the size of a 2-story building and weighed 6-7,000 tons each!