Omaha Beach — 1944 one of the five sectors of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France
Omaha Beach was the costliest of the five D-Day landing sectors, requiring U.S. forces to breach heavily fortified German defenses to secure a continuous Allied foothold in Normandy.
Key Facts
- Beach length
- 8 kilometers (5 miles)
- U.S. casualties on June 6
- 2,400
- U.S. troops landed by end of day
- 34,000
- German 352nd Division strength
- 12,020 men
- German casualties
- 1,200 (approx. 10% of division)
- Beachhead objective depth
- 8 kilometers
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
As part of Operation Overlord, Allied planners required a continuous lodgement along the Normandy coast. Omaha Beach was essential to link the British Gold Beach landings to the east with the American Utah Beach landings to the west. The sector was defended by the German 352nd Infantry Division, whose 6,800 experienced combat troops held strongpoints designed to repel any assault at the waterline.
On June 6, 1944, American forces—principally the 29th and 1st Infantry Divisions along with U.S. Army Rangers—assaulted an 8-kilometer stretch of Normandy coast under withering German fire. Navigation failures caused landing craft to miss targets, tanks and engineers suffered heavy losses, and beach exits could not be cleared. Small groups of survivors eventually scaled the bluffs between strongpoints, establishing two isolated footholds by day's end.
Despite suffering 2,400 casualties, U.S. forces landed 34,000 troops at Omaha by nightfall. The two footholds were exploited in subsequent days against weakening German defenses inland, eventually achieving the original D-Day objectives. The German 352nd Division, having lost roughly 10 percent of its strength with no reserves available, could not sustain its defensive effort, allowing the broader Allied consolidation of the Normandy beachhead to proceed.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
2 belligerents
Side B
1 belligerent