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Utah Beach
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Utah Beach was the codename for one of the Allied landing beaches during the D-Day invasion of Normandy, as part of Operation Overlord on 6 June 1944.
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Utah Beach was the codename for one of the Allied landing beaches during the D-Day invasion of Normandy, as part of Operation Overlord on 6 June 1944. Utah was added to the invasion plan toward the end of the planning stages, when more landing craft became available.
Despite being substantially off course, the U.S. 4th Infantry Division(part of the VII corps) landed there with relatively little resistance, in contrast to Omaha Beach where the fighting was fierce.
Utah beach, about 3 miles (5 km) long, was the westernmost of the five landing beaches, located between Pouppeville and the village of La Madeleine
, which became the right flank anchor of the allied offensive along the left bank of the Douve river estuary.
Plan of attack
The landing was planned in four waves. The first consisted of 20 Higgins boats or LCVPs, each carrying a 30-man assault team from the 8th Infantry Regiment. The 10 craft on the right were to land on Tare Green Beach, opposite the strong point at les Dunes de Varreville. The 10 craft on the left were intended for Uncle Red Beach, 1,000 yards (900 m) farther south. The entire operation was timed against the touchdown of this first assault wave, which was scheduled to take place at 06:30 am. Eight LCTs (or Landing Craft, Tanks), each carrying four amphibious DD Tanks, were scheduled to land at the same time or as soon thereafter as possible.
The second wave consisted of another 32 Higgins boats with additional troops of the two assault battalions, some combat engineers, and also eight naval demolition teams that were to clear the beach of underwater obstacles.
The third wave, timed for H plus 15 minutes, contained eight more Higginses with dozer tanks.
It was followed within 2 minutes by the fourth wave, mainly detachments of the 237th and 299th Engineer Combat Battalions, to clear the beaches between high- and low-water marks.
D-Day
Two hours before the main invasion force, a raiding party, armed only with knives, swam ashore at Îles Saint-Marcouf, thought to be a German observation post. It was unoccupied.
The first wave arrived at the line of departure on time and all 20 craft were dispatched abreast. Support craft to the rear were firing machine guns, possibly with the hope of exploding mines. When the LCVPs were 300-400 yards (270-360 metres) from the beach, the assault company commanders fired special smoke projectors to signal the lifting of naval support craft fire. Almost exactly at H Hour the assault craft lowered their ramps and 600 men waded into waist-deep water for the last 100 or more yards to the beach. The actual touchdown on the beach was therefore a few minutes late, but the delay was negligible and had no effect on the phasing of the succeeding waves. Enemy artillery had fired a few air bursts at sea, but otherwise there was no opposition at H Hour.
The first troops to reach shore were from the 2nd Battalion, 8th Infantry. The 1st Battalion landed a few minutes later. Both came ashore considerably south of the designated beaches. The 2nd Battalion should have hit Uncle Red Beach opposite Exit 3. The 1st Battalion was supposed to land directly opposite the strong point at les Dunes de Varreville. The landings, however, were made astride Exit 2 about 2,000 yards (1,800 metres) south.
This error was potentially very serious, for it could have caused great confusion. But, in fact, it did not. The original plans, in which each assault section had a specific mission, could not be carried out in detail, of course.
Brig. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., assistant commander of the 4th Division, had requested several times, against his commander's best judgement, to go in the first wave and personally lead the initial attack on the beach strong points. His written request was finally approved by Gen. Barton, 4th Division Commanding General.
Roosevelt was the only general to land with the initial seaborne assault wave on D-Day and, at 57, he was the oldest soldier to land. When Roosevelt realized the landing craft had drifted south with the current and smoke more than a mile from their objective—and that the first wave was a mile off course—he personally made a reconnaissance of the area immediately to the rear of the beach to locate the causeways which were to be used for the advance inland.
He then returned to the point of landing, contacted the commanders of the two battalions (Lt. Cols. Conrad C. Simmons and Carlton O. MacNeely), and coordinated the attack. Roosevelt's famous quote was, "We’ll start the war from here!" These impromptu plans worked successfully and with little confusion. With artillery landing close by, each followup regiment was personally welcomed on the beach by a cool, calm and collected Roosevelt, who inspired all by humor and confidence. He pointed almost every regiment to its changed objectives. For his actions on Utah beach, Roosevelt was later awarded the Medal of Honor.
The German forces responsible for the defense of the beach were elements of the 709th Infantry Division, commanded by Generalleutnant Karl-Wilhelm von Schlieben, and the 352nd Infantry Division, commanded by Generalleutnant Dietrich Kraiss.
Success
- Fewer German fortifications: The defense of the area was largely based on flooding the coastal plain behind the beaches, and there were fewer bunkers.
- Effective pre-invasion bombardment: Many of the known large bunkers, such as the coastal battery near Saint-Martin-de-Varreville, were destroyed from the air prior to D-Day. B-26 Marauder medium bombers of the U.S. Ninth Air Force, flying below 5,000 feet (1,500 m), provided close air support for the assaulting forces.
- DD tanks: Nearly all of these swimming tanks made the beach because they were launched half as far out as at Omaha and were able to steer into the current more effectively to avoid swamping in the rough seas.
- Mis-landings: Because most of the invasion force landed opposite Exit 2, this one was the most used; other exits were more heavily fortified.
- Paratroopers: The most significant difference was the 13,000 men from the 101st Airborne Division and the 82nd Airborne Division already fighting inland. For 5 hours before the first Utah landings, the paratroopers (and glider forces) had been fighting their way out toward the beach, clearing the enemy from positions along the exits. The paratroopers also greatly confused the enemy and prevented any significant counterattack to the landing area.
The true cost of Utah Beach is reflected in the heavy airborne casualties: The 101st alone lost about 40% of its forces on D-Day. Also, the 1,000 casualties during Exercise Tiger, a practice run for the Utah assault, also could be considered part of the price for D-Day.
Notable people on Utah Beach
Utah beach song
In June 1994, the town of Carentan (Normandy), near Sainte-Mère-Eglise, produced an important show to commemorate its liberation by the 101st airborne forces in June 1944. This song, written by Daniel Bourdelès, is extracted from this show.
Utah Beach
Lace waves on its bared back
the beach is soft and hurtless
pulling on it the sea rollers
as we ride up a blanket
They won't keep cold our memories
kings can born and die in the future
White balls are bouncing lights
pushed by the children laughs
These are immensely songs of peace
in this ambush world
Utah Beach colored it is almost beautiful
even with its all on edge pain
The old requiem long shivers
always undulate on the beach
Seaweed make chrysanthemum dreams
on the shell marble
Some ladies go on a pilgrimage
between Sainte-Mère-Eglise and clouds
Original French song written by Daniel Bourdelès in the CD "La mémoire du ciel".
See also
External links
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