DK - World War II Map by Map

THE D-DAY LANDINGS 187

English

Channel

Au

re

To

uq

ue

s

USS

Augusta

HMS

Scylla

Utah

Utah

Omaha

Omaha

Gold

Gold

Juno

Juno

Sword

Sword

Isle

of Wight

UNITED KINGDOM

F

R

A N

C

E

FORCE G

30th Mobile

Division

352nd Infantry

Division

709th

Infantry

Division

243rd Infantry

Division

91st Infantry

Division

21st Panzer

Division

711th Infantry

Division

716th Infantry

Division

FORCE S

FORCE J FORCE L

FORCE O

FORCE U

From Dartmouth

From Portland

From

Falmouth

From East Coast

Southampton

Portsmouth

Cherbourg

Le Havre

Cabourg

Merville

Brighton

Newhaven

Shoreham-by-Sea

Caen

Bayeux

Grandcamp-

Maisy

Creully Douvres

Bénouville

FORCE B

THE AFTERMATH

5 PM–END OF DAY JUNE 6, 1944

By the end of the first day, the Allies had secured their

beachheads and were moving inland. However, they

had failed to connect the beachheads, a feat that was

not achieved until June 12. Artificial Mulberry harbors

were deployed to ensure the constant flow of supplies

and reinforcements to the force. Total Allied casualties

on the first day were around 10,000 men, with 4,414

dead; the Germans lost around 1,000 men.

7

OMAHA BEACH

6:30 AM–END OF DAY JUNE 6, 1944

Allied bombers had delayed their attack on Omaha

Beach for fear of hitting US landing craft, which strong

currents had pushed off course. As a result, German

defensive obstacles remained on the beach, and US

troops, expecting to face a single regiment, were pinned

down by the fire of an entire German division. US

troops suffered more than 2,000 casualties but fought

their way to the coast road by midnight (see pp.188–189).

3

JUNO BEACH

7:45 AM–END OF DAY JUNE 6, 1944

The Canadian landings at Juno were delayed because

of rough seas, and because the offshore bombardment

had failed to disable the German defenses. Exits from

the beach were created, but not without difficulty. By

nightfall, the combined Juno and Gold beachhead was

12 miles (19 km) wide and 7 miles (10 km) deep, but

the Canadians had suffered 961 casualties.

5

GOLD BEACH

7:25 AM–END OF DAY JUNE 6, 1944

The British landings on Gold Beach began at 7:25 am

with a naval bombardment that disabled the German

gun emplacements. The British soon linked up with

the Canadian invaders of Juno and pressed inland,

fighting off a counterattack from the 21st Panzer

Division and seizing the Bayeux–Creully road.

Some 1,000 Allied troops died in the fighting.

4

June 5 The Allied

fleet begins to

assemble south of

the Isle of Wight.

Jun 5–6 More than

300 vessels clear German

mines from the Channel to

create a passage known

as “The Spout.”

Jun 6 00:15 am

US Pathfinders land

and mark out the

drop sites for

paratroopers.

Jun 6 00:15 am

Gliders bring in

British troops

to capture the

Pegasus Bridge

over the

Caen Canal.

US troop movements

British troop

movements

British troop

movements

Canadian troop

movements

US landing craft

British

landing craft

British

landing craft

Canadian

landing craft

SWORD BEACH

7:30 AM–END OF DAY JUNE 6, 1944

At Sword Beach, 21 amphibious tanks provided

covering fire for the British troops, who began to

come ashore at 7:30 am. They made slow progress

because the beach was heavily mined and covered

with obstacles. Some of the German gun

emplacements were seized or destroyed, but a

German counterattack late in the day nearly pushed

back to the Channel before it was withdrawn to

protect Caen. The British lost around 1,000 men.

6

US_186-187_D-day_landings.indd 187 19/03/19 5:40 PM