Utah Beach — 1944 code name for the right flank of the Allied landing beaches in Normandy
Utah Beach was the westernmost Allied landing zone on D-Day, securing a beachhead on the Cotentin Peninsula that enabled the capture of the port of Cherbourg.
Key Facts
- Date
- June 6, 1944 (D-Day)
- US troops landed
- 21,000 personnel
- Beach casualties
- 197 casualties
- Airborne troops
- 14,000 personnel
- Airborne casualties
- 2,500 casualties
- Cherbourg captured
- June 26, 1944
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Allied planners added Utah Beach to the Normandy invasion scheme in December 1943, doubling the invasion frontage. The objective was to seize a beachhead on the Cotentin Peninsula, enabling rapid encirclement of the German garrison at Cherbourg and capture of its strategically vital deep-water port. A one-month delay was required to assemble sufficient landing craft and personnel in England before the operation could proceed.
On June 6, 1944, the US 4th Infantry Division and 70th Tank Battalion conducted an amphibious assault on Utah Beach beginning at 06:30, supported by airborne landings of the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions, which dropped from 01:30 onward. Despite many paratroopers missing their drop zones, infantry and armor secured the beach quickly. By day's end, the beachhead was established at a cost of only 197 beach casualties among the 21,000 troops landed.
By the close of D-Day, Allied forces held a secure beachhead at Utah, though only roughly half of the planned inland area had been taken. The capture of Cherbourg followed on June 26, 1944; however, German forces had destroyed the port facilities before surrendering, preventing full operational use of the harbor until September 1944. The success at Utah contributed materially to the broader Allied foothold in Normandy.