Normandy 1944, from the landings to the liberation of Paris

H-Hour

06:30

Unit

US 4th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Raymond O. Barton), with the 8th Infantry Regiment in the first wave and the 22nd and 12th following; the 22nd's 3rd Battalion was attached to the 8th, and the 90th Division's 359th Regiment was also attached.

Conditions on the day

Rough seas in mid-Channel, with waves of 1.5-1.8 metres and westerly wind at 15-20 knots, but better conditions in the actual landing area, with waves of about one metre and wind under 15 knots.

Planned objectives

Take the high ground along the Sainte-Marie-du-Mont-Les Forges road, secure the causeway exit at Les Dunes de Varreville, reach Quineville and Fontenay-sur-Mer, and establish bridgeheads over the Merderet river.

Outcome by day's end

Current and smoke from explosions shifted the landing craft about 1,800-2,000 metres south of the planned point, into a less defended sector; obstacles were cleared in about an hour, and by H+3 hours the landing was proceeding almost routinely. By the end of the day the 4th Division had advanced about 6 km inland and linked up with the 101st Airborne Division near Pouppeville.

Casualties

589 - 600

Source: The D-Day Story, Portsmouth; dday-overlord.com; Harrison, Cross-Channel Attack

H-Hour

06:30

Unit

V Corps, US 1st Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Clarence R. Huebner), with the 16th Infantry Regiment on the left and the 116th Infantry Regiment (attached from the 29th Division) on the right; the 29th Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Charles H. Gerhardt) followed in later waves. The German 352nd Division, nearly at full strength, was positioned behind the beach and had not been detected by Allied intelligence.

Conditions on the day

H-Hour at 06:30, with low tide around 05:25. Rough seas, with waves of 1.5-1.8 metres and wind at 15-20 knots in mid-Channel, slightly calmer near shore. Low tide exposed a 300-400 metre strip of sand covered in obstacles, only partly cleared: of the 32 DD amphibious tanks launched for the 16th Regiment, only 5 reached the shore.

Planned objectives

Secure a beachhead between Port-en-Bessin and the Vire river, ahead of the later advance on Saint-Lo and Caumont; for D-Day itself, the plan called for the five draws cutting through the cliffs to be open to vehicle traffic by H+2 hours.

Outcome by day's end

The 30-50 metre cliffs overlooked a beach with no cover, since the planned naval and air bombardment had failed to create the intended craters. The first wave nearly disintegrated on the right flank; the draws stayed contested for hours, and only in the late afternoon did small groups force their way up the bluffs. By day's end the Allies had taken only 1.5-2.5 km of depth, well short of the objectives, and of the 2,400 tons of supplies planned only about 100 reached shore.

Casualties

2,000 - 2,500

Note on the range: The gap reflects two different sources: Harrison's estimate ('about 2,000'), admittedly a guess based on unreliable wartime reports, and the higher figure (2,400-2,500) used by museums and visitor centres. Stephen Ambrose noted that for D-Day no exact figures are possible, either for the number of men landed or for casualties.

Source: Harrison, Cross-Channel Attack, p. 330; The D-Day Story, Portsmouth; National WWII Museum

H-Hour

07:25

Unit

British 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Douglas Graham), with the 231st Brigade in the western Jig sector (objective Le Hamel and the advance on Arromanches) and the 69th Brigade in the eastern King sector (objective La Riviere). Regiments: Devonshire, Hampshire, Dorsetshire, East Yorkshire.

Conditions on the day

H-Hour at 07:25, an hour later than the American beaches because the tide rose from west to east along the coast and reached high water later on the British beaches.

Planned objectives

Capture Bayeux, the village of Arromanches, and the Bayeux-Caen main road, and link up with the Canadian troops landing at Juno.

Outcome by day's end

The 50th Division reached the Caen-Bayeux road and pushed to the outskirts of Bayeux, but remained about 6 km short of the D-Day final objectives: neither Bayeux (taken on 7 June) nor the link-up with Omaha was reached that day. 47 Royal Marine Commando advanced about 10 miles on foot toward Port-en-Bessin, the longest advance of any Allied unit that day; the beachhead was nonetheless judged solidly established by day's end.

Casualties

1,000 - 1,100

Source: Ellis, Victory in the West Vol. I, pp. 84, 223; The D-Day Story, Portsmouth

H-Hour

08:00

Unit

Canadian 3rd Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Rod Keller), with the 7th Brigade in the west (objective Courseulles) and the 8th Brigade in the east (Queen's Own Rifles at Bernieres, North Shore Regiment at Saint-Aubin), supported by the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade.

Conditions on the day

The landing was staggered because of submerged reefs off Courseulles, with some delay against the plan: the 7th Brigade landed shortly after 08:00 near Courseulles, the 8th Brigade at 08:10 at Saint-Aubin. The delay, combined with a higher tide than expected, meant many mined obstacles were already submerged by the time of the landing.

Planned objectives

Cut the Caen-Bayeux road, capture the Carpiquet airfield west of Caen, and link up with the British beachheads at Gold and Sword on either side.

Outcome by day's end

The Queen's Own Rifles suffered about 50% casualties in the first minutes at Bernieres, among the highest rates of any Allied unit after Omaha's first wave. The Canadians nonetheless achieved one of the deepest inland advances, reaching the 'Elm' line about 9-10 km from the coast; the First Hussars reached the Caen-Bayeux crossroads, the only Allied unit to do so on D-Day, but had to withdraw for lack of infantry support, and the Carpiquet airfield was not reached.

Casualties

961

Source: Stacey, The Victory Campaign; Juno Beach Centre

H-Hour

07:25

Unit

British 3rd Infantry Division (Maj. Gen. Thomas G. Rennie), part of the British Second Army (Gen. Miles Dempsey), reinforced by special units, including No. 4 Commando and the French troop under Philippe Kieffer at Ouistreham.

Conditions on the day

H-Hour at 07:25, moderate to heavy fire during the landing.

Planned objectives

Secure the eastern flank of the Allied beachhead, link up with the British 6th Airborne Division at the bridges over the Orne river and Caen Canal, and push toward Caen, about 16 km from the coast.

Outcome by day's end

The British 3rd Division did not reach the D-Day objectives: the attack on Caen was postponed and the city was not taken until mid-July 1944. The link-up with the 6th Airborne Division at the Orne bridges succeeded in the early afternoon. A counterattack by the 21st Panzer Division temporarily reached the coast between Sword and Juno, but was repelled by evening; the number of men landed at Sword rose to about 29,000 by nightfall.

Casualties

1,300

Source: Warfare History Network

Unit

82nd Airborne Division (Maj. Gen. Matthew Ridgway): drop zone 'O' (505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, objective Sainte-Mere-Eglise), zone 'T' north of Amfreville (507th Regiment, northwest approaches to La Fiere bridge), zone 'N' north of Picauville (508th Regiment, southwest approaches to La Fiere and the capture of Pont-l'Abbe).

Planned objectives

Block the approaches to Utah Beach, prevent the Germans from reinforcing coastal defences, capture Sainte-Mere-Eglise, and secure bridgeheads over the Merderet river.

Outcome by day's end

Sainte-Mere-Eglise was taken at 05:00 on 6 June by the 3rd Battalion of the 505th Regiment (Lt. Col. Edward C. Krause), the first French town liberated. The drop was heavily scattered by cloud and anti-aircraft fire, but the scattering itself helped confuse the German response across the Cotentin peninsula. Combined losses of the two US airborne divisions (82nd and 101st) were about 2,499 casualties, of which 1,259 in the 82nd alone (156 killed, 347 wounded, 756 missing); the high number of missing in the first hours reflects the scattering of the drop, not necessarily actual losses.

Source: Britannica; Warfare History Network; Travel France Online; Military.com / dday-overlord.com

Unit

101st Airborne Division (Maj. Gen. Maxwell Taylor): drop zone A (west of Saint-Martin-de-Varreville), zones C and D (west/southwest of Sainte-Marie-du-Mont), with the primary objective of securing the four causeways linking Utah Beach to the interior.

Planned objectives

Block the approaches to Utah Beach, prevent German reinforcement of coastal defences, and secure the four causeways to the interior along with bridgeheads over the Douve river near Carentan.

Outcome by day's end

Causeways 1 and 2 near Pouppeville were secured by the 101st's paratroopers; Lt. Col. Robert G. Cole, having landed in the 82nd's sector, moved to assault causeways 3 and 4. With all four causeways under control by 07:30, the 101st linked up with the 4th Infantry Division near causeway 2 around noon. The 101st's losses were about 1,240 casualties (182 killed, 557 wounded, 501 missing), out of a combined total of about 2,499 across the two US airborne divisions.

Source: Warfare History Network; Travel France Online; Military.com / dday-overlord.com

Unit

British 6th Airborne Division, east of the Orne river; the coup de main on the Benouville bridges was carried out by D Company (Maj. John Howard), and the assault on the Merville battery by the 9th Parachute Battalion (Lt. Col. Terence Otway).

Planned objectives

Seize by surprise the bridges over the Caen Canal and the Orne river at Benouville (later Pegasus Bridge), destroy the Merville coastal battery, destroy the bridges over the Dives river to block German counterattacks from the east, and hold the watershed ridge between the Dives and the Orne.

Outcome by day's end

At 00:16 on 6 June six Horsa gliders landed with great precision next to the two Benouville bridges, taken in about 10 minutes with the loss of only two men (Operation 'Deadstick'). The Merville battery was neutralised by the 9th Battalion after a scattered drop and the loss of most of its heavy equipment. The 6th Airborne Division destroyed five bridges over the Dives and held the ridge between the Dives and the Orne. Sources do not agree on a precise casualty figure for 6 June alone: some popular estimates put British airborne losses at about 800 killed and wounded overall, while others attribute about 650 to the 6th Airborne Division within the day's combined British/Canadian casualty count.

Source: historyofwar.org; dday-overlord.com; Warfare History Network; Paradata.org.uk / Airborne Assault Museum

Unit

US 2nd Ranger Battalion (Lt. Col. James Earl Rudder), about 225 men landed on 6 June (Force A).

Planned objectives

Scale the roughly 30-metre cliff between Utah and Omaha Beach and destroy a battery of 155 mm guns believed capable of hitting both beaches.

Outcome by day's end

The concrete emplacements atop the promontory were empty: the Germans had moved the guns, still operational, to a nearby orchard. A Ranger patrol located and destroyed them with thermite charges before they could be used against the beaches. With naval and air fire support, the Rangers held off German counterattacks for two days while cut off on the promontory.

Source: American Battle Monuments Commission; Warfare History Network