d day lost films s01e01

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00:00:00This program documents D-Day in the words of its soldiers.

00:00:03It features rare archival footage collected from a worldwide search and now presented in high definition.

00:00:08Many scenes are violent and viewer discretion is advised.

00:00:14We can see down to the water, boats as far as the eye could see.

00:00:22We knew it had to be done. We had to get to an altitude off our throat.

00:00:26The boat blew off and we were showered with body parts.

00:00:30Sergeant got hit in the throat, never saw him again.

00:00:3395% casualties are in the first 20 minutes.

00:00:37We had no chance.

00:00:44There was tremendous destruction everywhere. We were devastated completely.

00:00:50I was neck deep in bloody water watching all these other fellas drowning.

00:00:55We were fighting hard so God only knows how many.

00:00:58That was our destiny.

00:01:00To die.

00:01:01We're here.

00:01:16We're here.

00:01:17We're here.

00:01:18We're here.

00:01:19We're here.

00:01:20I remember it was dark in the cabin, and there was radio silence throughout the ride over.

00:01:46Johnny Marr, 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment.

00:01:53Grew up on the farm.

00:01:55Quit that and went to mine coal.

00:01:57Quit that to paint apartment houses in Kansas City.

00:02:00$28.50 a week.

00:02:02Then I got drafted.

00:02:04Took a big pay cut.

00:02:05Now I was a first lieutenant in charge of 1st Platoon of G Company.

00:02:11If I had apprehension, and I guess I did, it was whether or not I could be a leader.

00:02:17Never having been in combat before, I thought about what I would have to do on the ground.

00:02:23Collect my soldiers together, and get the mission done.

00:02:28And I knew that it was necessary to concentrate on that, or you might not live very long.

00:02:36I joined at age 16 or 17, lied on my age, of course.

00:02:52When Pearl Harbor was bombed, they came around asking for volunteers for the airborne.

00:02:58John Hinchcliffe, Park Rapids, Minnesota.

00:03:00They were a bunch of mean characters, all of them.

00:03:08And they were the finest combat soldiers you'd ever want to go into combat with.

00:03:13There was no talk.

00:03:15We pretty much knew what we were jumping in.

00:03:18I can remember saying some prayers,

00:03:21and thinking I was nuts and crazy for volunteering for something like this.

00:03:25You could see down to the water, both, as far as the eye could see.

00:03:30It made you stop and think about all the people that were aboard those boats,

00:03:34and this huge invasion that we were getting involved in.

00:03:38We could see the mainland coming up,

00:03:40and just about that time all hell broke loose,

00:03:43because they had anti-aircraft guns, hundreds of them.

00:03:50I was 20 years old.

00:03:53The anti-aircraft fire was so intense,

00:04:07it looked like you could step out of the aircraft and walk on it.

00:04:10I mean, it was almost, the air was just solid with it.

00:04:13And then we ran into a very heavy fog bank,

00:04:19and it was so heavy that you couldn't see the tips of the planes on the aircraft.

00:04:24So naturally the planes dispersed,

00:04:26and so we got off course.

00:04:30That was a problem.

00:04:32The airplanes had to separate more.

00:04:33Then the red light came on.

00:04:39That is the final run into the drop zone.

00:04:45I went up and down the airplane

00:04:47to be sure that everybody was alert and ready to go,

00:04:51and then they came and they stand up and hook up.

00:04:54And then it was waiting for the green light to come on.

00:05:05D-Day has begun.

00:05:12For five years, Nazi Germany has relentlessly expanded across Europe.

00:05:20Countries have fallen, suffering crushing defeats.

00:05:24Even as the Nazis commit some of the most savage atrocities the world has ever seen.

00:05:33We must end it.

00:05:37The mission begins here, in Normandy, France.

00:05:40The objective, carve out a foothold in German-held France,

00:05:44and push Hitler's armies back to Berlin.

00:05:47The airborne troops are the first boots on the ground.

00:05:50While the rest of the invasion prepares to land on the coast,

00:05:53they will jump in under cover of night

00:05:55and start the battle behind enemy lines.

00:06:02They had a little over two hours,

00:06:04and they were about to go and meet the most dangerous enemy

00:06:08that the United States had ever confronted

00:06:10in combat for the first time.

00:06:12You were getting concussions from...

00:06:17from the aircraft bursts,

00:06:19and the plane was going every which way, you know,

00:06:22pitching here and there.

00:06:23You could hear a rat-a-tat-tat.

00:06:25It sounded like small arms hitting.

00:06:28And as we leveled off,

00:06:29Lieutenant just yelled,

00:06:30And out the door we went.

00:06:43Before we even left the plane,

00:06:44I knew something was wrong.

00:06:46The planes were flying much faster

00:06:48than they were supposed to be flying.

00:06:50At this point,

00:06:51we're getting better than halfway across.

00:06:52So, they just dropped us.

00:06:56Indiscriminately.

00:07:07I could see this one plane off to my right,

00:07:10completely enveloped in flames.

00:07:12I remember saying a little prayer,

00:07:14hoping that those troopers had got out.

00:07:15As I looked down on the landscape,

00:07:19it appeared that we were going to be dropping in

00:07:21sort of pasture for cattle and so on.

00:07:24And so I thought,

00:07:25So I thought, well, this is not going to be too bad

00:07:28for a landing area.

00:07:33And then I splashed into the water.

00:07:36We did not know there was a flooded area.

00:07:40We didn't know about it.

00:07:42It hadn't picked up because of the grass

00:07:43growing up above the water,

00:07:45so you couldn't tell it was flooded.

00:07:47A lot of the guys came down in the areas

00:07:49where the water was over their heads,

00:07:51got tangled up in the risers,

00:07:53their parachutes,

00:07:55and drowned.

00:08:05A lot of boys landed in the swamps.

00:08:09I didn't land in any water,

00:08:11but bam, I hit the ground.

00:08:15And I heard about boys that landed in trees

00:08:20and got bayoneted.

00:08:21A lot of boys that landed in trees and got bayoneted.

00:08:29Our job was then to assemble and to seize the river crossing

00:08:32to stop the Germans from coming across to attack the beach.

00:08:36The assembly plans that we had were right out the window.

00:08:38I landed with no one in sight.

00:08:40I landed with no one in sight.

00:08:41There was nobody near.

00:08:43Nobody.

00:08:44Except, of course, the Germans.

00:08:47At that stage, it was difficult to figure out

00:08:49exactly how we were going to get our mission accomplished.

00:08:52The paratroopers of the 507th are scattered.

00:08:57Their mission is a mess,

00:08:59and achieving their objectives now seems hardly possible.

00:09:04Yet miles offshore,

00:09:07troops are already loading up for the beach assault.

00:09:10Their orders overwhelm German coastal defenses,

00:09:14seize control of the area,

00:09:15and then fight their way 25 miles inland

00:09:18and capture the strategic city of St. Lowe.

00:09:24Once we had the beach had established,

00:09:27we had to move toward that city

00:09:28because beyond that city lay Paris

00:09:31and then ultimately Berlin.

00:09:33And particularly from an American perspective,

00:09:35your entire campaign in France

00:09:36is going to depend upon taking St. Lowe

00:09:38and taking it as quickly as you possibly can.

00:09:42Five beaches have been targeted for the landings,

00:09:45but one in particular will become so lethal

00:09:48that its outcome will shape the course of World War II.

00:09:52Its codename, Omaha.

00:10:08We were climbing over the side balcony of the ship,

00:10:18getting into our little boats

00:10:19and the positions that we all had,

00:10:20and we said goodbye to everybody

00:10:22that were on deck with us.

00:10:26Baumgart, Harold.

00:10:28Nineteen years old.

00:10:29Just out of high school.

00:10:31I was going to be sent for further college training

00:10:33after my basic training,

00:10:34but the plan was canceled

00:10:36and I was ordered overseas instead.

00:10:38We were going to be the first wave in Normandy,

00:10:42on the beachhead, on Omaha Beach.

00:10:45Lieutenant said our paratroopers

00:10:47are in there being cut to ribbons

00:10:48and we've got to get in and rescue them.

00:10:51I did not expect to come back alive.

00:10:54I didn't want my folks to get the news

00:10:56that I was no longer alive

00:10:57from a government telegram.

00:10:59I wanted someone to break the news gently to them.

00:11:02And I decided to immediately write home

00:11:05to my sister,

00:11:06who lived in the same building as my folks,

00:11:09to get the telegram first

00:11:11because I'm not coming home.

00:11:15It was a mistake to eat the breakfast.

00:11:18Wieners and beans.

00:11:20I lost it all within 30 minutes.

00:11:23Those boats were like corks.

00:11:26Private Clarence Evans,

00:11:28but everybody just calls me back.

00:11:29I left home in West Virginia when I was 12.

00:11:33Worked with the carnivals

00:11:34until I decided to go into the military.

00:11:37My 18th birthday is still five months away.

00:11:41We had no idea what combat was like or anything.

00:11:44We were on a troop ship

00:11:45and all the young fellas was gung-ho.

00:11:47And all the young fellas was gung-ho.

00:11:50We soon lost that.

00:11:52Even on the way in,

00:11:55you started thinking,

00:11:57this is serious.

00:12:01Everything is on the line.

00:12:03If the invasion fails,

00:12:05it will be months before the Allies

00:12:06can launch another assault.

00:12:09And the German defenses

00:12:10are only growing stronger.

00:12:12I had never been in combat before.

00:12:15So I was pretty nervous.

00:12:17Violently,

00:12:18my arm was shaken

00:12:18by my young assistant,

00:12:20Willy.

00:12:21His face was pale.

00:12:22I asked him what was wrong.

00:12:24He just pointed towards the sea.

00:12:26I looked out

00:12:27and saw ships

00:12:28as far as one could see.

00:12:32Carl Wegener,

00:12:3319 years old.

00:12:35I'm not ashamed to say

00:12:36that I was never so scared in my life.

00:12:40This was real.

00:12:40Some of us will not be here

00:12:42when the sun sets today.

00:12:47The pieces are in motion.

00:12:50Thousands of young men

00:12:51are about to step into history.

00:12:56I don't know how I get through.

00:12:59There's something

00:13:00that still bothers me today.

00:13:01I saw things on that beach

00:13:03that no 19-year-old

00:13:05should ever have to see.

00:13:07Body parts were flying all over.

00:13:10The only way

00:13:12I can describe it

00:13:13is you just opened

00:13:14the gates to hell

00:13:16and stepped in.

00:13:26A rendezvous on the beach

00:13:28was 6.30 a.m.

00:13:30Bomb gun.

00:13:31Harold.

00:13:32I'm 19 years old.

00:13:33Just out of high school.

00:13:34This was it.

00:13:38June 6th, 1944.

00:13:41To be called D-Day.

00:13:46The airborne troops

00:13:48have already landed

00:13:49behind enemy lines,

00:13:50but many are dead.

00:13:51Many more are scattered.

00:13:53Now the first wave

00:13:54of beach troops

00:13:55heads towards the shore

00:13:56with no idea

00:13:57whether the airborne mission

00:13:58has failed.

00:14:00We had the battleship Texas

00:14:02assign the shell

00:14:02in the dark green sector.

00:14:04That was our beach.

00:14:07They also fitted out barges

00:14:09with 1,000 rocket launches.

00:14:14They fired 4,000 rockets

00:14:16at dark green sector

00:14:17before the landing.

00:14:19Now we from our little

00:14:20assault boats

00:14:21could see this.

00:14:22It looked like a flock

00:14:23of birds

00:14:24going through the air.

00:14:26Salvos of these

00:14:275-inch rockets

00:14:28was going to eradicate

00:14:30two Germans.

00:14:31I thought we had it made.

00:14:34The sky was black

00:14:35with a steady stream

00:14:35of planes in formation.

00:14:37U.S. bombers.

00:14:38The Army Air Corps

00:14:39was to drop

00:14:39thousands of tons

00:14:40of bombs

00:14:40right before the landing.

00:14:42We yelled up at them,

00:14:43give them hell.

00:14:45In my boat,

00:14:46Bob Garbutt

00:14:47looked back at me

00:14:48with a smile

00:14:48and made an okay sign

00:14:50with his right hand.

00:15:00They told us

00:15:01that the German

00:15:02fortifications

00:15:02would be knocked out

00:15:03by all of this.

00:15:07Clarence Evans,

00:15:09but everybody

00:15:09just calls me Mack.

00:15:11When those guns

00:15:12went on,

00:15:13you could actually

00:15:13see the shells.

00:15:14You could actually

00:15:14see the shells

00:15:15coming over.

00:15:16And it was like

00:15:17throwing a jeep.

00:15:19The Allied plan

00:15:27to take back Europe

00:15:28from Hitler

00:15:29starts here

00:15:30in Normandy, France.

00:15:33Four years ago,

00:15:34the Germans

00:15:35overran France.

00:15:40Since then,

00:15:41London has been bombed,

00:15:44Pearl Harbor attacked,

00:15:46and the Eastern Front

00:15:48is taking heavy losses.

00:15:49Now the Allies

00:15:52must battle their way

00:15:53back into France.

00:15:55They've sent

00:15:56every ship and plane

00:15:57they can muster

00:15:58to support the invasion.

00:16:00The Allied soldiers

00:16:01also have another ace

00:16:02up their sleeve.

00:16:06Also,

00:16:07bolstering the infantry's

00:16:08confidence

00:16:08is the knowledge

00:16:09that they're not

00:16:10going to be the front line.

00:16:11It's going to be

00:16:11this new secret weapon,

00:16:13the DD tanks.

00:16:16The idea was

00:16:18to try to get

00:16:18a lot of firepower

00:16:19onto the beach

00:16:20to attack the positions

00:16:22that the Germans had.

00:16:24So someone came up

00:16:25with what seemed like

00:16:26a brilliant idea

00:16:27to have the tanks

00:16:28swim to shore.

00:16:31The soldiers will land

00:16:33under the combined

00:16:34protection of the Navy guns,

00:16:35air force bombing,

00:16:37thousands of rockets,

00:16:39and secret DD tanks.

00:16:43But before the infantry

00:16:45can even land on the beach,

00:16:47they begin seeing signs

00:16:48of trouble.

00:16:50They were going to fire

00:16:524,000 rockets,

00:16:545-inch rockets,

00:16:56at Door Green Sector

00:16:58before the landing.

00:16:59But I will tell you right now,

00:17:03it didn't work.

00:17:07All of the rockets

00:17:08fell into the ocean,

00:17:09and I'm sure they killed

00:17:10a lot of fish,

00:17:12but they did no good whatsoever.

00:17:16In tanks,

00:17:17the tanks were supposed

00:17:18to lead us in.

00:17:20Unfortunately,

00:17:21they were never used

00:17:22in rough seas.

00:17:26We were coming closer

00:17:27and closer to shore.

00:17:28Saw people floating.

00:17:29Thought the air force

00:17:30had gone down.

00:17:31It dawned out

00:17:32some problem

00:17:32with the DD tank.

00:17:33Tank ahead of me

00:17:34was gone.

00:17:35Tanks are sinking.

00:17:36The waves were

00:17:366 to 8 feet high.

00:17:38It was like a cork

00:17:39in the back.

00:17:39Only two reached

00:17:40the beach before us.

00:17:41One of them

00:17:42was immediately

00:17:43put out of action.

00:17:47The DD tanks

00:17:48are sinking?

00:17:49And the rockets

00:17:53don't even reach land.

00:17:56The German defenses

00:17:57are nearly untouched.

00:18:02And the men of Force O

00:18:04are about to step

00:18:05on the sands

00:18:05of Omaha Beach.

00:18:09Suddenly,

00:18:10there was silence.

00:18:12And the mood

00:18:12became very somber.

00:18:16I assume many,

00:18:18including myself,

00:18:19were thinking

00:18:20of home and family

00:18:21and praying.

00:18:29And then,

00:18:30the soldiers

00:18:31come ashore

00:18:31into a literal

00:18:35wall of fire.

00:18:41As we scraped sand,

00:18:43the boat

00:18:43to our left

00:18:44blew up.

00:18:45We were showered

00:18:46with wood,

00:18:47metal,

00:18:47and body parts.

00:18:50The lowering

00:18:51of the ramp

00:18:51was like a signal

00:18:52for every German

00:18:52machine gun

00:18:53to open up

00:18:54and off up.

00:18:57The German

00:18:58MG42 machine gun

00:18:59fires 20 bullets

00:19:01a second.

00:19:02There's about 35

00:19:03American soldiers

00:19:04in a landing craft.

00:19:06So if a German

00:19:06firing an MG42

00:19:07fires into that

00:19:09landing craft,

00:19:10as soon as that ramp

00:19:11goes down,

00:19:11in about four seconds,

00:19:15he's killed

00:19:15every American

00:19:15on board.

00:19:16I was neck deep

00:19:19in bloody water

00:19:20watching all

00:19:21these other fellas

00:19:22drowning

00:19:22because the jackets

00:19:23were pulling them

00:19:24down in the water.

00:19:27And while they

00:19:28were bouncing

00:19:28up and down,

00:19:30the Germans

00:19:31were picking them off.

00:19:35They were teenagers

00:19:36like myself.

00:19:37It was bad,

00:19:48really bad.

00:19:48company A was

00:19:52in the first wave

00:19:53and they were decimated.

00:19:56They were wiped out.

00:19:59They just ceased

00:20:01to be a fighting unit.

00:20:0295% casualties

00:20:06in the first

00:20:0720 minutes.

00:20:11Many of the men

00:20:12were hit immediately

00:20:13and were killed

00:20:15on the spot.

00:20:22I...

00:20:23we had no chance.

00:20:35An unknown number

00:20:37of men die

00:20:38before even

00:20:39leaving the water.

00:20:40The first waves

00:20:42to land at Omaha Beach

00:20:43are being slaughtered.

00:20:45This is because

00:20:46for the past six months,

00:20:48the Germans

00:20:49have been fortifying

00:20:50their defenses

00:20:50along the Normandy coast.

00:20:52We're lulled

00:20:56into this belief

00:20:57that the Germans

00:20:57were weak in Normandy,

00:20:58that they were shorthanded

00:20:59and that they weren't

00:21:00ready for us.

00:21:01And really nothing

00:21:02could be farther

00:21:02from the truth.

00:21:04The defenses

00:21:05in Normandy

00:21:06start in the water

00:21:07with obstacles

00:21:09designed to cripple

00:21:10Allied landing ships.

00:21:13To avoid them,

00:21:14the invasion lands

00:21:15at low time.

00:21:16But that means

00:21:17soldiers now have

00:21:18300 yards of open sand

00:21:20to cross in the face

00:21:21of merciless German fire.

00:21:26And an enemy

00:21:27the troops

00:21:27were not expecting.

00:21:32They expected

00:21:33250 elderly men

00:21:37of the 716th

00:21:39Wehrmacht Division.

00:21:40And they figured

00:21:42they would surrender

00:21:43rapidly.

00:21:44As it turned out,

00:21:46we ran smack

00:21:47into the 352nd

00:21:48German Infantry Division.

00:21:50Intelligence

00:21:51didn't come up

00:21:52with the fact

00:21:52that this outfit

00:21:53was at the beach.

00:21:54They had a lot

00:21:55of veterans

00:21:55that had been

00:21:56on the eastern front.

00:21:58These men

00:21:59were part of

00:21:59Germany's best

00:22:00soldiers in Normandy.

00:22:03An 88mm shell

00:22:04exploded

00:22:05about 20 yards

00:22:06in front of me,

00:22:07hit me in my left cheek.

00:22:08It felt like being hit

00:22:11with a baseball bat.

00:22:13Only the results

00:22:14were much worse.

00:22:16Ripped off

00:22:17my left cheek.

00:22:19A hole in the roof

00:22:20of the mouth,

00:22:21my tongue was cut,

00:22:22and, uh,

00:22:23there was no upper jaw

00:22:25on the left side.

00:22:25I washed my face out

00:22:30with six inches

00:22:30of cold,

00:22:31dirty channel water

00:22:32and managed

00:22:33somehow not to pass out.

00:22:36People in front

00:22:37were getting hit,

00:22:37so we started

00:22:38going over the side.

00:22:39Most headed to the right,

00:22:40but I went to the left side

00:22:41of the landing craft.

00:22:43I stepped right

00:22:43into a shell crater

00:22:44and the weight of my equipment

00:22:45pulled me under the water.

00:22:46I dropped everything,

00:22:47including my rifle,

00:22:48to avoid being drowned.

00:22:50I couldn't swim.

00:22:51Still can't swim.

00:22:52Cut all my equipment

00:22:53off in the water.

00:22:55There's no way

00:22:59to describe it.

00:23:00It's something

00:23:00that's indelibly

00:23:02itched on your mind,

00:23:03and this is what

00:23:05nightmares are made of.

00:23:09The death toll

00:23:11is skyrocketing

00:23:12before the troops

00:23:12have even left the water,

00:23:14and they still have

00:23:14300 yards of open sand

00:23:16and German gunfire

00:23:17to cross.

00:23:24There's dead bodies

00:23:25all over the place.

00:23:27You can smell burning flesh.

00:23:33I made my way

00:23:34in whoever was alive

00:23:36around me.

00:23:41D-Day has barely begun,

00:23:43and almost everything

00:23:44is going wrong.

00:23:45The paratroopers

00:23:46assembling eight miles inland

00:23:48are in disarray.

00:23:49The Americans at Omaha Beach

00:23:51are being slaughtered,

00:23:52and those who are still alive

00:23:54find yet another disaster

00:23:55waiting for them.

00:23:57The Army Air Corps

00:23:59had planned to drop

00:23:59thousands of tons of bombs

00:24:01on Omaha Beach.

00:24:03Bomb guard Harrell,

00:24:0519 years old.

00:24:07As we were coming in,

00:24:09the sky was filled with planes.

00:24:11It was going to eradicate

00:24:12the Germans.

00:24:14They'd have to hide in tunnels.

00:24:15They had underground tunnels.

00:24:18They'd have to run.

00:24:20They said,

00:24:20oh, it's going to be

00:24:21an easy thing.

00:24:22We're going to go right through.

00:24:25The bombing was through a car

00:24:26right before the landings,

00:24:28but the cloud cover

00:24:29was so bad,

00:24:30they feared hitting

00:24:31the incoming troops.

00:24:31And so they told the bombers

00:24:41to hold off

00:24:42for two or three seconds.

00:24:44Private Mac Evans

00:24:45from Clarksburg, West Virginia.

00:24:50They said if the bombers

00:24:51dropped bombs on the beach,

00:24:54the tanks coming in

00:24:55would get hung up in the holes.

00:25:01You're traveling

00:25:03350, 400 miles an hour

00:25:05in those planes,

00:25:06and they hold it

00:25:08for a couple of seconds.

00:25:11Well, you're talking

00:25:12a half a mile.

00:25:27All they did was

00:25:28kill a few French cows.

00:25:31Carl Wegener,

00:25:36German 352nd Infantry Division.

00:25:39I saw all of those men

00:25:40in the olive brown uniforms.

00:25:42They looked so unprotected,

00:25:43splashing through the water

00:25:44towards the sand.

00:25:45The machine gun roared.

00:25:47I saw some go down.

00:25:48I knew I hit them.

00:25:50I was frozen.

00:25:52I closed my eyes.

00:25:53I just couldn't watch

00:25:54what was happening.

00:25:56The lieutenant took

00:25:56the butt of his pistol

00:25:57and crashed it down

00:25:58on the top of my helmet.

00:25:59The metallic clank

00:26:00brought me to life,

00:26:01and I pulled the trigger

00:26:02up tight.

00:26:03Whoa.

00:26:04Now was not the time

00:26:05to think of right or wrong,

00:26:07only of survival.

00:26:10A machine gun spray

00:26:12crossed in front of us

00:26:13from right to left.

00:26:14I felt my rifle

00:26:15vibrate in my hands.

00:26:16It had a clean hole

00:26:17through its receiver.

00:26:18So I threw the two pieces away

00:26:21in the two inches of water.

00:26:24And crawling up to me

00:26:26with his last breath

00:26:28was a fellow named

00:26:29Nicholas Kafkalis.

00:26:31He was handing me back

00:26:33the two-piece of rifle.

00:26:35He saw me shoot at the bluff.

00:26:37He wanted me to continue shooting.

00:26:39As if he thought

00:26:40I was quitting fighting,

00:26:41which I wasn't.

00:26:43He later died.

00:26:45It looked like the beach

00:26:46was littered with the refuse

00:26:47of a wrecked ship.

00:26:49Dead bodies floating in the water.

00:26:51And the beach was covered

00:26:53with dead bodies.

00:26:55It was a horrible sight.

00:26:59The carnage.

00:27:00Dead men.

00:27:03Wounded men.

00:27:05Body parts floating around

00:27:06in the water.

00:27:07The water was red

00:27:09with the blood

00:27:09of the wounded

00:27:10and the dying.

00:27:13It's hard to discuss

00:27:14and talk about it.

00:27:20Laying in the sand,

00:27:21I saw our boat's

00:27:22walkie-talkie radio man

00:27:23and my best buddy,

00:27:24PFC Robert Garbert,

00:27:26lying face down

00:27:27with his back to the enemy.

00:27:29Probably spun around

00:27:30by the force of a bullet.

00:27:32He was dead.

00:27:35The failures keep piling up

00:27:37at Omaha Beach.

00:27:40The soldiers of Force O,

00:27:42who have made it out of the water,

00:27:43now face 300 yards

00:27:44of open sand

00:27:45defended by nearly untouched

00:27:47German defenses.

00:27:48As the minutes drag on,

00:27:52Allied commanders

00:27:53are desperate

00:27:54for information.

00:27:55The general in charge,

00:27:57Omar Bradley,

00:27:58stops getting reports.

00:27:59And Bradley cannot see,

00:28:02literally cannot see,

00:28:03where they're attacking.

00:28:05Bradley's not getting

00:28:06the information back

00:28:08from the battlefront

00:28:09that he wants

00:28:10and that he needs.

00:28:10We could piece together

00:28:13only an incoherent account

00:28:15of sinkings,

00:28:16swampings,

00:28:17heavy enemy fire,

00:28:18and chaos on the beaches.

00:28:21Omar Bradley,

00:28:22commanding general,

00:28:23United States First Army.

00:28:25I gained the impression

00:28:27that our forces

00:28:27had suffered

00:28:28an irreversible catastrophe.

00:28:30Once the radios

00:28:33are in combat,

00:28:34you have radios

00:28:36getting wet,

00:28:37you have radios

00:28:37being dropped,

00:28:38you have radios

00:28:39being shot,

00:28:40Bradley stops

00:28:41getting reports.

00:28:43That,

00:28:43as far as he's concerned,

00:28:44is a far worse sign

00:28:46than even the most

00:28:46pessimistic reports

00:28:48that he was getting earlier.

00:28:51Bradley has even

00:28:52more reason to worry.

00:28:55The troops at Omaha,

00:28:56as well as the paratroopers

00:28:57fighting inland,

00:28:58could still be cut off

00:28:59if the invasion fleet

00:29:01is crippled

00:29:01by German coastal defenses.

00:29:03And one installation

00:29:04in particular

00:29:05threatens to do

00:29:06exactly that.

00:29:07The guns at Pointe du Hoc.

00:29:12Pointe du Hoc

00:29:13is something

00:29:14of a freak of nature.

00:29:15It's this cliffside

00:29:16about the equivalent

00:29:17of six stories high.

00:29:19If you have heavy guns

00:29:20atop Pointe du Hoc,

00:29:22you can lob heavy shells

00:29:24in either direction

00:29:25and cause real havoc

00:29:27among the American landings.

00:29:29French intelligence agents

00:29:31had reported

00:29:32it consisted of

00:29:33six 155-millimeter guns

00:29:35with a range of 25,000 yards,

00:29:38about 12 nautical miles.

00:29:41We had assigned

00:29:42two ranger battalions

00:29:43to land,

00:29:44scale the high cliffs,

00:29:45and destroy the guns.

00:29:47Properly manned,

00:29:48those six monstrous guns

00:29:50by themselves

00:29:51could fatally wreck

00:29:52our invasion forces.

00:29:53The mission was to get

00:29:58those guns.

00:30:00First sergeant Leonard Lamel,

00:30:0124 years old,

00:30:02from New Jersey.

00:30:04I had some athletic background.

00:30:05They sent me to ranger school.

00:30:08There were going to be

00:30:09three boat teams

00:30:10for D Company.

00:30:11One went down

00:30:12with a third of our company.

00:30:14It was swamped

00:30:15by the high and rough seas.

00:30:17Four men drowned.

00:30:18Running behind schedule,

00:30:25we said,

00:30:25to hell with it.

00:30:26Let's jam right in

00:30:27between E and F company.

00:30:29The ramp goes down.

00:30:30I'm the first guy shot.

00:30:33I don't know

00:30:33if it was a machine gun bullet

00:30:34or a rifle bullet.

00:30:36I just came out of that water

00:30:37already wounded.

00:30:38And we rushed

00:30:38to the bottom of that cliff

00:30:39and up the cliff we went

00:30:41as fast as we could go.

00:30:42It was rough.

00:30:51We got through it.

00:30:53We never stopped.

00:30:54We kept firing.

00:30:56Charging hard and low

00:30:57over to the gun positions

00:30:58we were assigned to.

00:31:04But there were no guns.

00:31:06The guns at Pointe du Hague

00:31:11have been moved.

00:31:14Now we had to go looking.

00:31:16And God,

00:31:16we were surrounded

00:31:17by German troops.

00:31:19We were alone as we could be,

00:31:20looking for the guns.

00:31:24If the Rangers

00:31:25are unable to find

00:31:26and neutralize

00:31:26the deadly guns

00:31:27before the Germans

00:31:28start firing them,

00:31:29the invasion could be crippled.

00:31:34And the paratroopers

00:31:35eight miles inland

00:31:36will be cut off

00:31:37without support.

00:31:41Most paratroopers

00:31:42are jumping with ammunition

00:31:43that would sustain them

00:31:45basically through

00:31:45one firefight.

00:31:47So they needed

00:31:48very, very quickly

00:31:49to be reinforced

00:31:50by the amphibious force

00:31:52coming over the beach.

00:31:54We knew we were

00:31:55going into combat,

00:31:57but they didn't let

00:31:57any of us know

00:31:58that they thought

00:31:59it was so risky

00:31:59that it could be a massacre.

00:32:03You've got buddies

00:32:04all around you

00:32:05that are dying

00:32:05and some of them

00:32:06in horrible deaths.

00:32:07I had people

00:32:08that would kill right beside me.

00:32:13I don't particularly

00:32:14like killing people,

00:32:16but sometimes

00:32:17it's either you or him.

00:32:19the dead were all over.

00:32:30Floating in the water

00:32:33and the waves

00:32:33would periodically

00:32:34deposit them on shore.

00:32:37Oh yes,

00:32:39screams and cries...

00:32:39screams and cries for medics.

00:32:44All we could see

00:32:45was burning vehicles,

00:32:46dead bodies.

00:32:49And if you...

00:32:50not too many of us

00:32:51stuck our head up to look.

00:32:58Men with their guts

00:32:59hanging out,

00:33:01yelling for their mothers.

00:33:01To my right,

00:33:03Private Robert Dittmar,

00:33:05Fairfield, Connecticut,

00:33:07had been hit in the chest

00:33:08and he was lying

00:33:09on his back

00:33:10staring skyward

00:33:11and he was yelling,

00:33:13Mother,

00:33:14I'm hit.

00:33:15And that's it.

00:33:16Silence.

00:33:22Machine gun fire

00:33:23and small-house fire mortars.

00:33:26This did not stop.

00:33:27I looked over to my left

00:33:32and Sergeant Clarence Robeson

00:33:34from my boat

00:33:35was staggering by me.

00:33:37No helmet.

00:33:38His blonde hair

00:33:39was streaked with blood.

00:33:46I was yelling,

00:33:47get down!

00:33:48And he knelt...

00:33:48He knelt down

00:33:49and started praying

00:33:50with his rosary beads.

00:33:52And the machine gun

00:33:53fired over my head.

00:33:55and cut him in half.

00:33:58But I mean,

00:33:59really cut him in half.

00:34:03That used to be my dreams

00:34:05that used to wake me up.

00:34:06I was yelling,

00:34:07get down!

00:34:12As the Allied assault

00:34:13on Omaha Beach

00:34:14faces catastrophic losses,

00:34:17another crucial piece

00:34:18of the invasion plan

00:34:19is also in jeopardy.

00:34:22Eight miles inland,

00:34:23Allied paratroopers

00:34:24have spent the previous

00:34:25eight hours scattered,

00:34:27isolated,

00:34:28and miles from their objectives.

00:34:34It was quite a bit different

00:34:35than I expected

00:34:36with the water.

00:34:39Johnny Marr,

00:34:4025 years old

00:34:41from Johnson County, Missouri.

00:34:43We thought that we were going

00:34:44to be dropping in

00:34:45sort of meadowlands

00:34:46for cattle and so on,

00:34:47but we landed in an area

00:34:49flooded by water.

00:34:50Tanks couldn't have gone...

00:34:51They wouldn't have gone across

00:34:52any of that inundated area

00:34:55and made it.

00:34:56They would have just

00:34:56sunk down into the muck.

00:35:00So the only place

00:35:01tanks could operate

00:35:02was two crossings.

00:35:04We were supposed to

00:35:05seize the crossing

00:35:06at Lafayre

00:35:06and take up a position

00:35:08to stop Germans

00:35:08coming across.

00:35:10That was the bridge

00:35:11that we had to protect.

00:35:11The 507th had Lafayre,

00:35:15and the 508th had the crossing

00:35:17to the south of that,

00:35:18which was called

00:35:19Chef du Pont.

00:35:22If everything had gone

00:35:23according to plan,

00:35:24all of those elements

00:35:25would have been seized

00:35:26and held by elements

00:35:27of 82nd Airborne Division

00:35:28so that then

00:35:29vehicles and equipment

00:35:30could move to the interior

00:35:31and cross over the bridge,

00:35:33cross over the causeway,

00:35:34and moved on.

00:35:35I got out of the water.

00:35:38I looked around everywhere

00:35:39to see if there was

00:35:40anybody near me,

00:35:41but I could not find

00:35:42anybody close enough

00:35:43or to know that

00:35:44they were there.

00:35:45So I decided to head

00:35:46for the most prominent

00:35:47landmark in the area,

00:35:49which was the Cherbourg-

00:35:50to Paris railway embankment.

00:35:52And it was clear

00:35:53and silhouetted

00:35:54against the night sky,

00:35:55so I headed for that.

00:35:57When I reached the railroad,

00:35:58I was able to find

00:35:59my company commander

00:36:00out there on the railroad.

00:36:02He had collected

00:36:03about 75 or 80 people

00:36:05together from G Company,

00:36:06which was my company.

00:36:08We decided to make our exit

00:36:09and head westward

00:36:10toward where we were

00:36:11supposed to be taking

00:36:11up a defense position.

00:36:13So my captain designated

00:36:15me as patrol leader

00:36:16to go around there

00:36:16and lead the way.

00:36:20So one of the things

00:36:21that I learned is

00:36:22if you're going to get in

00:36:23and take a lead,

00:36:25be sure you want to lead.

00:36:27And I decided that

00:36:28I was going to do

00:36:29the best I could.

00:36:30I couldn't make out

00:36:31whether I was going

00:36:32to be a good leader or not.

00:36:33But you really do have to

00:36:35be able to say,

00:36:38I will do it.

00:36:43By the time Mars

00:36:44strikes out on patrol,

00:36:46men have been dying

00:36:47on the beaches

00:36:47for more than an hour.

00:36:50And we were going down

00:36:51this hedgerow

00:36:52when we came to

00:36:52inside of Cattlegate.

00:36:54And as we got about

00:36:5730 feet from there,

00:36:58a machine gun opened up

00:37:00on us,

00:37:01hit two of our people

00:37:02in the flesh wounds.

00:37:04We all hit the ground

00:37:05and all popped a grenade

00:37:07and threw it over

00:37:08to the emplacement.

00:37:10And we had to get

00:37:12the two wounded soldiers

00:37:15out of there.

00:37:16So we started back.

00:37:18I threw one over my shoulder

00:37:20and carried him back

00:37:21through several hedgerows.

00:37:25That was a close one.

00:37:27Those were the first

00:37:27Germans I met.

00:37:29It was a complete surprise.

00:37:31We were lucky

00:37:31we weren't all wiped out.

00:37:33The Germans knew

00:37:36that we were going to want

00:37:38to pass over this bridge

00:37:39at some point.

00:37:40And it is for that reason

00:37:41that the Germans

00:37:41took the precaution

00:37:42of putting 28 men there.

00:37:44And they buy time.

00:37:45And the important byproduct

00:37:47of them buying time

00:37:48is that the Germans

00:37:50begin moving an armored unit

00:37:52that is located

00:37:53about 10 miles to the west.

00:37:55The tanks of that unit

00:37:56move up from village to village

00:37:57and then they push in toward

00:38:00where the paratroopers are

00:38:01at Lafayette.

00:38:04The paratroopers

00:38:05are running out of time.

00:38:09And then General Ridgway

00:38:10showed up and said

00:38:11I want that bridge

00:38:12and I want it now.

00:38:15I was on point again.

00:38:17I put my two scouts out.

00:38:19John Ward

00:38:19and the other was

00:38:20Jim Mattingly.

00:38:22I had gotten to the bridge

00:38:23behind Mattingly

00:38:24when a German rose up

00:38:25on the north side

00:38:27of the bridge

00:38:27and I shouted at Mattingly

00:38:30at the same time.

00:38:32Mattingly whirled

00:38:32and emptied the cliff.

00:38:34Dropped his rifle

00:38:35and reached for a grenade

00:38:37and tossed it over

00:38:38into that emplacement.

00:38:41And three or four

00:38:43of the Germans

00:38:44rose up right away

00:38:45and threw their hands up.

00:38:48And as Mattingly

00:38:48was motioning them

00:38:49to come forward,

00:38:50five more Germans

00:38:51rose up from the second position

00:38:52with their arms up.

00:38:55He had captured nine Germans,

00:38:57two machine guns

00:38:58in the space of about,

00:38:59say, 15 or 20 seconds.

00:39:00That was the most amazing

00:39:04piece of soldiering

00:39:07I've ever seen.

00:39:12The bridge at Lafayre

00:39:13has been captured.

00:39:15Just to the south,

00:39:16paratroopers also capture

00:39:17the second bridge

00:39:18at Chef Dupont.

00:39:20The Allies now control

00:39:21two key bridges

00:39:22over the river.

00:39:23I felt good.

00:39:25Well, we felt like

00:39:26that we had

00:39:28accomplished

00:39:29the regimental mission.

00:39:32It was just a small group

00:39:34of people.

00:39:34And we were highly elated

00:39:37by that.

00:39:40Step one of the invasion plan

00:39:42is now complete.

00:39:44The paratroopers

00:39:44have landed behind enemy lines

00:39:46and set up

00:39:47their defensive shield.

00:39:50Now,

00:39:51the lightly armed paratroopers

00:39:52move into the second phase

00:39:54of their mission,

00:39:55hold the line.

00:39:57It was early afternoon

00:39:59when I heard

00:39:59an unmistakable

00:40:00and spine-tingling rumble

00:40:01coming towards us.

00:40:02When I heard the tank,

00:40:09let's face it,

00:40:10as a soldier,

00:40:11you don't have

00:40:11any protection.

00:40:14All armor,

00:40:15that scared the bejeebies

00:40:16out of you.

00:40:17My machine gun

00:40:18would just be like

00:40:19a firecracker

00:40:19once in.

00:40:21And it was either

00:40:22surrender

00:40:23or be blown to hell.

00:40:32D-Day is on the verge

00:40:37of catastrophe.

00:40:39Troops at Omaha Beach

00:40:40are taking heavy losses.

00:40:43Failure there

00:40:43could cripple

00:40:44the entire Allied invasion.

00:40:47Eight miles inland,

00:40:49the paratroopers

00:40:49of the 507th

00:40:51have succeeded

00:40:51in capturing

00:40:52a critically important bridge.

00:40:54But their reinforcements

00:40:56from the beach

00:40:56are nowhere in sight.

00:40:58The paratroopers

00:40:59must stand their ground

00:41:00alone.

00:41:03We had accomplished

00:41:04the regimental mission.

00:41:06Just a small group

00:41:06of people.

00:41:07Felt good.

00:41:09But we were disappointed

00:41:10that there were no troops

00:41:11following on coming

00:41:12across the causeway.

00:41:13For the moment,

00:41:17there were only

00:41:18eight men

00:41:19defending the far side

00:41:20of the bridge.

00:41:23And then rose

00:41:24the staccato chorus

00:41:25of an unmistakable

00:41:26and spine-tingling rumble.

00:41:29That's when we realized

00:41:30there were German tanks

00:41:31down the road.

00:41:37My commander said,

00:41:38we have to get out.

00:41:40We just didn't have

00:41:40enough people.

00:41:41Isolated and outnumbered,

00:41:44the eight paratroopers

00:41:45on the far side

00:41:46are forced to fall back.

00:41:48The whole west end

00:41:50of the causeway

00:41:50was now in the hands

00:41:54of the Germans.

00:41:56It was bad news

00:41:57and it put a whole

00:41:58new dimension

00:41:59on the day.

00:42:03A crucial piece

00:42:04of the D-Day invasion

00:42:06is in danger of collapsing.

00:42:08Instead of controlling

00:42:09the critical bridge

00:42:10at La Fiere,

00:42:11the paratroopers

00:42:12of the 507th

00:42:13are barely defending

00:42:14a single side.

00:42:16Just eight miles away,

00:42:18the invasion forces

00:42:19on Omaha Beach

00:42:19are also being outgunned

00:42:21by the Germans.

00:42:23Carl Wegener

00:42:24from Hannover, Germany.

00:42:25I fired as I had been trained

00:42:28to do

00:42:28in short bursts

00:42:29six to eight inches

00:42:30above the ground.

00:42:32My young assistant,

00:42:33Willi,

00:42:33kept the ammunition clean.

00:42:35When I pulled back

00:42:36the bolt

00:42:37for what seemed

00:42:37to be the

00:42:38thousands' time,

00:42:39I saw Americans

00:42:40lying everywhere.

00:42:42One of the bolts

00:42:43hit the mine

00:42:44while it backed away

00:42:45from us,

00:42:45sending shrapnel

00:42:46into the sea

00:42:46and a group of men

00:42:47who had just landed

00:42:48from it.

00:42:50But I saw

00:42:50convinced me

00:42:51that for the moment

00:42:52it was worse

00:42:53there

00:42:53than where we were.

00:42:55In fact,

00:42:57the German officer

00:42:57sends out a communique

00:42:58saying,

00:43:00basically,

00:43:01we've beat back

00:43:01the Americans.

00:43:02There are ten tanks

00:43:03on fire on the beach.

00:43:05The infantrymen

00:43:05are no longer

00:43:06assaulting our positions.

00:43:08The engineers

00:43:09are no longer

00:43:09trying to destroy

00:43:10the obstacles.

00:43:12We've basically

00:43:12got this in the bag.

00:43:15It was a killing field.

00:43:16I was wounded.

00:43:19An artillery shell,

00:43:20an 88-millimeter shell,

00:43:22landed in front of me

00:43:24and a fragment

00:43:25ripped off my left cheek.

00:43:31Get off the beach,

00:43:32get off the beach.

00:43:33That was the main thing,

00:43:34get off the beach.

00:43:35And you had to cross it

00:43:38in order to get off of it.

00:43:39And all I had

00:43:41was wet clothes.

00:43:44The only significant cover

00:43:46is still hundreds of yards

00:43:47away across the open sand.

00:43:50There are no safe places

00:43:51on Omaha Beach.

00:43:52There are relatively

00:43:53safe places.

00:43:54The sea wall,

00:43:55a slanted wall

00:43:56that leads from the beach

00:43:57to the main road

00:43:58is one.

00:43:59The other is the shingle,

00:44:00the ridge of rocks

00:44:01that runs along the beach,

00:44:04running parallel to the beach.

00:44:07It was 300 yards away.

00:44:09I happened to cut off

00:44:09all my gear

00:44:10to keep from drowning.

00:44:11I'm moving across the beach

00:44:12without even a weapon

00:44:13in my hand.

00:44:14And the sand was

00:44:15kicking up around my face.

00:44:16face and body

00:44:17from the bullets.

00:44:19And I waited until

00:44:22I guess the guns

00:44:23were traversing.

00:44:24And when that fire

00:44:25moved away from me,

00:44:26I jumped up.

00:44:27I started running again.

00:44:29I fell a couple of times.

00:44:31Maybe that's what's safe.

00:44:33I'm still 140 yards

00:44:35from the seawall.

00:44:35The tide was very bad.

00:44:37The tide was very bad.

00:44:38It was coming in

00:44:39an inch a minute

00:44:40on D-Day.

00:44:42Covered the beach.

00:44:44The guys that were

00:44:45on life preservers

00:44:46were floating around

00:44:48in the water.

00:44:49Dead bodies

00:44:50floating in the water.

00:44:51I had to get moving

00:44:54or drown.

00:44:56I continued forward

00:44:57in the dead man's float

00:44:58with each wave

00:44:59on the incoming tide.

00:45:01I thought to myself,

00:45:03when will I die?

00:45:14The whole of D-Day

00:45:15was, for me,

00:45:16a time of grave

00:45:17personal anxiety

00:45:18and frustration.

00:45:20Omar Bradley

00:45:20commanding general,

00:45:22United States First Army.

00:45:24I was stuck

00:45:25on the Augusta.

00:45:26Our communications

00:45:27with the forces

00:45:28assaulting Omaha Beach

00:45:29were thin to non-existent.

00:45:33Bradley is so desperate

00:45:34for information

00:45:35that he sends

00:45:37his most trusted aide

00:45:39in a PT boat

00:45:40over to Omaha Beach

00:45:42to find out

00:45:43what's going on.

00:45:45Hansen comes back

00:45:47with a report

00:45:48that horrifies Bradley.

00:45:50Hansen is able to see

00:45:55that American troops

00:45:56are stopped

00:45:57at the seawall

00:45:57and that to Bradley

00:46:00is a crisis.

00:46:01Bradley realizes

00:46:02that if they can't get

00:46:03beyond that seawall

00:46:04that they're going

00:46:05to be stuck

00:46:05and the entire invasion

00:46:08at Omaha Beach

00:46:10is going to fail.

00:46:14I gained the impression

00:46:15that there was little hope

00:46:17we could force the beach.

00:46:18privately I considered

00:46:21evacuating the beachhead.

00:46:26It was really bad.

00:46:28I didn't know what to do.

00:46:31We were all laying there

00:46:32at the edge of the seawall.

00:46:33I saw a fellow medic

00:46:38that I knew.

00:46:40He was laying

00:46:41on the embankment

00:46:42and his stomach

00:46:44was torn open.

00:46:45He had been hit

00:46:46by a piece of shrapnel.

00:46:49I did not have

00:46:50the equipment

00:46:50to stop any internal bleeding.

00:46:52So I banished his wounds

00:46:56as best I could.

00:46:58I gave him a shot

00:46:59of morphine.

00:47:04And I said goodbye

00:47:06to him forever

00:47:07because I knew

00:47:09I would not see him again.

00:47:22It's been almost two hours

00:47:27since D-Day began

00:47:28for the troops

00:47:29invading Omaha Beach.

00:47:30Yet they've captured

00:47:31barely 100 yards of sand.

00:47:34We had 85% casualties

00:47:36in the first 15 minutes.

00:47:39Two of us survived

00:47:40my boat team

00:47:42of 30.

00:47:44I had to get moved

00:47:45and I drowned.

00:47:47I had to reach

00:47:48a 15-foot seawall

00:47:49which appeared to be

00:47:50200 yards in front of me.

00:47:53Finally,

00:47:54I came to dry sand

00:47:55once more

00:47:55and I started to cross

00:47:56crawling very fast.

00:47:59The Germans in the pillbox

00:48:01on the right flank

00:48:01were shooting up

00:48:02the sand all about me.

00:48:03I reached the stone wall

00:48:04without further injury.

00:48:06When I got to the seawall

00:48:08I met one of my company A-

00:48:09I met one of my

00:48:10company A fellas,

00:48:12a fella named

00:48:13Dominic Suro

00:48:14of company A

00:48:15who was a fella

00:48:17from Georgia.

00:48:18Nice, thick southern accent.

00:48:20He said,

00:48:21you stay here

00:48:21I'm going to get

00:48:22help for us.

00:48:24I couldn't stay there

00:48:25because I was in the range

00:48:26of one of the pillboxes.

00:48:27So I followed him

00:48:28down the wall.

00:48:33All of a sudden

00:48:34I heard a clunk.

00:48:36A sniper picked him off.

00:48:40So he was dead.

00:48:41Why not me?

00:48:42I was right behind him.

00:48:45It wasn't meant to be.

00:48:46I made it to a section

00:48:53of the beach

00:48:53called the Shingle.

00:48:55I don't know why

00:48:55they called it that.

00:48:56Private Mac Evans

00:48:57from Clarksburg, West Virginia.

00:48:59But anyhow,

00:49:00it was stones

00:49:01that high tide

00:49:02kept piling up.

00:49:03When you get behind

00:49:03those piled up stones

00:49:04you were safe

00:49:05from machine gun

00:49:06and sniper fire

00:49:07if you kept down.

00:49:08I didn't realize

00:49:12none of my regiment

00:49:13were following me.

00:49:14After I jumped over

00:49:15the left side

00:49:16of the landing craft

00:49:17I just kept going

00:49:17in that direction.

00:49:19Well that was

00:49:20the 1st Division section.

00:49:21So I got mixed up

00:49:22with the 1st Division troops.

00:49:25One of the guys

00:49:25next to me said

00:49:26you're all bloody.

00:49:30I thought a bee

00:49:31had stung me.

00:49:32I thought

00:49:33what a hell of a time

00:49:34for a bee to be out here

00:49:35with all this stuff

00:49:36flying around

00:49:37you know

00:49:37until one of the guys

00:49:39said

00:49:39you didn't get stung

00:49:41you've been hit.

00:49:45As I was running

00:49:47down the wall

00:49:47there were hands

00:49:48reaching up for me

00:49:49and I tried to pull

00:49:51these guys out of the water

00:49:52but it was pretty tough

00:49:54but they were

00:49:55probably wounded

00:49:57trying to get up.

00:50:01I thought I was safe

00:50:03taking cover on the wall.

00:50:08Karl Wegner

00:50:08German 352nd Infantry Division

00:50:11Some of the Americans

00:50:13had reached the Sea Hall.

00:50:15Here they thought

00:50:15that they had reached

00:50:16protection from our fire

00:50:17but this was short-lived.

00:50:21A mortis had waited

00:50:22for this moment

00:50:23and now lay down

00:50:24a terrible shelling

00:50:25on them.

00:50:25The Germans knew

00:50:26what they were shooting at.

00:50:27Two hours into the landings

00:50:29we're still on the beach.

00:50:30We haven't begun

00:50:30the process of flanking

00:50:31around the German strongpoints

00:50:33and so things are really

00:50:34beginning to fall apart.

00:50:36The infantry troops

00:50:37don't have the firepower

00:50:38to go up against

00:50:39concrete bunkers.

00:50:41They need help

00:50:42but none is coming.

00:50:45A mortar shell went off

00:50:47and three fragments

00:50:48and three fragments

00:50:48went through my left side

00:50:50of my helmet

00:50:51and I came out

00:50:53with three fingers

00:50:54full of blood.

00:50:56That was my second

00:50:57hymn that morning.

00:50:59I guess the helmet

00:51:00saved my life.

00:51:02The Germans could hit

00:51:04anything on the beach.

00:51:05All I could do

00:51:06was sit there.

00:51:07Well I was a farm boy

00:51:10from West Virginia.

00:51:12I didn't know anything

00:51:14from anything.

00:51:15You know

00:51:15all I could do

00:51:17was follow orders.

00:51:18When we landed

00:51:21it was a big problem

00:51:23to motivate the men

00:51:24to get off their asses

00:51:26and move inland.

00:51:28Most of the officers

00:51:29were killed or wounded.

00:51:32Many of the

00:51:32non-commissioned officers

00:51:33were killed or wounded.

00:51:36And uh...

00:51:43By sunset

00:51:44the Allies are supposed

00:51:45to be in control

00:51:46of the area

00:51:46and well on their

00:51:48way inland

00:51:48to capture

00:51:49the strategic city

00:51:50of St. Lowe.

00:51:52Instead

00:51:53failure after failure

00:51:55from the DD tanks

00:51:57to the lack

00:51:58of Air Force bombing

00:51:59mean that Force O

00:52:00is pinned down

00:52:01with no way forward.

00:52:11It seems

00:52:12almost to Bradley

00:52:13like everything

00:52:14is going wrong

00:52:15on Omaha.

00:52:16And Bradley realizes

00:52:17that if they've only

00:52:18gotten to the seawall

00:52:19his entire invasion plan

00:52:21is in big, big trouble.

00:52:24So there's a moment

00:52:26where Bradley is not sure

00:52:27do we have to give up here?

00:52:30Because his whole...

00:52:31the whole invasion plan

00:52:32is hanging in a balance.

00:52:36All hopes are now pinned

00:52:38on the last source

00:52:39of firepower

00:52:39that is yet to be unleashed.

00:52:40the U.S. Navy.

00:52:43The U.S. Navy.

00:52:45But the destroyers

00:52:47have been ordered

00:52:47to keep clear

00:52:48of the shallow waters

00:52:49by the beach

00:52:49which means they can't see

00:52:51many of the German targets.

00:52:53Instead,

00:52:54they must rely

00:52:55on special radio teams

00:52:56sent ashore

00:52:57to direct their fire.

00:52:58The problem is

00:53:05the forward observers

00:53:05or the guys

00:53:06with the radios

00:53:07they're dead

00:53:07they're wounded

00:53:08so the destroyers

00:53:09are really stuck

00:53:10in this position

00:53:11where they're not

00:53:11really sure

00:53:12what they can do.

00:53:15The result is

00:53:16one hell of a lot

00:53:17of firepower

00:53:17that's just waiting

00:53:18to get used.

00:53:19and sometime

00:53:22just before 10 o'clock

00:53:23in the morning

00:53:24one of the vice admirals

00:53:26in charge

00:53:26of the destroyer fleet

00:53:27he realizes

00:53:28the situation ahead

00:53:29is just not good

00:53:31that's when he says

00:53:32we must get in there

00:53:33we must send the boats in

00:53:34just damn it

00:53:35let's get in there

00:53:36let's get to the beach

00:53:36and let's give some support.

00:53:39Abandoning the plan

00:53:40the Navy destroyers

00:53:41charge in towards the beach

00:53:43nearly scraping the sand

00:53:44but finally

00:53:45they have the Germans

00:53:47in their sights.

00:53:49here I must give

00:53:55unstinting praise

00:53:56to the U.S. Navy

00:53:57Omar Bradley

00:53:59commanding general

00:54:00United States

00:54:00First Army

00:54:01the main batteries

00:54:04of these gallant ships

00:54:05became our sole artillery

00:54:07thank God

00:54:09for the U.S. Navy

00:54:10the standstill

00:54:13at Omaha

00:54:13is finally breaking

00:54:14but they're not

00:54:16off the beach yet

00:54:17ahead lie

00:54:18150 foot bluffs

00:54:20barbed wire

00:54:21and worse

00:54:22going up the bluffs

00:54:24you needed to walk

00:54:25right behind the guy

00:54:26in front of you

00:54:26in his footsteps

00:54:27but some of the guys

00:54:28got nervous

00:54:29and jumped over the line

00:54:30it is four hours

00:54:42it is four hours into D-Day

00:54:42the massive invasion

00:54:43to take back Europe

00:54:44from Nazi control

00:54:45thanks to close range

00:54:47gunfire from the U.S. Navy

00:54:49the American troops

00:54:50at Omaha Beach

00:54:51are finally making

00:54:52significant progress

00:54:53shells

00:54:56smacked into our bunker

00:54:57and hit our fuselade

00:54:58Carl Wegner

00:55:0019 years old

00:55:01from Hannover

00:55:01a chunk of cement

00:55:03struck my lieutenant

00:55:04in the face

00:55:04and he hit the floor

00:55:05he straightened up

00:55:07immediately

00:55:07intensely looking out

00:55:09he said to us

00:55:10another large force

00:55:12of calls approaching

00:55:13more Americans coming

00:55:14the Navy was lobbing

00:55:24big shells

00:55:24from the battleships

00:55:25in there

00:55:26Private Mac Evans

00:55:29from Clarksburg

00:55:30West Virginia

00:55:30but what really

00:55:34broke things loose

00:55:34so I could get off

00:55:35the beach

00:55:35was Lieutenant Miller

00:55:36from the 1st Division

00:55:37Engineers

00:55:38he landed

00:55:39and came in

00:55:40and he said

00:55:41all you men

00:55:42without weapons

00:55:43get one

00:55:43you men that have

00:55:45raincoats

00:55:45spread the raincoats out

00:55:47get those weapons

00:55:48disassembled

00:55:48clean them

00:55:49we're going to get

00:55:50off this beach

00:55:51before we all die

00:55:52so I grabbed a weapon

00:55:54from one of the

00:55:55dead soldiers

00:55:56the troops must gain

00:55:59the high ground

00:55:59in order to get

00:56:00off the beach

00:56:01but doing so

00:56:02means confronting

00:56:03yet another

00:56:03deadly German trap

00:56:05the soldiers

00:56:06on the ground

00:56:07have the same look

00:56:08we know that the cliffs

00:56:09the bluffs

00:56:10on the sides

00:56:10are mined

00:56:11but we have a better

00:56:12chance of climbing

00:56:13these bluffs

00:56:13and surrounding

00:56:14the Germans

00:56:15than running

00:56:15straight through

00:56:16German fire

00:56:16the lieutenant's

00:56:18the first one

00:56:18through

00:56:19on the far side

00:56:20is a swamp

00:56:20leading up to this cliff

00:56:21he starts crawling

00:56:23through it right away

00:56:24and this has

00:56:26really impressed me

00:56:27because here I am

00:56:28a private

00:56:29I thought

00:56:30man

00:56:31here's

00:56:32the highest ranking

00:56:33officer that I knew

00:56:34crawled through mud

00:56:36through check for mines

00:56:38didn't make any of us

00:56:40grunts do it

00:56:40did it himself

00:56:41every man who could

00:56:45walk and fire a weapon

00:56:46charged up the hill

00:56:47towards the enemy

00:56:48we had three options

00:56:54stay on the beach

00:56:55and die

00:56:55fight wounded

00:56:57or surrender the beach

00:56:59to the Germans

00:57:00surrender was not a word

00:57:02in the 29th division

00:57:04dictionary

00:57:05so most of us

00:57:06fought wounded

00:57:07finally we made it

00:57:09to where you started

00:57:10to climb the bluffs

00:57:11they used tape

00:57:12to mark the path

00:57:13as they was clearing

00:57:14the mines

00:57:15for people to walk on

00:57:16when they would

00:57:18put that tape down

00:57:19you didn't step

00:57:20outside that tape

00:57:21because it wasn't clear

00:57:23the German defenses

00:57:32are not simply

00:57:34fading away

00:57:34trying to get

00:57:37the machine gun

00:57:37above us

00:57:38the sergeant fired

00:57:38his bazooka

00:57:39missed

00:57:39he was shot

00:57:40the arm

00:57:40almost immediately

00:57:41a rifle man

00:57:42was shot down there

00:57:42sergeant picked up

00:57:43a machine gun

00:57:44and moved

00:57:44into position

00:57:45to fire

00:57:45I was hit

00:57:46in both legs

00:57:46once we got up

00:57:51to the top

00:57:51of the bluffs

00:57:52to the trench

00:57:52system up there

00:57:53there was a machine

00:57:54gun over on the right

00:57:55with a long range

00:57:56trajectory

00:57:57and the lieutenant

00:57:58sent some people

00:57:59across there

00:57:59to knock that out

00:58:00we were ordered

00:58:02to attack the bunkers

00:58:03from the rear

00:58:04which we did

00:58:06these two Germans

00:58:09that crossed that road

00:58:10that we were laying

00:58:11in a ditch there

00:58:11I shot two of them

00:58:15in my whole army

00:58:19experience

00:58:20in combat

00:58:21I know of six

00:58:22I killed

00:58:23aside from that

00:58:25I have no idea

00:58:26the lieutenant

00:58:30was looking

00:58:31at the situation

00:58:32along the beach

00:58:32despite rifle fire

00:58:34that peppered

00:58:34the edge

00:58:35of the fuselage

00:58:36then he saw something

00:58:37he moved back

00:58:38to the bunker entrance

00:58:39with his pistol drawn

00:58:40we feared

00:58:42that the Americans

00:58:42had gained our rear

00:58:43and were going

00:58:44to finish us off

00:58:45but it was only

00:58:46one of our men

00:58:47he was bruised

00:58:48and bloody

00:58:48about the face

00:58:49he said that

00:58:50in his strong point

00:58:51the men

00:58:51Azations and Pauls

00:58:53refused to fight

00:58:54and had shot

00:58:55and killed the commander

00:58:56my lieutenant

00:58:57became very angry

00:58:58at this story

00:58:59he picked up

00:59:00several grenades

00:59:00we watched

00:59:01as he ran

00:59:02to the other bunker

00:59:03and threw the grenades in

00:59:04leveling the place

00:59:05the lieutenant

00:59:07ran back towards us

00:59:08fate was not

00:59:09within this time

00:59:10fired from one

00:59:12of the landing craft

00:59:13cut him in two

00:59:13willy finally spoke to me

00:59:18i guess

00:59:19you're in command now

00:59:20in command of what

00:59:22i thought to myself

00:59:24the Americans kept coming

00:59:27we kept up our fire

00:59:28but we felt quite alone

00:59:30i was wounded

00:59:35but most of them

00:59:37were wounded worse

00:59:38than i was

00:59:39i called them

00:59:40the walk-in wound

00:59:41and we went up the hill

00:59:42we had two strong points

00:59:45that we attacked

00:59:46one was a farmhouse

00:59:48the Germans

00:59:48and one made the mistake

00:59:51of putting his head

00:59:52above the wall

00:59:53and i killed him

00:59:57we moved on

00:59:59now guys were

01:00:01dropping out

01:00:02not from the Germans

01:00:04but due to their bleeding

01:00:06they were too weak

01:00:07to continue

01:00:08we got up

01:00:09and we finally got

01:00:10to a machine gun nest

01:00:11five Germans in it

01:00:12and we attacked them

01:00:14we finally overcame them

01:00:15we reached the road

01:00:17stretching east and west

01:00:18the beach road

01:00:20we decided to cross

01:00:22to get to a hedgerow

01:00:23bocage

01:00:24they called it

01:00:25as i was crawling

01:00:27i felt a sting

01:00:29in my left foot

01:00:30apparently

01:00:31i had tripped

01:00:32some kind of mine

01:00:33so i took off

01:00:36the shoe

01:00:36i turned it upside down

01:00:39and emptied the blood

01:00:40out like

01:00:41water from a vase

01:00:43and i could

01:00:45i took my sock off

01:00:46i could look right

01:00:47through the foot

01:00:48i put sulfur powder on

01:00:52put a beautiful bandage

01:00:54on

01:00:54and just then

01:00:56shells started to come in

01:00:57i ripped the bandage off

01:00:59put my shoe back on

01:01:01placed it up

01:01:02and that was wound number three

01:01:05i dove for protection

01:01:07behind whatever cover

01:01:08i could find

01:01:09there were seven

01:01:11of the walking wounded left

01:01:12i thought

01:01:13where are the rest of our guys

01:01:14as d-day stretches

01:01:23into the afternoon

01:01:24the first soldiers

01:01:25have finally made it off

01:01:27omaha beach

01:01:27but they are scattered

01:01:29and many are wounded

01:01:30my adrenaline was pumping

01:01:32and i felt little pain

01:01:33bomb gotten

01:01:34herald

01:01:34i was 19 years old

01:01:36on d-day

01:01:36there were only seven of us left

01:01:38we went towards the beach road

01:01:40all of us wondered

01:01:41where the rest of our regiment was

01:01:43we had hoped to contact

01:01:44a larger group of 29ers

01:01:46and join them

01:01:47the objective was to head west

01:01:49to rescue the rangers

01:01:49rescue the rangers

01:01:50that went up

01:01:51point du Hoc

01:01:52because they went up

01:01:54with very little ammunition

01:01:56very little food

01:01:57and they were being surrounded

01:01:59by germans

01:02:00it's been seven hours

01:02:03since rangers scaled

01:02:04the 100 foot cliffs

01:02:05at point du Hoc

01:02:06on a mission to destroy

01:02:07the enemy guns installed there

01:02:09before they start attacking

01:02:10the invasion forces

01:02:11it was absolutely crucial

01:02:19that that battery

01:02:20of 155 millimeter guns

01:02:22be eliminated

01:02:23and early as possible

01:02:25but when the rangers

01:02:28got to the top of the cliffs

01:02:30they found the guns were gone

01:02:33now the rangers

01:02:36at point du Hoc

01:02:37find themselves cut off

01:02:38taking heavy casualties

01:02:40and still searching

01:02:43for the deadly guns

01:02:44and only had

01:02:47about a dozen men left

01:02:48so we sought

01:02:49what cover we could get

01:02:501st sergeant

01:02:52Leonard Lamelle

01:02:522nd ranger battalion

01:02:54oh god we were surrounded

01:02:57by troops

01:02:58a combat patrol

01:02:59of about 40 to 50

01:03:00the germans walked

01:03:02in front of us

01:03:02not more than 20 feet

01:03:03away from us

01:03:04we were badly outnumbered

01:03:05where we were

01:03:06sergeant Lamelle

01:03:10he went out

01:03:12immediately on a patrol

01:03:13to see what was around him

01:03:14he saw some wagon tracks

01:03:15deep wagon tracks

01:03:17and he was curious

01:03:18about what deep wagon tracks

01:03:20would be

01:03:20on that particular dirt road

01:03:22so he went down that road

01:03:23with another man

01:03:24as sergeant Jack Coon

01:03:25we had to go somewhere

01:03:28looking for the guns

01:03:29and so Jack Coon

01:03:31and I went down

01:03:32this sunken road

01:03:33not knowing

01:03:33where the hell

01:03:33it was going

01:03:34and there were the guns

01:03:38all sitting

01:03:39in proper firing condition

01:03:41pointed at Utah Beach

01:03:42the ammunition

01:03:43piled up neatly

01:03:44everything at the ready

01:03:45and we just stumbled on them

01:03:48there was nothing brave

01:03:49or calculating

01:03:50or by design

01:03:51we looked around cautiously

01:03:53and we saw Germans

01:03:54about a hundred yards away

01:03:55but there was nobody

01:03:56manning the guns

01:03:57and we decided

01:03:58let's take a chance

01:03:59we put the thermite grenades

01:04:02as many as we could

01:04:03in traversing mechanisms

01:04:04and elevation mechanisms

01:04:06and bang the sights

01:04:07we got up

01:04:09and ran like rabbits

01:04:10as fast as we could

01:04:11we were out of there

01:04:12I don't think they dreamed

01:04:15there was an American soldier

01:04:16anywhere near those guys

01:04:17we ran back to our men

01:04:21our orders was to hold out

01:04:23until we leave

01:04:24our next objective

01:04:26was to set up a roadblock

01:04:27and keep the Germans

01:04:28from going to Omaha Beach

01:04:29which we did

01:04:30it was rough

01:04:33by that time

01:04:34there was not a soul

01:04:34with us from another ranger unit

01:04:36we were as alone

01:04:37as we could be

01:04:38we were as alone

01:04:40we were as alone

01:04:41as we could be

01:04:42Point de Hoc

01:04:43is not the only place

01:04:44in need of reinforcements

01:04:45eight miles inland

01:04:46the paratroopers at La Fierre Bridge

01:04:47are growing desperate

01:04:48the planned link-up

01:04:49with the beach forces

01:04:50is nowhere in sight

01:04:51the invasion plan

01:04:52is going off the rails

01:04:54imagine the lonely feeling

01:04:58of being one of the American paratroopers

01:04:59at La Fierre

01:05:00and for all you know

01:05:01the invasion might have failed

01:05:03those amphibious forces

01:05:04might have been defeated

01:05:05at the beach

01:05:06and there you are

01:05:07eight miles deep

01:05:08in enemy territory

01:05:09with a lot of very very angry

01:05:11well-armed and well-equipped Germans

01:05:13coming to meet you

01:05:14the whole west end of the causeway

01:05:19was now in the hands of the Germans

01:05:21artillery rounds

01:05:23started falling on the road jumps and things

01:05:26and then you could hear the engines

01:05:29and you could hear the loud clicks

01:05:32of the tank fracks

01:05:33and they were trading rounds

01:05:38artillery tank and so on

01:05:40with the forces that assembled on the east side

01:05:45it was bad news

01:05:46these Germans were in there

01:05:48and we weren't enough of a group

01:05:49to fight against a force like that

01:05:51all that afternoon

01:05:55the Germans kept shelling our position

01:05:57Marcus Heim Jr.

01:06:0020 years old

01:06:01from Buffalo, New York

01:06:02we carried bazooka rockets

01:06:06and there was a 57mm cannon

01:06:08up the road in back of us

01:06:09along with another machine gun

01:06:11you didn't think about dying

01:06:13you said your prayers

01:06:15and I think you're just waiting to get it

01:06:20then the Germans started to attack

01:06:23two tanks with infantrymen on each side

01:06:25and in the rear following them

01:06:26was a third tank

01:06:27with more infantry following it

01:06:29the bazookas, 57mm

01:06:32and everything else we had

01:06:33were firing at the Germans

01:06:34and they in turn were shooting at us

01:06:36with cannons, mortars, machine guns

01:06:37and rifle fire

01:06:39we kept firing at the first tank

01:06:42until it was put out of action

01:06:43and on fire

01:06:45the second tank came

01:06:47and pushed the first tank out of the way

01:06:49we moved forward toward the second tank

01:06:51and we hit it in the turret

01:06:52where it is connected to the body

01:06:54also in the track

01:06:55and with another hit

01:06:56it also went up in flames

01:06:58we were almost out of rockets

01:06:59and the third tank was still moving

01:07:02I ran across the road

01:07:04and picked up the rockets from our other team

01:07:06and then had to run back across the road

01:07:08with all the crossfire

01:07:09it was hard to believe I made it in one piece

01:07:16after that third one was put out of action

01:07:18the Germans pulled back

01:07:20the Germans couldn't get through

01:07:23because of the paratroopers

01:07:24not one German crossed that bridge

01:07:27not one German crossed that bridge

01:07:28so they held it

01:07:30and it was costly

01:07:32very costly

01:07:40we could not see any of our men

01:07:42most of the soldiers of the unit had died or were missing

01:07:45we knew we had to hold that bridge at all cost

01:07:49until the men from the beach arrived

01:07:51if the Germans broke through

01:07:52they would have a good chance of going all the way to the beach

01:07:59we used to tell ourselves

01:08:00the Germans aren't ten feet tall

01:08:02it was our way of saying we can take them on

01:08:06but we weren't dumb

01:08:08we knew we couldn't do it alone for long

01:08:11we talked about how badly off we were

01:08:13how badly off we were

01:08:15backed up against the water

01:08:16with a perimeter defense

01:08:19we wondered why the Germans hadn't come in and taken us out

01:08:34eleven hours into D-Day

01:08:36the airborne troops eight miles inland at Lafayre Bridge

01:08:38have survived the first onslaught of German tanks

01:08:41but the far side of the bridge is still in enemy hands

01:08:46it's only a matter of time before the next attack comes

01:08:49I remember thinking about

01:08:52if they're coming up the road with a big outfit

01:08:54they could go across the bridge

01:08:55they could go across the bridge

01:08:56and take it over

01:08:58that's one thing that I was fearful about

01:09:01but we had not seen what was to come

01:09:06only a few of us had survived

01:09:11Marcus Heim Jr.

01:09:13twenty years old from Buffalo, New York

01:09:15some of us thought maybe we should move from here

01:09:19then someone came and told us to hold our position

01:09:22and he would find more men to place around us

01:09:28the German attacks aren't stopping

01:09:30and the paratroopers are running out of men

01:09:32they need reinforcements

01:09:34but everyone who can help is too far away

01:09:37or gone missing

01:09:39there's one part of the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment

01:09:42that's just missing on D-Day

01:09:44more than 150 men

01:09:46they're just unaccounted for

01:09:48no one knows where they are

01:09:51we could see a church steeple with a cross on it

01:09:54so we thought well that has to be high ground

01:09:57so we made our way towards it

01:09:59John Hinchcliffe, Park Rapids, Minnesota

01:10:02it was a shambles

01:10:04nothing worked out the way it was planned

01:10:07nothing

01:10:08because we jumped 18 miles from our drop zone even

01:10:11they are so far off course

01:10:13that their maps don't even cover the area where they've landed

01:10:16we landed outside the village of Grenier

01:10:20about 170 men

01:10:25so we ended up with 530 caliber machine guns

01:10:28and two 81 millimeter mortars

01:10:30which was lucky

01:10:32there was a little argument amongst the officers

01:10:34whether we should try to find our way back to our objective

01:10:37like I say we're 18 miles from it

01:10:39the two of them were arguing about whether we should stay there

01:10:43and so they decided to set up a perimeter of defense

01:10:47around the village

01:10:48and then wait and see what's happening

01:10:50in the battle around them

01:10:58but what they don't know

01:10:59is that the enemy that is on a collision course with them

01:11:01is the 17th Waffen-SS Panzerkrinnit Deer Division

01:11:06they're facing an SS unit that's very well trained

01:11:10very disciplined

01:11:11and very dangerous unit

01:11:13we were 15 miles from Omaha Beach

01:11:17and so we thought well maybe

01:11:19maybe the troops coming in on Omaha Beach would reach us

01:11:22they never did

01:11:24they never did

01:11:27the troops at Omaha Beach are still bogged down

01:11:30they've managed to move up the bluffs

01:11:32but the German defenders are not giving ground

01:11:37we kept up our fire at the Americans on the beach

01:11:39but the mood was very grim after the death of the lieutenant

01:11:43Carl Weger, 19 years old

01:11:45I was now the highest ranking soldier there

01:11:48now two lies were dependent on my actions

01:11:51young Willy and the wounded Grenadier

01:11:54I told them we would stay here and fight

01:11:56until it wasn't safe anymore

01:11:58this would give me time to think of something

01:12:00or perhaps someone would reach us

01:12:02and relieve me of command

01:12:06the Americans were gaining ground

01:12:07I watched the landing craft come closer and closer

01:12:10it seemed like hundreds of them

01:12:12more soldiers to land on the beach against us

01:12:21I was in the third wave

01:12:25Van Roozen, Donald

01:12:2822 years old on D-Day

01:12:30there were so many things that I had never seen before

01:12:35and I stood up to look at how many ships I could see out there

01:12:38I realized this was one of the greatest events in my lifetime

01:12:41and I was gonna see as much of it as I could

01:12:43we waded through the waste deep water and stepped onto the sand

01:12:49someone ordered us to lie down

01:12:51I was still very curious

01:12:53I wanted to see all the action on the beach

01:12:55there was firing going on all over the place

01:12:59and I stood up to look

01:13:01I want to see this

01:13:03and some of the senior non-coms took great exception to that

01:13:08and told me to get down

01:13:10I think they could quite cheerfully have shot me right then and there

01:13:15the troops arriving are still only the leading edge of the invasion force

01:13:25Thomas, Peter, 19 years old from Pensacola, Florida

01:13:30back in England I had made friends with a guy by the name of Jack Foster

01:13:34we were both the sons of preachers

01:13:37it was good to have a friend

01:13:39we didn't really know what was going to happen to us

01:13:41they gave us not awful impregnated clothing

01:13:45and gas masks

01:13:47which we got rid of as soon as we could

01:13:49because it was very cumbersome

01:13:50and then we got on the boat

01:13:52and then went over

01:13:56they needed many replacements

01:13:58like me for the men killed on Omaha Beach

01:14:03the Allies need to bring more men in fast

01:14:06before the Germans beat them to it

01:14:08there's one thing that develops for the Allies' favor

01:14:11for at least the first 48 hours

01:14:13Adolf Hitler was completely convinced

01:14:15that Normandy was a diversion

01:14:17and for that reason

01:14:18he did not want to immediately release reaction forces

01:14:20that he had positioned throughout France

01:14:23but the German reinforcements won't hold off forever

01:14:26and the beachhead at Omaha is still vulnerable

01:14:29I had not eaten for way over 24 hours

01:14:35my hands were already blue from loss of blood

01:14:40guys were smoking

01:14:41I didn't smoke

01:14:43there were only seven of us left from the walking wound

01:14:45walking wound

01:14:48they started shelling us again

01:14:50we decided to cross the road

01:14:53and go to this big ditch

01:14:55as we crossed the road

01:14:58there was a machine gun set up

01:15:00down the road to the west

01:15:03about 50 meters down

01:15:05and we were ambushed

01:15:08all of us were hit

01:15:10machine gun bullet went through

01:15:12and took my lip away on the side

01:15:14and took away my upper jaw on the right side

01:15:18when I got to the other side of the road

01:15:20I fell on top

01:15:22of a few other guys

01:15:24and they didn't mind it

01:15:25because

01:15:26they were already dead

01:15:37I finished up the belt of ammunition

01:15:39and waited for Willy to load another one into the gun

01:15:41Karl Wegner, 19 years old

01:15:44he simply said

01:15:45there wasn't any more to get

01:15:47I looked at him in disbelief

01:15:51then realized

01:15:52we were standing in a pile of empty ammunition cans

01:15:55belts

01:15:56and spent shell casings

01:15:58all that was left of 15.000 rounds

01:16:02I looked out the fuselage

01:16:03the Americans were gaining ground

01:16:05and from the sound of the fighting

01:16:07some were up in the village behind us

01:16:09my eyes caught the lieutenant's dead body

01:16:12we had to get out of here

01:16:14I fired the last belt in short bursts

01:16:17to keep the Americans approaching us at a distance

01:16:20the final count was 64 rounds

01:16:23a number I never forgot

01:16:25I took a deep breath and nodded to Willy

01:16:28we sprang to the doorway

01:16:30and ran

01:16:3211 hours after first landing

01:16:35Force O has finally secured Omaha Beach

01:16:38it is a major accomplishment

01:16:41but far short of their original goal

01:16:44on the first day

01:16:46we were supposed to be about 10 miles from Omaha Beach

01:16:49but at the end of June 6th

01:16:51we were only in about 880 yards

01:16:54as the sun sets

01:16:56the men dig in and brace themselves

01:16:58for their first night in enemy territory

01:17:00me and two of the first division men

01:17:07got separated from the rest of the group

01:17:10and we didn't know where they were

01:17:13one of the guys in the first division said

01:17:15what are you going to do Evans

01:17:17I said I'm going to dig in somewhere

01:17:18because I'm not going to walk around in the dark

01:17:20out here with the Germans everywhere

01:17:22so we stood guard all night

01:17:25two guys sleeping

01:17:26one guy outside to hold watch

01:17:28we were just kids

01:17:31we were over here and thought

01:17:32war's going to be over in a couple weeks

01:17:34by the end of that first day

01:17:36we knew it was going to take a lot longer

01:17:44as the evening progressed

01:17:45I felt like I was getting very weak

01:17:47very weak

01:17:48I felt I was dreaming

01:17:49a morphine dream

01:17:50a morphine dream

01:17:51I felt a hand on my shoulder

01:17:53and I heard him say

01:17:55you'll be okay

01:17:56Yankee boy

01:17:57so it was probably

01:17:58a German soldier

01:17:59who didn't kill me

01:18:00I woke up at about 3.30

01:18:02I saw the silhouette of an ambulance

01:18:05was I seeing a mirage?

01:18:07I hadn't seen an ambulance all day

01:18:09and they stopped the ambulance

01:18:11they saw it was one of their own

01:18:13and they asked me a strange question

01:18:16can you sit up in the ambulance?

01:18:18I thought this was a very odd request

01:18:22but I nodded affirmatively

01:18:24they took me all the way down the beach

01:18:28I didn't see anything in the ambulance

01:18:31I still wondered why I was asked to sit

01:18:35but later I was told

01:18:37there was cots hanging from the sidewall

01:18:40with wounded on them

01:18:41the ambulance was full of the battle casualties

01:18:46and already had wounded hanging on both its sides

01:18:48I couldn't see this in the darkness

01:19:04more men die on Omaha

01:19:06than any of the other Allied beaches

01:19:08Someday I'll tell General Eisenhower

01:19:15just how close it was

01:19:17those first few hours

01:19:19Omar Bradley Commanding General

01:19:21United States First Army

01:19:23By nightfall

01:19:24the situation had swung in our favor

01:19:27we held a sliver of corpse littered beach

01:19:29five miles long

01:19:30and about one and a half miles deep

01:19:33there was now no thought

01:19:35of giving it back

01:19:37with the capture of Omaha

01:19:41the second step in the invasion

01:19:43secure the five Normandy beaches

01:19:45is now complete

01:19:49but the third step in the D-Day invasion

01:19:51linking up the beaches

01:19:52with the airborne troops

01:19:53is not happening

01:19:54and the crucial objective

01:19:56capturing the city of St. Lowe

01:19:58is far out of reach

01:20:00getting there means crossing

01:20:02twenty treacherous miles

01:20:03filled with German soldiers

01:20:05the Germans don't just fall back

01:20:12and give up after June 6th

01:20:14in fact it's quite the opposite

01:20:16the Germans fight back

01:20:18they fight back with amazing skill

01:20:20and capability

01:20:21and they make the battle

01:20:22a very very difficult process

01:20:24for Allied fighting forces

01:20:26the fight forces the Allies

01:20:28through mile after mile

01:20:29of near impenetrable hedgerows

01:20:31deadly terrain

01:20:32the Allies are totally

01:20:33unprepared for

01:20:34and perfectly designed

01:20:35for German ambushes

01:20:37a handful of Germans

01:20:39five men and a machine gun

01:20:40could stop a whole company

01:20:43because fighting in a hedgerow

01:20:44is pretty much like

01:20:45fighting in a jungle

01:20:46the difference is

01:20:47you see no light

01:20:48at the end of the tunnel

01:20:49in the training back in 1944

01:20:51they were fixating

01:20:52on assaulting the beach

01:20:54they were not fixating

01:20:55on what was to follow

01:20:56the unglamorous details

01:20:57of dealing with those hedgerows

01:21:01and the German counter-attack

01:21:03is already in motion

01:21:04a half dozen of the most feared

01:21:06panzer divisions in France

01:21:07stand ready to push the Allies back

01:21:10the D-Day mission

01:21:13was to be a quick push inland

01:21:15and in that it failed

01:21:22as the Allies try to pick up the pieces

01:21:25the Germans are already reinforcing

01:21:28determined to crush the invasion

01:21:30while it is still weak

01:21:36in the days ahead

01:21:37the death toll will skyrocket

01:21:39to more than ten times

01:21:40the casualties suffered

01:21:41on the beaches

01:21:43all I saw was dead bodies

01:21:46they would get killed

01:21:47before you even knew their name

01:21:48and you had to leave

01:21:50your buddy there

01:21:52after a while

01:21:53you become more like an animal

01:21:54than a human being

01:21:55I knew it was going to come close

01:21:59an impossible task

01:22:00absolutely impossible

01:22:02people had to say

01:22:04hey, I'm going to get there

01:22:06or

01:22:07or

01:22:08I'm going to die

01:22:12as the sun sets

01:22:13on June 6th

01:22:141944

01:22:15one thing is clear

01:22:16to both sides

01:22:17D-Day is far from over

01:22:20from over

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