Of the five beaches attacked on 6 June, Omaha saw the sternest fighting. Well-placed defenders on the high ground & extensive beach defenses did their job. On top of this, so much had gone wrong with the first wave: many of the amphibious DD Sherman tanks didn`t reach the beach. They were released from their landing craft too far away where the greater swell swamped them & the troops landing on Omaha missed their firepower. Another problem was that many units landed in the wrong place. Strong tides & winds carried the landing craft off line & led to confusion. Finally, the German emplacements & defenses were well-placed on high ground & the only cover on the beach
- the seawal
- was over a killing ground. There were 32 fortified areas located between the Vire River & Port-en-Bessin: in all, 12 of these strongpoints were able to direct fire on Omaha Beach. The attacking forces-units of the US 29th & 1st Inf Divs
- suffered over 2, 000 casualties, many of them drowned during the approach, but led by US Rangers, themselves misplaced (they were the follow-up troops to Rudder`s Rangers who had scaled the Pointe du Hoc) the American troops pushed forward & by nightfall, they had gained hold of the beach & its immediate hinterl&. Despite the casualties, 34, 000 troops had been landed by the end of the day.