UtahUtah was an American objective, approximately 5 kilometres long. Troops sailed from the port of Dartmouth and landed near Saint-Lô. Utah was the western-most landing site during D-Day. An error occurred during the landing due to strong currents, which pushed the ships 1 800 metres east of the intended landing site, in an area that was actually less defended than the intended site. 20 000 troops took control of the beach, while less than 300 had died, and from there, more troops and vehicles were able to land into Normandy.
OmahaOmaha, another American objective, stretched for 10 kilometres from the village of Port-en-Bessin to the Vire River. They faced heavy artillery fire and fortifications from Nazi troops led by General Erwin Rommel, or the ‘Desert Fox’. This beach was particularly difficult to take because it was surrounded by large cliffs, giving the enemy a large advantage, while other obstacles, such as mines, and awful water conditions caused many more deaths. Of the 34 000 troops that had landed that day, 2 400 had died. By the end of the day, however, they managed to fulfill their objectives of capturing Vierville, Saint-Laurent and Coleville.
Footage of the landings of American troops at Omaha and Utah.
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Map detailing the planned landing site (dotted lines) and the actual landing site (solid lines) of Utah Beach.
Map portraying the landing sites of Omaha Beach.
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