Norman Daniel "Dutch" Cota, Sr. (May 30, 1893 - October 4, 1971) was a
U.S.The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
General during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Cota was heavily involved in the planning and execution of the invasion of France, codenamed
Operation NeptuneThe Normandy Landings were the landing operations of the Allied invasion of Normandy, also known as Operation Neptune and Operation Overlord, during World War II. The landings commenced on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 , beginning at 6:30 British Double Summer Time...
, and the subsequent
Battle of NormandyOperation Overlord was the code name for the invasion of western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation began on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy Landings when an airborne assault preceded an amphibious assault...
.
Early life
Cota was born in
Chelsea, MassachusettsChelsea is a city in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States directly across the Mystic River from the city of Boston. It is the smallest city in Massachusetts in land area, and the 26th most densely populated incorporated place in the country.-History:...
, the Son of George William Cota, a former Railroad Telegrapher (later a local store merchant), and Jessie H. Mason, a local New England School Teacher. Working at his father's store in Chelsea, he got the name "Dutch" from his gang friends from Chelsea Square. This nickname would stay with him for the rest of his life.
In the fall of 1910, he first attended Worcester Academy. In June 1913 he was accepted and graduated from the
United States Military AcademyThe United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. Established in 1802, USMA is the oldest of the United States's five service academies. The military garrison at West Point was occupied in 1778 and played a key...
, at
West Point, New YorkWest Point is a federal military reservation located North of the Village of Highland Falls in Orange County, New York, United States. The population was 7,138 at the 2000 census...
, in 1917.
Military career
He was commissioned a
Second LieutenantSecond Lieutenant is the lowest commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.In British English the rank is pronounced second /lɛf'tɛnənt/ , while in American English it is pronounced second /lu'tɛnənt/ ....
of Infantry, and later return remaining at the Academy as an Instructor (1918-20). He later had duty in Hawaii (1924-28) and graduated from the Command and General Staff School, at
Fort BenningFort Benning is a United States Army post located southeast of the city of Columbus in Muscogee and Chattahoochee counties in Georgia and Russell County, Alabama...
, Georgia, in 1931. He was an Instructor at the Infantry School (1932-33) and went on to graduate from the Army War College in 1936.
He was an Instructor at the Command and General Staff School (July 1938-November 1940).
World War II
At the outbreak of World War II, he was the G-2 Officer (Intelligence) and then G-3 Officer (Plans and Training) of the 1st Infantry Division, in which he served from March 1941 until June 1942. In June, he was promoted to the division's Chief of Staff, a role he held until February 1943. In February 1943, right after his involvement and success in The North African Invasion
Operation TorchOperation Torch was the British-American invasion of French North Africa in World War II during the North African Campaign, started 8 November 1942....
, under the command of Major General,
Terry de la Mesa Allen, Sr.Major General Terry de la Mesa Allen, Sr. was a United States Army officer who was featured on the cover of Time magazine during World War II...
, he proposed a report of an assault division on what would become part of Operation Husky, the
allied invasion of SicilyThe Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, was a major World War II campaign, in which the Allies took Sicily from the Axis . It was a large scale amphibious and airborne operation, followed by six weeks of land combat. It launched the Italian Campaign.Husky began on the night of...
. Having the leadership needed for the moment, he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General and was quickly sent to the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
where he served as the United States adviser to the
Combined OperationsCombined Operations Headquarters was a department of the British War Office set up during World War II to harass the Germans on the European continent by means of raids carried out by use of combined naval and army forces...
Division of the
European Theater of OperationsThe European Theater of Operations , is the term used in the United States to refer to US operations north of Italy and the Mediterranean coast, in the European Theatre of World War II.-Definitions:...
. As an advisor, he helped to observe and supervise in the training of landing operations.
Preparing to invade France
As a major advisor in
Operation OverlordOperation Overlord was the code name for the invasion of western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation began on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy Landings when an airborne assault preceded an amphibious assault...
, he was made Assistant Division commander of the 29th Infantry Division designated to land at
Omaha BeachOmaha Beach is the code name for one of the main landing points of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on June 6 1944, during World War II....
during the Battle of Normandy. During
D-DayD-Day is a term often used in military parlance to denote the day on which a combat attack or operation is to be initiated. "D-Day" often represents a variable, designating the day upon which some significant event will occur or has occurred; see Military designation of days and hours for similar...
planning, he was opposed to daylight landings, believing pre-dawn landings would stand a better chance of success; he did not get his way.
Cota was not alone in his opposition to daylight landings. General
Leonard T. GerowLeonard Townsend Gerow was born in Petersburg, Virginia. The name Gerow is derived from the French name "Giraud". Gerow attended high school in Petersburg and then attended the Virginia Military Institute. He was three times elected class president...
, commander of the entire
V CorpsV Corps may refer to:*V Corps *V Corps *V Corps , an American Civil War formation*V Amphibious Corps *V Corps , a non-French Napoleonic war formation*V Corps...
, and Admiral
John L. Hall, Jr.John Lesslie Hall, Jr. was an admiral of the United States Navy during World War II.Hall, son of the literary scholar John Lesslie Hall, was a native of Williamsburg, Virginia, and attended the College of William and Mary for three years before transferring to the U.S. Naval Academy where he...
, commander of Amphibious Force "O" (the naval force responsible for delivery of the US 1st Infantry Division to the beach), both fought to change the
Operation OverlordOperation Overlord was the code name for the invasion of western Europe during World War II by Allied forces. The operation began on 6 June 1944 with the Normandy Landings when an airborne assault preceded an amphibious assault...
plan, pleading for a night time assault. In spite his suggestions, with time running out and bad weather conditions at the designated invasion sites, prompt the high command little choice.
A year before the invasion, at the Conference on Landing Assaults, Cota made his argument in favor of striving for tactical surprise:
. . . It is granted that strategical surprise will be impossible to attain. Tactical surprise is another thing however... . tactical surprise is one of the most powerful factors in determining success. I therefore, favor the night landing. I do not believe the daylight assault can succeed.
However, the high command concluded that naval and air bombardment would effectively neutralize (at least) or eradicate (at best) the enemy opposition. This reliance on technology, rather than maneuver and surprise, was a salient characteristic of the American approach to amphibious operations. By contrast the British historically had relied on surprise and flanking maneuver. The plan for Omaha, however, essentially called for hurling infantry directly into a prepared enemy position — a position that was enhanced by the concave shape of the beach (effectively promoting enemy crossfire into the "basin" of the concavity), by natural and man-made articles, by bad weather and other factors. The assumption was effectively that American technology would vitiate the need for surprise.
Most D-Day commanders assured their men that the Germans would be annihilated by the Allies' pre-invasion firepower, and that the defenders were in any case outnumbered, inexperienced and demoralized. All of these assessments were revoltingly inaccurate. On the afternoon of June 5 Cota gave one of the few accurate assessments to the soldiers of the 29th Infantry Division:
. . . The little discrepancies that we tried to correct [in the amphibious training center] are going to be magnified and are going to give way to incidents that you might at first view as chaotic. The air and naval bombardment and the artillery support are reassuring. But you're going to find confusion. The landing craft aren't going in on schedule and people are going to be landed in the wrong place. Some won't be landed at all. The enemy will [to some degree prevent] our gaining "lodgement." But we must improvise, carry on, not lose our heads.
While Cota had a far less sanguine view of the plan than did the higher command, even he underrated the extent of the near-catastrophe that awaited V Corps (commanded by General Gerow and composed of the 29th Infantry Division and the famous "Big Red One" 1st Infantry Division) on Omaha beach and the 4th Infantry Division on Utah beachhead.
Omaha Beach
Cota landed with a part of the 116th Infantry Regiment of the 29th Division, in the second wave, approximately one hour after H-Hour, on the Omaha sector known as Dog White. His boat (an
LCVPThe Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel or Higgins boat was a landing craft used extensively in World War II. The craft was designed by Andrew Higgins of Louisiana, United States based on boats made for operating in swamps and marshes...
) was under heavy machine gun fire as well as mortar and light artillery fire; three soldiers (including most likely at least one officer) were killed immediately upon leading the disembarkation.
Cota was one of the highest ranking officers on the beach that day. He is famous for personally directing the attack, motivating the shell-shocked, pinned-down survivors into action, and opening one of the first vehicle exits off the beach. Two famous quotes are attributed to him during this time.
- In a meeting with Max Schneider, commander of the 5th Ranger Battalion
The Fifth Ranger Infantry Battalion was a World War II Ranger battalion activated on September 1, 1943 at Camp Forrest, Tennessee. By this time, while in maneuvers on the United States, they were commanded by the Major Owen Carter...
, Cota asked “What outfit is this?” Someone yelled "5th Rangers!". To this, Cota replied “Well, goddamn it then, Rangers, lead the way!”. "Rangers lead the way" became the motto of the Rangers.
- He is also quoted as saying to his troops, "Gentlemen, we are being killed on the beaches. Let us go inland and be killed." Interestingly, in The Longest Day
The Longest Day is a war film based on the 1959 history book The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan, about "D-Day", the invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944, during World War II....
, Cota renders the similar encouragement that was, as the evidence best suggests, actually delivered by Colonel George A. TaylorGeorge A. Taylor was an officer in the U.S. 1st Infantry Division during World War II.His famous quote from Omaha Beach:He arrived on the beach in a later wave, about 0800. A colonel at the time, he was the regimental commander for the 16th Infantry Regiment, which took many casualties in the...
: "There are only two kinds of people who are staying on this beach: those who are already dead and those that are gonna'die. Now get off your butts, you're the fight'in 29th.
Liberation of Paris
With the coast of Normandy eventually secured, the allied forces began to make momentum toward Paris, France. Cota would be given command of the 28th Infantry Division. It was during this time, that most main U.S. Army units, except the 28th. infantry division, were in the field of action. About to receive their field orders, at the last minute, Cota and the 28th Division were requested to march and represent the U.S. Army in the celebration of the liberation of the City of Paris. It was a shining moment for him and his division. Later that year, while on the field, he would be promoted to the rank of Major General.
Hurtgen Forest
As the commander of the 28th Infantry Division, Major General Cota was involved in the
Battle of Hurtgen ForestThe Battle of Hürtgen Forest is the name given to the series of fierce battles fought between U.S. and German forces during World War II in the Hürtgen Forest, which became the longest battle on German ground during World War II, and the longest single battle the U.S. Army has ever fought in its...
. Gen. Cota's 28th. "Pennsylvania's Bloody Bucket" Division, sustained heavy losses. He and his men did all they could to slow or hold off the direct German assault.
During this battle it is documented that even Gen. Cota's Son, U.S. Army Air Corps Fighter Pilot, Leut.Col. Norman Cota, Jr.
had provided some overhead army aircorps RECON assistance on behalf of his father's challenged and beleaguered division.
It has been first suggested by some historians, that military error of blame between him and the allied high command occurred regarding an incident of stolen intelligence equipment, thus underestimating the German assault plan on the battleline and towards his division, but decades later, Cota's then superior officer, General
Omar BradleyGeneral of the Army Omar Nelson Bradley was one of the main U.S. Army field commanders in North Africa and Europe during World War II and a General of the Army in the United States Army...
said that the missing intelligence equipment in question was not the cause at all, later it was found undisturbed, safe and sound.
Court martial and execution of Slovik
He also reviewed and approved the death sentence handed down by a court martial on
Eddie SlovikEdward Donald Slovik was a private in the United States Army during World War II and the only American soldier to be executed for desertion since the American Civil War....
, the only U.S. soldier to be executed for desertion since the
American Civil WarThe American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several other names, was a civil war in the United States of America. Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America...
. Cota is said to have approved the sentence because he was (moved and) appalled by the bluntness of Slovik's confession.
Post-war
Cota received the Distinguished Service Cross for his heroism on Omaha Beach. In 2004 a movement arose to have the Army reconsider upgrading Cota's decoration to the nation's highest award for bravery, the
Medal of HonorThe Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed on a member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes themselves "conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while...
.
Both Gen. Cota and his high commanding officer,
Dwight D. EisenhowerDwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was a five-star general in the United States Army and the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. During the Second World War, he served as Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe, with responsibility for planning and supervising the...
knew one another from early West Point Days while playing football. They would become and remain good friends with one another.
Cota retired from the Army in 1946 at the official rank of
Major GeneralMajor General or Major-General is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of Sergeant Major General. A Major General is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of Lieutenant General and senior to the ranks of Brigadier and Brigadier General...
. He died in
Wichita, KansasWichita is a city in and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2000 census its population was 344,284. The 2006 estimated population of 361,420 made it the 51st largest city in the country and the most populous city in Kansas...
, on October 4, 1971 and is buried in the post cemetery at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York.
Courtship and marriage
He courted and later married first in 1919, Constance Martha Alexander in New York City, who was a writer-teacher and distant cousin to Eleanore Butler Alexander, the spouse of Theodore Roosevelt Jr..
Both Cota and Roosevelt were also distantly related and directly interacted with one another during WWII.
He would marry second around 1964, Alice Weeks-McCutcheon.
Portrayals
The character of General Cota is played by the actor
Robert MitchumRobert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer. Mitchum is largely remembered for his starring roles in several major works of the film noir style, and is considered a forerunner of the anti-heroes prevalent in film during the 1950s and 1960s.-Early life and...
in the movie
The Longest DayThe Longest Day is a war film based on the 1959 history book The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan, about "D-Day", the invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944, during World War II....
. Mitchum delivers the famous last line of the film, as Zanuck has Cota order a young soldier driving a jeep to "run me up that hill, son."
Actor
Robert RyanRobert Bushnell Ryan was an American actor who often played hardened cops and ruthless villains.Ryan was born in Chicago, Illinois, the first child of Timothy Ryan and his wife Mabel Bushnell Ryan . He graduated from Dartmouth College in 1932, having held the school's heavyweight boxing title all...
, who played in the movie "
The Longest DayThe Longest Day is a war film based on the 1959 history book The Longest Day by Cornelius Ryan, about "D-Day", the invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944, during World War II....
", would return in the movie "
Battle of the BulgeThe Ardennes Offensive was a major German offensive , launched towards the end of World War II through the forested Ardennes Mountains region of Belgium , France and Luxembourg on the Western Front...
". He (Cota) was under the fiction name of "General Grey".
In the movie "
Saving Private RyanSaving Private Ryan is a 1998 American war film set during the invasion of Normandy in World War II. It was directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat. The film is notable for the intensity of its opening 25 minutes, which depict the Omaha beachhead assault of June 6, 1944. Afterward,...
", though not officially mentioned, he is mistakenly portrayed by the actor
Ted DansonEdward Bridge “Ted” Danson III is an American actor best known for his role as central character Sam Malone in the sitcom Cheers, and his role as Dr. John Becker on the series Becker. He is currently a regular on Larry David's HBO sitcom, Curb Your Enthusiasm and starred alongside Glenn Close in...
, when he (Cota) appears to his company men during a German sniper incident, where he gives them advice and instructions. This idea/portion was 'borrowed' from "Citizen Soldier" by Stephen Ambrose, who served as film consultant for the film.
Medal Of Honor consideration
Though he was given many medal commendations during his career in the U.S. Army, especially during his heroic involvement at "
Omaha BeachOmaha Beach is the code name for one of the main landing points of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on June 6 1944, during World War II....
" during D-Day, he was not given The
Medal Of HonorThe Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed on a member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes themselves "conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while...
. Over the years, many war historians, and former world war II veterans have thought otherwise.
Recently, a petition was filed on behalf of various former veterans and friends to the U.S. Army to re-consider granting him that highest honor. At present, the granting upgrade posthumous, of The Medal of Honor for Major General Cota is "Pending", and under review.
External links