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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.
00:00:14You can see down to the water, boats as far as the eye could see.
00:00:22You know what had to be done? We had to get an article off their throat.
00:00:26The boat blew off, and we were showered through 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, to die.
00:01:01We're here.
00:01:01We're here.
00:01:04This program ischild V and us, which for now we have lost.
00:01:05Please check that out.
00:01:14We're here.
00:01:16We're here.
00:01:17Look, you have lost.
00:01:19Hey, hey.
00:01:24I don't know.
00:01:25I remember it was dark in the cabin, and there was radio silence throughout the ride over.
00:01:48Johnny Moore, 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.
00:02:08In charge of first 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.
00:02:50Lied on my age, of course.
00:02:52When Pearl Harbor was bombed, they came around asking for volunteers for the airborne.
00:02:57John Hinchcliffe, Park Rapids, Minnesota.
00:03:00They were a bunch of mean characters.
00:03:05All of them.
00:03:06All of them.
00:03:07And 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.
00:03:17I can remember saying some prayers, and thinking I was nuts and crazy for volunteering for something like this.
00:03:25You could see down to the water, boats, as far as the eye could see.
00:03:31Made you stop and think about all the people that were aboard those boats, and this huge invasion that we were getting involved in.
00:03:37We could see the mainland coming up, and just about that time all hell broke loose because they had anti-aircraft guns, hundreds of them.
00:03:50I was 20 years old.
00:03:53The anti-aircraft fire was so intense, it 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, and it was so heavy that you couldn't see the tips of the planes and the aircraft.
00:04:24So naturally the planes dispersed, and so we got off course.
00:04:30That was a problem.
00:04:32The airplanes had to separate more.
00:04:37Then the red light came on.
00:04:39That is the final run into the drop zone.
00:04:43I went up and down the airplane to be sure that everybody was alert and ready to go.
00:04:51And then they came and they stand up and hook up.
00:04:57And then it was waiting for the green light to come off.
00:05:05D-Day has begun.
00:05:07For five years, Nazi Germany has relentlessly expanded across Europe.
00:05:20Countries have fallen, suffering crushing defeats.
00:05:25Even as the Nazis commit some of the most savage atrocities the world has ever seen.
00:05:29We must end it.
00:05:37The mission begins here, in Normandy, France.
00:05:40The objective, carve out a foothold in German-held France, and push Hitler's armies back to Berlin.
00:05:46The airborne troops are the first boots on the ground.
00:05:50While the rest of the invasion prepares to land on the coast,
00:05:54they will jump in under cover of night and start the battle behind enemy lines.
00:05:58They had a little over two hours, and they were about to go and meet the most dangerous enemy
00:06:08that the United States had ever confronted in combat for the first time.
00:06:12You were getting concussions from... from the aircraft bursts,
00:06:19and the plane was going every which way, you know, pitching 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, Lieutenant just yelled,
00:06:30Are you ready?
00:06:37And out the door we went.
00:06:42Before we even left the plane, I knew something was wrong.
00:06:46The planes were flying much faster than they were supposed to be flying.
00:06:50At this point, we're getting better than halfway across.
00:06:53So, 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, hoping that those troopers had got out.
00:07:17As I looked down on the landscape,
00:07:19it appeared that we were going to be dropping in sort of pasture,
00:07:22for cattle and so on.
00:07:24And so I thought, well, this is not going to be too bad for a landing area.
00:07:29And then I splashed into the water.
00:07:37We 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 growing up above the water,
00:07:45so you couldn't tell it was flooded.
00:07:46A lot of the guys came down in the areas where the water was over their heads,
00:07:51got tangled up in the risers, their parachutes, and drowned.
00:07:56A lot of boys landed in the swamps.
00:08:09I didn't land in any water, but bam, I hit the ground.
00:08:13And I heard about boys that landed in trees and got bayoneted.
00:08:21Our 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.
00:08:39I landed with no one in sight.
00:08:41There was nobody near.
00:08:43Nobody.
00:08:44Except, of course, the Germans.
00:08:45At that stage, it was difficult to figure out
00:08:49exactly how we were going to get our mission accomplished.
00:08:54The paratroopers of the 507th are scattered.
00:08:58Their mission is a mess.
00:09:00And achieving their objectives now seems hardly possible.
00:09:05Yet miles offshore,
00:09:07troops are already loading up for the beach assault.
00:09:10Their orders?
00:09:12Overwhelmed 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 Saint-Lô.
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 Saint-Lô
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.
00:09:54We were climbing over the side balcony of the ship,
00:10:17getting into our little boats and the positions that we all had.
00:10:20and we said goodbye to everybody that 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 on the beachhead on Omaha Beach.
00:10:45Lieutenant said our paratroopers are 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.
00:10:53I didn't want my folks to get the news
00:10:56that I was no longer alive from a government telegram.
00:10:59I wanted someone to break the news gently to them.
00:11:02And I decided to immediately write home.
00:11:04I decided to immediately write home to 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.
00:11:12It 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 Matt.
00:11:30I left home in West Virginia when I was 12.
00:11:33Worked with the carnivals until I decided to go into the military.
00:11:37My 18th birthday is still five months away.
00:11:39We 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.
00:11:54Even on the way in,
00:11:56you 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 can launch another assault.
00:12:09And the German defenses are only growing stronger.
00:12:13I had never been in combat before,
00:12:15so I was pretty nervous.
00:12:17Violently, my arm was shaken by my young assistant, Willi.
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 and saw ships,
00:12:29as far as one could see.
00:12:30Carl Wegener, 19 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.
00:12:41Some 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.
00:12:52I don't know how I get through it.
00:12:59There's something that 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.
00:13:11The only way I can describe it is
00:13:13he just opened the gates to hell
00:13:16and stepped in.
00:13:16A 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.
00:13:36This was it.
00:13:38June 6, 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
00:14:02assigned a shell
00:14:02in Dog Green sector.
00:14:04That was our beach.
00:14:07They also fitted out barges
00:14:09with 1,000 rocket launches.
00:14:10They fired 4,000 rockets
00:14:16at Dog Green sector
00:14:17before the land.
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
00:14:27five-inch rockets
00:14:28was going to eradicate
00:14:30the Germans.
00:14:31I thought we had it made.
00:14:33The 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 thousands
00:14:40of tons of bombs
00:14:40right before the landing.
00:14:42We yelled up at them.
00:14:43Give them help.
00:14:45In my boat,
00:14:46Bob Garbett
00:14:47looked back at me
00:14:48with a smile
00:14:48and made an OK sign
00:14:50with his right hand.
00:15:00They told us
00:15:01that the German fortifications
00:15:02would be knocked out
00:15:03by all of this.
00:15:07Clarence Evans.
00:15:08But everybody just
00:15:10calls 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
00:15:26The 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.
00:15:45And the Eastern Front
00:15:48is taking heavy losses.
00:15:51Now the Allies
00:15:52must battle their way
00:15:53back into France.
00:15:55They've sent every ship
00:15:57and plane they can muster
00:15:58to support the invasion.
00:16:00The Allied soldiers
00:16:01also have another ace
00:16:02up their sleeve.
00:16:03Also bolstering
00:16:07the infantry's confidence
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
00:16:21the 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.
00:16:29The soldiers
00:16:32will land
00:16:33under the combined
00:16:34protection
00:16:34of the Navy guns,
00:16:36Air Force bombing,
00:16:38thousands of rockets,
00:16:40and secret DD tanks.
00:16:44But before the infantry
00:16:45can even land
00:16:46on the beach,
00:16:47they begin seeing
00:16:48signs of trouble.
00:16:50They were going
00:16:51to fire
00:16:524,000 rockets,
00:16:545-inch rockets,
00:16:56at Door Green Sector
00:16:58before the landing.
00:17:00But I will tell you
00:17:02right now,
00:17:03it didn't work.
00:17:07All the rockets
00:17:08fell into the ocean,
00:17:09and I'm sure
00:17:10they killed
00:17:10a lot of fish,
00:17:12but they did
00:17:13no good whatsoever.
00:17:16In tanks,
00:17:17the tanks
00:17:18were 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
00:17:27closer and closer
00:17:28to shore.
00:17:28We saw people
00:17:29floating,
00:17:29thought the Air Force
00:17:30had gone down.
00:17:31It dawned up
00:17:32some problem
00:17:32with the DD tank.
00:17:33The tank ahead
00:17:34of me was gone.
00:17:35Tanks are sinking.
00:17:36The waves
00:17:36were 6 to 8 feet high.
00:17:38It was like
00:17:38a pork in a van.
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.
00:17:44The DD tanks are sinking.
00:17:52And 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.
00:18:06suddenly there was silence
00:18:11and the mood
00:18:12became very somber.
00:18:16I assume many,
00:18:18including myself,
00:18:19were thinking of home
00:18:20and 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 to 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
00:18:53machine gun
00:18:53to open up
00:18:54on our boat.
00:18:57The German
00:18:58MP-42 machine gun
00:18:59fires 20 bullets
00:19:01a second.
00:19:02There's about
00:19:0335 American soldiers
00:19:04in a landing craft.
00:19:05So if a German
00:19:06firing an MP-42
00:19:07fires into that
00:19:09landing craft
00:19:10as soon as that
00:19:10ramp goes down,
00:19:13in about four seconds
00:19:15he's killed
00:19:15every American on board.
00:19:18I was neck deep
00:19:20in bloody water
00:19:20watching all these
00:19:21other 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.
00:19:32they were teenagers
00:19:36like myself.
00:19:37It was bad,
00:19:48really bad.
00:19:50The company A
00:19:51was in the first wave
00:19:53and they were
00:19:55decimated.
00:19:56They were wiped out.
00:20:00They 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.
00:20:16I...
00:20:23We had no chance.
00:20:35An unknown number
00:20:37of men die
00:20:38before even leaving
00:20:39the 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
00:20:47six months,
00:20:48the Germans
00:20:49have been fortifying
00:20:50their defenses
00:20:50along the Normandy coast.
00:20:56We're lulled
00:20:56into this belief
00:20:57that the Germans
00:20:57were weak in Normandy,
00:20:58that they were
00:20:59shorthanded
00:20:59and that they
00:21:00weren't ready 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.
00:21:11to avoid them,
00:21:14the invasion
00:21:15lands at low time.
00:21:17But that means
00:21:17soldiers now
00:21:18have 300 yards
00:21:19of open sand
00:21:20to cross
00:21:21in the face
00:21:21of merciless
00:21:22German fire.
00:21:26And an enemy
00:21:27the troops
00:21:27were not expecting.
00:21:28they expected
00:21:33250 elderly
00:21:36men
00:21:37of the 716th
00:21:39Wehrmacht Division
00:21:40and they figured
00:21:42they would
00:21:42surrender rapidly.
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.
00:21:53and they had
00:21:54a lot of 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 about
00:22:0520 yards in front of me
00:22:06hit me in my left cheek.
00:22:09It 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
00:22:20my tongue was cut
00:22:22and uh
00:22:23there was no
00:22:24upper jaw
00:22:25on the left side.
00:22:28I washed my face
00:22:29out with 6 inches
00:22:30of cold,
00:22:31dirty channel water
00:22:32and managed
00:22:33somehow not
00:22:33to 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
00:22:40to the right
00:22:40but I went
00:22:41to the left side
00:22:41of the landing ground.
00:22:43I stepped right
00:22:43into a shell crater
00:22:44and the weight
00:22:44of my equipment
00:22:45pulled me
00:22:45under 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.
00:22:52I cut all my equipment
00:22:53off in the water.
00:22:58There'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 you
00:23:03this is what
00:23:05nightmares are made of.
00:23:10The death toll
00:23:11is skyrocketing
00:23:12before the troops
00:23:12have even left the water
00:23:13and they still have
00:23:15300 yards of open sand
00:23:16and the German gunfire
00:23:17to cross.
00:23:22there's dead bodies
00:23:25all over the place
00:23:26you can smell
00:23:28burning flesh
00:23:29I made my way
00:23:34in
00:23:35whoever was alive
00:23:36around me
00:23:37D-Day has barely begun
00:23:43and almost everything
00:23:44is going wrong.
00:23:46The paratroopers
00:23:46assembling 8 miles inland
00:23:48are in disarray.
00:23:49The Americans
00:23:50at 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
00:24:00of bombs
00:24:01on Omaha Beach.
00:24:03Bomb gun.
00:24:04Harold.
00:24:0519 years old.
00:24:07As we were coming in
00:24:09the sky was filled
00:24:10with planes
00:24:10it was going to
00:24:12eradicate the Germans.
00:24:14They'd have to hide
00:24:15in tunnels
00:24:15they had underground tunnels
00:24:17they'd have to run
00:24:19they said
00:24:20oh it's going to be
00:24:21an easy thing
00:24:22we're going to go
00:24:23right through
00:24:23the bombing was to
00:24:26occur right before
00:24:27the landings
00:24:27but the cloud cover
00:24:29was so bad
00:24:30they feared hitting
00:24:31the incoming troops.
00:24:31And so they told
00:24:41the bombers
00:24:41to hold off
00:24:42for 2 or 3 seconds.
00:24:44Private Mac Evans
00:24:45from Clarksburg
00:24:46West Virginia
00:24:46They said
00:24:50if the bombers
00:24:51dropped bombs
00:24:52on the beach
00:24:53the tanks
00:24:55coming in
00:24:55would get hung up
00:24:56in the holes.
00:24:57You're traveling
00:25:03350, 400 miles
00:25:05an hour
00:25:05in those planes
00:25:06and they hold it
00:25:08for a couple seconds
00:25:09you're talking
00:25:12a half a mile.
00:25:27All they did
00:25:28was kill
00:25:29a few French cows.
00:25:35Carl Wegener
00:25:36German 352nd
00:25:38Infantry Division
00:25:39I saw all of those
00:25:40men in the
00:25:40olive brown uniforms
00:25:41they looked so
00:25:42unprotected
00:25:43splashing through
00:25:44the water
00:25:44towards the sand
00:25:45the machine gun
00:25:46roared
00:25:47I saw some go down
00:25:48I knew I hit them
00:25:49I was frozen
00:25:50I closed my eyes
00:25:53I just couldn't
00:25:54watch what was happening
00:25:55the lieutenant
00:25:56took the butt
00:25:57of his pistol
00:25:57and crashed it
00:25:58down on the top
00:25:59of my helmet
00:25:59the metallic
00:26:00clank brought me
00:26:01to life
00:26:01and I pulled
00:26:02the trigger
00:26:02uptight
00:26:03war
00:26:04now was not
00:26:05the time
00:26:05to think of
00:26:06right or wrong
00:26:07only of survival
00:26:08machine gun spray
00:26:12crossed in front
00:26:12of us
00:26:13from right to left
00:26:14felt my rifle
00:26:15vibrate in my hands
00:26:16it had a clean
00:26:17hole through
00:26:17its receiver
00:26:18so I threw
00:26:20the two pieces
00:26:21away
00:26:21in the two inches
00:26:23of water
00:26:23and crawling up
00:26:25to me
00:26:26with his last breath
00:26:28was a fellow
00:26:29named Nicholas
00:26:30Kafkalis
00:26:31he was handing me
00:26:33back the two pieces
00:26:34of rifle
00:26:34he saw me shoot
00:26:36at the bluff
00:26:36he wanted me
00:26:37to continue
00:26:38shooting
00:26:39as if he thought
00:26:40I was quitting
00:26:40fighting
00:26:41which I wasn't
00:26:42he later died
00:26:44it looked like
00:26:45the beach was littered
00:26:46with the refuse
00:26:47of a wrecked ship
00:26:48dead bodies
00:26:49floating in the water
00:26:51and the beach
00:26:53was covered
00:26:53with dead bodies
00:26:54it was a horrible sight
00:26:56the carnage
00:26:59dead men
00:27:01wounded men
00:27:04body parts
00:27:05floating around
00:27:06in the water
00:27:06the water
00:27:08was red
00:27:09with the blood
00:27:09of the wounded
00:27:10and the dying
00:27:11it's hard
00:27:14to discuss
00:27:14and talk
00:27:15about it
00:27:16laying in the sand
00:27:21I saw our boats
00:27:21walkie talkie
00:27:22radio man
00:27:23and my best buddy
00:27:24PFC Robert Garbert
00:27:25lying face down
00:27:27with his back
00:27:27to the enemy
00:27:28probably spun around
00:27:30by the force
00:27:31of a bullet
00:27:31he was dead
00:27:33the failures
00:27:36keep piling up
00:27:37at Omaha Beach
00:27:38the soldiers
00:27:41of force O
00:27:41who have made it
00:27:42out of the water
00:27:43now face
00:27:43300 yards
00:27:44of open sand
00:27:45defended by
00:27:46nearly untouched
00:27:47German defenses
00:27:48as the minutes
00:27:51drag on
00:27:51allied commanders
00:27:53are desperate
00:27:54for information
00:27:54the general
00:27:56in charge
00:27:57Omar Bradley
00:27:57stops getting
00:27:58reports
00:27:59and Bradley
00:28:00cannot see
00:28:01literally
00:28:02cannot see
00:28:03where they're
00:28:04attacking
00:28:05Bradley's not
00:28:06getting the
00:28:07information back
00:28:08from the
00:28:09battlefront
00:28:09that he wants
00:28:10and that he needs
00:28:10we could piece
00:28:13together only
00:28:14an incoherent
00:28:15account
00:28:15of sinkings
00:28:16swampings
00:28:17heavy enemy
00:28:18fire
00:28:18and chaos
00:28:19on the beaches
00:28:20Omar Bradley
00:28:22commanding general
00:28:22United States
00:28:23First Army
00:28:24I gained the
00:28:26impression
00:28:27that our forces
00:28:28had suffered
00:28:28an irreversible
00:28:29catastrophe
00:28:30once the
00:28:33radios are
00:28:33in combat
00:28:34you have
00:28:35radios
00:28:36getting wet
00:28:36you have
00:28:37radios being
00:28:37dropped
00:28:38you have
00:28:38radios being
00:28:39shot
00:28:39Bradley
00:28:40stops getting
00:28:41reports
00:28:42that as far
00:28:44as he's
00:28:44concerned
00:28:44is a far
00:28:45worse sign
00:28:46than even
00:28:46the most
00:28:46pessimistic
00:28:47reports
00:28:48that he was
00:28:49getting earlier
00:28:50Bradley
00:28:52has even
00:28:52more reason
00:28:53to worry
00:28:54the troops
00:28:55at Omaha
00:28:56as well
00:28:56as the
00:28:57paratroopers
00:28:57fighting inland
00:28:58could still
00:28:59be cut off
00:28:59if the
00:29:00invasion fleet
00:29:01is crippled
00:29:01by German
00:29:02coastal defenses
00:29:03and one
00:29:04installation in
00:29:04particular
00:29:05threatens to
00:29:05do exactly
00:29:06that
00:29:06the guns
00:29:08at Pointe du
00:29:09Haque
00:29:09Pointe du Haque
00:29:13is something
00:29:14of a freak
00:29:14of nature
00:29:15it's this
00:29:16cliffside
00:29:16about the
00:29:17equivalent
00:29:18of six stories
00:29:18high
00:29:19if you have
00:29:20heavy guns
00:29:20atop Pointe du Haque
00:29:21you can lob
00:29:23heavy shells
00:29:24in either direction
00:29:25and cause
00:29:26real havoc
00:29:27among the
00:29:27American landings
00:29:28French intelligence
00:29:30agents
00:29:31had reported
00:29:32it consisted
00:29:33of six
00:29:33155mm guns
00:29:36with a range
00:29:36of 25,000 yards
00:29:38about 12
00:29:39nautical miles
00:29:40we had assigned
00:29:42two ranger
00:29:43battalions
00:29:43to land
00:29:44scale the
00:29:45high cliffs
00:29:45and destroy
00:29:46the guns
00:29:46properly manned
00:29:48those six
00:29:49monstrous guns
00:29:50by themselves
00:29:51could fatally
00:29:52wreck our
00:29:52invasion forces
00:29:53the mission
00:29:57was to get
00:29:58those guns
00:29:591st sergeant
00:30:00Leonard Lamelle
00:30:0124 years old
00:30:02from New Jersey
00:30:03I had some
00:30:04athletic background
00:30:05they sent me
00:30:06to ranger school
00:30:06there were going
00:30:09to be three
00:30:09boat teams
00:30:10for D company
00:30:10one went down
00:30:12with a third
00:30:12of our company
00:30:13it was swamped
00:30:15by the high
00:30:15and rough seas
00:30:16four men
00:30:18drowned
00:30:18running behind
00:30:24schedule
00:30:24we said
00:30:25hell with it
00:30:26let's jam right
00:30:27in between
00:30:27E and F
00:30:27company
00:30:28the ramp
00:30:29goes down
00:30:30I'm the first
00:30:31guy shot
00:30:32I don't know
00:30:33if it was a
00:30:34machine gun
00:30:34bullet
00:30:34or a rifle
00:30:35bullet
00:30:35I just came
00:30:36out of that
00:30:36water
00:30:37already wounded
00:30:37and we rushed
00:30:38to the bottom
00:30:39of that cliff
00:30:39and up the cliff
00:30:40we went
00:30:41as fast as
00:30:42we could go
00:30:42it was rough
00:30:49we got through
00:30:52it
00:30:52never stopped
00:30:53kept firing
00:30:55charging hard and low
00:30:57over to the gun
00:30:58positions we were
00:30:59assigned to
00:30:59but there were
00:31:05no guns
00:31:06the guns
00:31:10at Pointe du Hague
00:31:11have been moved
00:31:12now we had
00:31:15to go looking
00:31:16and god
00:31:16we were surrounded
00:31:17by german troops
00:31:18we were alone
00:31:19as we could be
00:31:20looking for the guns
00:31:21if the rangers
00:31:25are unable
00:31:25to find
00:31:26and neutralize
00:31:26the deadly guns
00:31:27before the germans
00:31:28start firing them
00:31:29the invasion
00:31:30could be crippled
00:31:31and the paratroopers
00:31:35eight miles inland
00:31:36will be cut off
00:31:37without support
00:31:38most paratroopers
00:31:42are jumping
00:31:43with ammunition
00:31:43that would sustain
00:31:44them basically
00:31:45through one firefight
00:31:46so they needed
00:31:48very very quickly
00:31:49to be reinforced
00:31:50by the amphibious force
00:31:52coming over
00:31:53the beach
00:31:53we knew
00:31:55we were going
00:31:55into combat
00:31:56but they didn't
00:31:57let any of us know
00:31:58that they thought
00:31:59it was so risky
00:31:59that it could be
00:32:00a massacre
00:32:01you got buddies
00:32:04all around you
00:32:05that are dying
00:32:05some of them
00:32:06in horrible deaths
00:32:07I had people
00:32:08that kill right
00:32:11beside me
00:32:12I don't particularly
00:32:14like killing people
00:32:15but sometimes
00:32:17it's either
00:32:17you or him
00:32:19I don't know
00:32:28the dead
00:32:29the 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
00:32:36oh yes
00:32:38oh yes
00:32:38screams and cries
00:32:40screams and cries
00:32:41for medics
00:32:42all we could see
00:32:45was burning vehicles
00:32:46dead bodies
00:32:47if you
00:32:50not too many of us
00:32:51stuck our head up
00:32:52to look
00:32:52men with their guts
00:33:00hanging out
00:33:00yelling for their mothers
00:33:02to my right
00:33:03Private Robert
00:33:04Private Robert
00:33:04Dickmar
00:33:05Fairfield Connecticut
00:33:06had been hit in the chest
00:33:08and he was lying on his back
00:33:10staring skyward
00:33:11and he was yelling
00:33:13mother
00:33:13I'm hit
00:33:14and that's it
00:33:16silence
00:33:16machine gun fire
00:33:23and small house fire mortars
00:33:25this did not stop
00:33:27I looked over to my left
00:33:33and Sergeant Clarence Robeson
00:33:34from my boat
00:33:35was staggering by me
00:33:36no helmet
00:33:37his blonde hair
00:33:39was streaked with blood
00:33:40I was yelling
00:33:47get down
00:33:47and he knelt down
00:33:49and started praying
00:33:50with his rosary beads
00:33:52and the machine gun
00:33:54fired over my head
00:33:55and cut him in half
00:33:58but I mean really
00:33:59cut him in half
00:34:00that used to be my dreams
00:34:05that used to wake me up
00:34:06I was yelling
00:34:07get down
00:34:08as the Allied assault
00:34:13on Omaha Beach
00:34:14faces catastrophic losses
00:34:16another crucial piece
00:34:18of the invasion plan
00:34:19is also in jeopardy
00:34:208 miles inland
00:34:23Allied paratroopers
00:34:24have spent the previous
00:34:258 hours scattered
00:34:27isolated
00:34:28and miles from their objectives
00:34:30it was
00:34:34quite a bit different
00:34:36than I expected
00:34:36with the water
00:34:38Johnny Moore
00:34:4025 years old
00:34:41from Johnson County, Missouri
00:34:42we thought that we were
00:34:44going to 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
00:34:51across that
00:34:52any of that
00:34:54inundated area
00:34:55and made it
00:34:55they would have just
00:34:56sunk down
00:34:58into the muck
00:34:59so the only place
00:35:01tanks could operate
00:35:02was two crossings
00:35:03we were supposed to seize
00:35:05the crossing
00:35:06at Lafayre
00:35:06and take up a position
00:35:08to stop Germans
00:35:08coming across
00:35:09that 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
00:35:19if 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
00:35:48which was the
00:35:49Cherbourg-de-Paris
00:35:50railway embankment
00:35:51and it was clear
00:35:53and silhouetted
00:35:54against the night sky
00:35:55so I headed for that
00:35:56when I reached the railroad
00:35:58I was able to find
00:35:59my company commander
00:36:00out there on the
00:36:00on the railroad
00:36:01he had collected
00:36:03about 75 or 80 people
00:36:05together from G Company
00:36:06which was my company
00:36:07we decided to make our exit
00:36:09and head westward
00:36:10toward where we were
00:36:11supposed to be
00:36:11taking up a defense position
00:36:12so my captain
00:36:14designated me as patrol leader
00:36:16to go around there
00:36:16and lead the way
00:36:17so one of the things
00:36:21that I learned
00:36:21is if you're going to get in
00:36:23and take a lead
00:36:24be sure you want to lead
00:36:26and I decided
00:36:28that I was going to do
00:36:29the best I could
00:36:30I couldn't make out
00:36:31whether I was going to be
00:36:32a good leader or not
00:36:33but you really do have to
00:36:35be able to say
00:36:37I will do it
00:36:39by the time Mars
00:36:44strikes out on patrol
00:36:45men have been dying
00:36:47on the beaches
00:36:47for more than an hour
00:36:48and we were going down
00:36:51this hedgerow
00:36:52and we came to
00:36:52inside of Cattlegate
00:36:54and as we got
00:36:57about 30 feet from there
00:36:58a machine gun
00:36:59opened up on us
00:37:00hit two of our people
00:37:02and the flesh wounds
00:37:04we all hit the ground
00:37:05and all popped a grenade
00:37:07and threw it
00:37:08over to the emplacement
00:37:09and 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
00:37:22that was a close one
00:37:26those were the first Germans
00:37:28I met
00:37:28it was a complete surprise
00:37:30we're lucky
00:37:31we weren't all wiped out
00:37:33the Germans knew
00:37:36that we were going to
00:37:37want to pass over
00:37:38this bridge at some point
00:37:39and it is for that reason
00:37:41that the Germans
00:37:41took the precaution
00:37:42of putting 28 men there
00:37:43and 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
00:37:54the 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
00:38:02the paratroopers
00:38:05are running out of time
00:38:06and then General Ridgway
00:38:10showed up
00:38:10and said
00:38:11I want that bridge
00:38:12and I want it now
00:38:13I was on point again
00:38:16I put my two scouts out
00:38:18John Ward
00:38:19and the other was
00:38:20Jim Mattingly
00:38:21I had gotten to the bridge
00:38:23behind Mattingly
00:38:24when a German
00:38:25rose up on the north side
00:38:27of the bridge
00:38:27and I shouted at Mattingly
00:38:30at the same time
00:38:31Mattingly whirled
00:38:32and emptied a clip
00:38:33dropped his rifle
00:38:35and reached for a grenade
00:38:37and tossed it over
00:38:38into that replacement
00:38:39and three or four
00:38:43of the Germans
00:38:44rose up right away
00:38:45and threw their hands up
00:38:47and as Mattingly
00:38:49was 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
00:38:53he had captured nine Germans
00:38:57two machine guns
00:38:58in the space
00:38:58in about say
00:38:5915 to 20 seconds
00:39:00that was the most amazing
00:39:04piece of soldiering
00:39:07I've ever seen
00:39:08the bridge at Lafayre
00:39:13has been captured
00:39:14just to the south
00:39:16paratroopers also capture
00:39:17the second bridge
00:39:18at Chef Dupont
00:39:19the Allies now control
00:39:21two key bridges
00:39:22over the river
00:39:23I felt good
00:39:24well we felt like
00:39:26that we had
00:39:28accomplished
00:39:29the regimental mission
00:39:31it was just a small group
00:39:34of people
00:39:34and we were highly elated
00:39:37by that
00:39:38step one of the invasion
00:39:42plan is now complete
00:39:43the paratroopers
00:39:44have landed
00:39:45behind enemy lines
00:39:46and set up
00:39:47their defensive shield
00:39:48now
00:39:51the lightly armed
00:39:52paratroopers
00:39:52move into the second
00:39:53phase of their mission
00:39:54hold the line
00:39:56it was early afternoon
00:39:59when I heard
00:39:59an unmistakable
00:40:00and spine-tingling
00:40:01rumble
00:40:02coming towards us
00:40:03when I heard
00:40:08the tank
00:40:09let's face it
00:40:10as a soldier
00:40:10you don't have
00:40:11any protection
00:40:12or armor
00:40:14that'd scare
00:40:15the bejeebies out of you
00:40:16my machine gun
00:40:18would just be like
00:40:19a firecracker
00:40:19and it was either
00:40:22surrender
00:40:23or be blown to hell
00:40:33D-Day is on the verge
00:40:37of catastrophe
00:40:37troops at Omaha Beach
00:40:40are taking heavy losses
00:40:42failure there
00:40:43could cripple
00:40:44the entire allied invasion
00:40:468 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 the reinforcements
00:40:56from the beach
00:40:56are nowhere in sight
00:40:58the paratroopers
00:40:59must stand their ground
00:41:01alone
00:41:01we had accomplished
00:41:04the regimental mission
00:41:05just a small group
00:41:06of people
00:41:07felt good
00:41:08but 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
00:41:20and then rose
00:41:24the staccato chorus
00:41:25of an unmistakable
00:41:26and spine-tingling
00:41:28rumble
00:41:28that's when we realized
00:41:30there were german tanks
00:41:31down the road
00:41:32my commander said
00:41:38we have to get out
00:41:39we 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
00:41:47the whole west end
00:41:50of the causeway
00:41:50the whole west end
00:41:51of the causeway
00:41:52was now
00:41:53in the hands
00:41:54of the germans
00:41:55it was bad news
00:41:57and it put a whole new dimension
00:41:59on the day
00:42:00a crucial piece
00:42:05of the d-day invasion
00:42:06is in danger
00:42:06of collapsing
00:42:07instead 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
00:42:15just eight miles away
00:42:17the invasion forces
00:42:19on omaha beach
00:42:19are also being outgunned
00:42:21by the germans
00:42:22carl wegner
00:42:24from hanover
00:42:25germany
00:42:25i fired
00:42:27as i had been trained
00:42:28to do
00:42:28short bursts
00:42:29six to eight inches
00:42:30above the ground
00:42:31my young assistant
00:42:32willie
00:42:33kept the ammunition clean
00:42:34when 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
00:42:41one 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
00:42:49what i saw
00:42:50convinced me
00:42:51that for the moment
00:42:52it was worse there
00:42:54than where we were
00:42:55in fact
00:42:57the german officer
00:42:58sends out a communique
00:42:58saying
00:42:59basically we've
00:43:01beat back the americans
00:43:02there are ten tanks
00:43:03on fire on the beach
00:43:04the 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
00:43:11we've basically
00:43:12got this in the back
00:43:13it was a killing field
00:43:16i was wounded
00:43:17an artillery shell
00:43:20an 88mm shell
00:43:22landed in front of me
00:43:24and a fragment
00:43:25ripped off my left cheek
00:43:27get 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
00:43:43the only significant cover
00:43:46is still hundreds of yards
00:43:47away across the open sand
00:43:49there are no safe places
00:43:51on omaha beach
00:43:52there are relatively safe 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
00:44:02that runs along the beach
00:44:03running parallel to the beach
00:44:05it was 300 yards away
00:44:09having cut off all 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 kicking up
00:44:15around my face
00:44:16face and body
00:44:17from the bullets
00:44:19and uh
00:44:20i waited until the
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
00:44:27started running again
00:44:28i fell a couple of times
00:44:30maybe that's what's safe
00:44:32i'm still 140 yards
00:44:35from the seawall
00:44:35the tide was very bad
00:44:38it was coming in
00:44:39an inch a minute
00:44:40on d-day
00:44:41covered the beach
00:44:43the 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
00:44:55continue forward
00:44:57in the dead man's float
00:44:58with each wave
00:44:59on the incoming tide
00:45:00i thought to myself
00:45:03when will i die
00:45:13the whole of d-day
00:45:15was for me
00:45:16a time of grave
00:45:17personal anxiety
00:45:18and frustration
00:45:19omar bradley
00:45:21commanding general
00:45:21united states first army
00:45:23i was stuck on the augusta
00:45:25our communications
00:45:27with the forces
00:45:28assaulting omaha beach
00:45:29were thin to non-existent
00:45:31bradley is so desperate
00:45:34for information
00:45:35that he sends
00:45:37his most trusted aide
00:45:39in the pt boat
00:45:40over to
00:45:41omaha 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
00:45:50bradley
00:45:50hansen is able
00:45:55to see that
00:45:55american troops
00:45:56are stopped
00:45:57at the seawall
00:45:57and that
00:45:59to bradley
00:46:00is a crisis
00:46:01bradley realizes
00:46:02that if they can't
00:46:03get beyond that seawall
00:46:04that they're going
00:46:05to be stuck
00:46:06and the entire
00:46:07invasion
00:46:08at
00:46:09omaha beach
00:46:10is going to fail
00:46:11i gained the impression
00:46:15that there was little hope
00:46:17we could force the beach
00:46:18privately
00:46:20i considered evacuating
00:46:22the beachhead
00:46:23it was really bad
00:46:27i didn't know what to do
00:46:30we were all laying there
00:46:32at the edge of the seawall
00:46:34i saw a fellow medic
00:46:38that i knew
00:46:39he was laying on the embankment
00:46:42and his stomach was torn open
00:46:45he had been hit by a piece of shrapnel
00:46:47i did not have the equipment
00:46:50to stop any internal bleeding
00:46:52so i banished his wounds
00:46:56as best i could
00:46:57i gave him a shot of morphine
00:47:00and i said goodbye to him
00:47:07forever
00:47:07because i knew i would not see him again
00:47:10it's been almost two hours since d-day began for the troops invading omaha beach
00:47:30yet they've captured
00:47:31barely 100 yards of sand
00:47:33we had 85% casualties
00:47:36in the first 15 minutes
00:47:38two of us survived my boat
00:47:41two of us survived my boat team
00:47:42of 30
00:47:43i had to get moved in the ground
00:47:45i had to reach a 15-foot sea wall
00:47:49which appeared to be 200 yards in front of me
00:47:52finally i came to dry sand once more
00:47:55and i started to cross
00:47:56crawling very fast
00:47:58the germans in the pillbox on the right flank
00:48:01were shooting up the sand all about me
00:48:03i reached the stone wall without further injury
00:48:05when i got to the sea wall
00:48:08i met one of my company
00:48:09i met one of my company a fellas
00:48:12a fella named dominic soro
00:48:14company a
00:48:15who
00:48:16was a fella from georgia
00:48:18nice
00:48:18thick southern accent
00:48:20he said you stay here i'm gonna get
00:48:22help for us
00:48:23i couldn't stay there
00:48:25because i was in the range of one of the pillbox
00:48:27so i followed him down the wall
00:48:29all of a sudden i heard a clunk
00:48:35a sniper picked him off
00:48:38so he was dead
00:48:41why not me i was right behind
00:48:43it wasn't meant to be
00:48:46i made it to a section of the beach called the shingle
00:48:54don't know why they called it that
00:48:56private mac evans from clarksburg west virginia
00:48:59but anyhow it was stones that high tide kept piling up
00:49:02when you get behind those piled up stones you were safe from machine guns and sniper fire
00:49:07if you kept down
00:49:08i didn't realize none of my regiment were following me
00:49:14after i jumped over the left side of the landing craft i just kept going in that direction
00:49:18well that was the first division section so i got mixed up with the first division troops
00:49:23one of the guys next to me said
00:49:26you're all bloody
00:49:28i thought what a hell of a time for a bee to be out here with all this stuff flying around you know
00:49:37until one of the guys said
00:49:39you didn't get stung
00:49:41you've been hit
00:49:42now as i was running down the wall
00:49:47there were hands reaching up for me
00:49:49and i tried to pull these guys out of the water
00:49:52but it was pretty tough
00:49:54but they were
00:49:55they were probably wounded
00:49:57trying to get up
00:49:58i thought i was safe
00:50:03taking cover on the wall
00:50:04carl wegner
00:50:08german 352nd infantry division
00:50:11some of the americans had reached the sea hall
00:50:14here they thought that they had reached protection from our fire
00:50:17but this was short-lived
00:50:19our mortars had waited for this moment
00:50:23and now lay down a terrible shelling on them
00:50:25the germans knew what 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 the process of flanking around the german strong points
00:50:33and so things are really beginning to fall apart
00:50:35the infantry troops don't have the firepower to go up against concrete bunkers
00:50:40they need help
00:50:42but none is coming
00:50:43a mortar shell went off
00:50:47and three fragments went through my left side of my helmet
00:50:51and i came out with three fingers full of blood
00:50:55that was my second limb that morning
00:50:58i guess the helmet saved my life
00:51:00the germans could hit anything on the beach
00:51:05all i could do was sit there
00:51:07well i was a farm boy from west virginia
00:51:12i didn't know anything from anything
00:51:14you know
00:51:15all i could do was follow orders
00:51:18when we landed
00:51:21it was a big problem to 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 non-commissioned officers were killed or wounded
00:51:36and uh
00:51:43by sunset the allies are supposed to be in control of the area
00:51:47and well on their way inland to capture the strategic city of saint lowe
00:51:52instead failure after failure
00:51:56from the dd tanks to the lack of air force bombing mean that force o is pinned down with no way forward
00:52:05it seems almost to bradley like everything is going wrong on omaha and bradley realizes that if they've only got to the sea wall
00:52:19his entire invasion plan is in big big trouble
00:52:23so there's a moment where bradley is not sure
00:52:27do we have to give up here
00:52:29because his whole
00:52:31the whole invasion plan is hanging in a balance
00:52:33all hopes are now pinned on the last source of firepower that is yet to be unleashed
00:52:41the u.s. navy
00:52:44but the destroyers have been ordered to keep clear of the shallow waters by the beach
00:52:49which means they can't see many of the german targets
00:52:52instead they must rely on special radio teams sent ashore to direct their fire
00:52:58the problem is the forward observers or the guys with the radios they're dead they're wounded
00:53:08so the destroyers are really stuck in this position where they're not really sure what they can do
00:53:12the result is one hell of a lot of firepower that's just waiting to get used
00:53:19and sometime just before 10 o'clock in the morning
00:53:24one of the vice admirals in charge of the destroyer fleet
00:53:28he realizes the situation ahead is just not not good
00:53:31that's when he says we must get in there
00:53:33we'll send the boats in just damn it let's get in there
00:53:36let's get to the beach and let's give some support
00:53:37abandoning the plan the navy destroyers charge in towards the beach nearly scraping the sand
00:53:44but finally they have the germans in their sights
00:53:48here i must give unstinting praise to the u.s. navy
00:53:57omar bradley commanding general united states first army
00:54:01the main batteries of these gallant ships became our sole artillery
00:54:07thank god for the u.s. navy
00:54:10the standstill at omaha is finally breaking
00:54:14but they're not off the beach yet
00:54:17ahead lie 150 foot bluffs barbed wire and worse
00:54:22going up the bluffs you needed to walk right behind the guy in front of you in his footsteps
00:54:27but some of the guys got nervous and jumped over the line
00:54:30it is four hours into d-day the massive invasion to take back europe from nazi control
00:54:45thanks to close-range gunfire from the u.s. navy
00:54:49the american troops at omaha beach are finally making significant progress
00:54:53shells smacked into our bunker and hit our fuselage
00:54:58carl wegner 19 years old from hanover
00:55:01a chunk of cement struck my lieutenant in the face and he hit the floor
00:55:05he straightened up immediately intensely looking out
00:55:09he said to us another large force of course approaching
00:55:13more americans coming
00:55:14the navy was lobbing big shells from the battleships in there
00:55:26private mac evans from clarksburg west virginia
00:55:31but what really broke things loose so i could get off the beach was lieutenant miller from the first division engineers
00:55:38he landed and came in and he said all you men without weapons get one you men that have raincoats
00:55:45spread the raincoats out get those weapons disassembled clean them
00:55:49we're going to get off this beach before we all die
00:55:52so i grabbed a weapon from uh one of the dead soldiers
00:55:58the troops must gain the high ground in order to get off the beach
00:56:02but doing so means confronting yet another deadly german trap
00:56:06the soldiers on the ground they have the same look
00:56:08we know that the cliffs the bluffs on the sides are mined
00:56:11but we have a better chance of climbing these bluffs and surrounding the germans
00:56:15than running straight through german fire
00:56:17the lieutenant's the first one through on the far side is a swamp leading up to this cliff
00:56:22he starts crawling through it right away
00:56:26and this is really impressed me because here i am a private
00:56:29i thought man here's the highest ranking officer that i knew
00:56:35crawled through mud
00:56:37through check for mines
00:56:39didn't make any of us grunge to it
00:56:41did it himself
00:56:45every man who could walk and fire a weapon charged up the hill towards the enemy
00:56:53we had three options stay on the beach and die
00:56:56fight wounded or surrender the beach to the germans
00:57:01surrender was not a word in the 29th division dictionary
00:57:05so most of us fought wounded
00:57:08finally we made it to where you started to climb the bluffs
00:57:11they used tape to mark the path as they was clearing the mines for people to walk on
00:57:17when they would put that tape down
00:57:19you didn't step outside that tape
00:57:21because it wasn't clear
00:57:31the german defenses are not simply fading away
00:57:34trying to get the machine gun above us the sergeant fired his bazooka
00:57:39man who shot the arm almost immediately
00:57:41a robber man was shot down there
00:57:42sergeant picked up a machine gun and moved into position to fire
00:57:45he was hit in both legs
00:57:46once we got up to the top of the bluffs to the trench system up there
00:57:53there was a machine gun over on the right with a long-range trajectory
00:57:57and the lieutenant sent some people across there to knock that out
00:58:00we were ordered to attack the bunkers from the rear
00:58:05which we did
00:58:08these two germans that crossed that road that we were laying in a ditch there
00:58:13i shot two of them
00:58:18in my whole army experience in combat
00:58:21the lieutenant was looking at the situation along the beach
00:58:33despite rifle fire that peppered the edge of the fuselage
00:58:36then he saw something
00:58:37he moved back to the bunker entrance with his pistol drawn
00:58:41we feared that the americans had gained our rear
00:58:43and were going to finish us off
00:58:45but it was only one of our men
00:58:47he was bruised and bloody about the face
00:58:49he said that in his strong point the men, Isaacians and Paws, refused to fight
00:58:54and had shot and killed the commander
00:58:56my lieutenant became very angry at this story
00:58:59he picked up several grenades
00:59:01we watched as he ran to the other bunker and threw the grenades in
00:59:04levelling the place
00:59:06the lieutenant ran back towards us
00:59:08fate was not with him this time
00:59:11fire from one of the landing craft cut him in two
00:59:16Willy finally spoke to me
00:59:18i guess
00:59:19you're in command now
00:59:21in command of what?
00:59:23i thought to myself
00:59:25the americans kept coming
00:59:27we kept up our fire
00:59:29but we felt quite alone
00:59:31i was wounded
00:59:36but most of them were wounded worse than i was
00:59:39i called them the walking wounded
00:59:41we went up the hill
00:59:42we had two strong points that we attacked
00:59:47one was a farmhouse for the germans
00:59:49and one made the mistake of putting his head above the wall
00:59:55and i killed him
00:59:57we moved on
01:00:00now guys were
01:00:02dropping out
01:00:03not from the germans
01:00:04but due to their bleeding
01:00:06they were too weak to continue
01:00:09we got up and we finally got to a machine gun nest
01:00:11with five germans in it
01:00:13and we attacked him
01:00:14we finally overcame him
01:00:15we reached the road stretching east and west
01:00:18the beach road
01:00:20we decided to cross to get to a hedgerow
01:00:22or kaj they called it
01:00:24as i was crawling
01:00:25i felt the sting in my left foot
01:00:29apparently i had tripped some kind of mine
01:00:33so i took off the shoe
01:00:35i turned it upside down and emptied the blood
01:00:39out like water from a vase
01:00:41and i could i took my sock off
01:00:45i could look right through the foot
01:00:47i put sulfur powder on
01:00:51put a beautiful band on
01:00:53put a beautiful bandage on
01:00:55and just then shells started to come in
01:00:57i ripped the bandage off
01:00:59put my shoe back on
01:01:01placed it up
01:01:03and that was wound number three
01:01:05i dove for protection behind whatever cover i could find
01:01:09there were seven of the walking wounded left
01:01:11i thought where are the rest of our guys
01:01:15the
01:01:17the
01:01:21as d-day stretches into the afternoon
01:01:25the first soldiers have finally made it off
01:01:27omaha beach
01:01:29but they are scattered
01:01:31and many are wounded
01:01:33a little pain
01:01:35bomb gotten
01:01:37harold i was 19 years old on d-day
01:01:39there were only seven of us left
01:01:41we went towards the beach road
01:01:43all of us wondered where the rest of our regiment was
01:01:45we had hoped to contact a larger group of 29ers and join them
01:01:49to rescue the rangers
01:01:51the rangers that went up point to hawk
01:01:53because they went up with
01:01:55very little ammunition
01:01:57very little food
01:01:59and they were being surrounded by germans
01:02:01it's been seven hours since rangers scaled the 100 foot cliffs at point to hawk
01:02:07a mission to destroy the enemy guns installed there before they start attacking the invasion forces
01:02:17it was absolutely crucial that that battery of 155 millimeter guns be eliminated and early as possible
01:02:27but when the rangers got to the top of the cliffs
01:02:31they found the guns were gone
01:02:35now the rangers at point to hawk find themselves cut off
01:02:39taking heavy casualties
01:02:41and still searching for the deadly guns
01:02:45i only had about a dozen men left
01:02:49so we sought what cover we could get
01:02:51first sergeant leonard lamel
01:02:53second ranger battalion
01:02:55my god we were surrounded by troops
01:02:59a combat patrol of about 40 to 50
01:03:01the germans walked in front of us not more than 20 feet away from us
01:03:03we were badly outnumbered where we were
01:03:07sergeant lamel
01:03:09he
01:03:11went out immediately on a patrol
01:03:13to see what was around him he saw some wagon tracks
01:03:15deep wagon tracks
01:03:17and he was curious about what
01:03:19deep wagon tracks would be
01:03:21on that particular dirt road
01:03:23we went down that road with another man as sergeant jack coon
01:03:27we had to go somewhere looking for the guns
01:03:29and so jack coon and i went down this sunken road not knowing where the hell it was going
01:03:35and there were the guns
01:03:39all sitting in proper firing condition
01:03:41pointed at utah beach
01:03:43the ammunition piled up neatly everything at the ready
01:03:47and we just stumbled on them
01:03:49there was nothing brave or calculating or by design
01:03:51we looked around cautiously and we saw germans about a hundred yards away
01:03:55but there was nobody manning the guns
01:03:57and we decided let's take a chance
01:03:59we put the thermite grenades as many as we could
01:04:03in traversing mechanisms and elevation mechanisms and bang the sights
01:04:07we got up and ran like rabbits as fast as we could
01:04:11we were out of there
01:04:13i don't think they dreamed there was an american soldier anywhere near those guys
01:04:17we ran back to our men
01:04:21our orders was to hold out until we leave
01:04:23our next objective was to set up a roadblock and keep the germans from going to omaha beach
01:04:27which we did
01:04:29it was rough
01:04:31by that time there was not a soul with us from another ranger unit
01:04:35we were as alone as we could be
01:04:37point de hock is not the only place in need of reinforcements
01:04:43eight miles inland
01:04:45the paratroopers at lafayre bridge are growing desperate
01:04:47the planned link up with the beach forces is nowhere in sight
01:04:51the invasion plan is going off the rails
01:04:55imagine the lonely feeling of being one of the american paratroopers at lafayre
01:04:59and for all you know the invasion might have failed
01:05:03those amphibious forces might have been defeated at the beach
01:05:06and there you are eight miles deep in enemy territory
01:05:10with a lot of very very angry
01:05:12well armed and well equipped germans
01:05:14coming to meet you
01:05:18the whole west end of the causeway was now in the hands of the germans
01:05:22artillery rounds started falling on the road junction thing
01:05:28and then you can hear the engines and you can hear the loud clicks of the tape track
01:05:34and they were trading rounds
01:05:38artillery tank and so on
01:05:40the forces that assembled on the east side
01:05:42there was bad news
01:05:46these germans were in there
01:05:48and we weren't enough of a group to fight against a force like that
01:05:52all that afternoon the germans kept shelling our position
01:05:58and then the germans started to attack
01:06:00two tanks with infantrymen on each side
01:06:02and in the rear following them was a third tank with more infantry following it
01:06:06the bazookas 57mm and everything else we had were firing at the germans
01:06:10and they in turn were shooting at us with cannons, mortars, machine guns and rifle fire
01:06:14we kept firing at the first tank until it was put out of action
01:06:18and then the Germans started to attack
01:06:21and then the Germans started to attack
01:06:23and then the Germans started to attack
01:06:25two tanks with infantrymen on each side
01:06:27and in the rear following them was a third tank with more infantry following it
01:06:30the bazookas 57mm and everything else we had were firing at the germans
01:06:34and they in turn were shooting at us with cannons, mortars, machine guns and rifle fire
01:06:39we kept firing at the first tank until it was put out of action
01:06:43and on fire
01:06:47the second tank came and pushed the first tank out of the way
01:06:50we moved forward toward the second tank
01:06:52and we hit it in the turret where it is connected to the body
01:06:55also in the track
01:06:56and with another hit it also went up in flames
01:06:58we were almost out of rockets
01:07:00and the third tank was still moving
01:07:03I ran across the road and 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 it was hard to believe I made it in one piece
01:07:12after that third one was put out of action the Germans pulled back
01:07:19the Germans couldn't get through because of the paratroopers
01:07:24not one German crossed that bridge
01:07:26one German crossed that bridge
01:07:28so they held it
01:07:30and it was costly
01:07:32very costly
01:07:33very 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
01:07:47we knew we had to hold that bridge at all cost until the men from the beach arrived
01:07:51if the Germans broke through they would have a good chance of going all the way to the beach
01:07:55we 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 the wrong for long
01:08:10we talked about how badly off we were
01:08:12how badly off we were
01:08:14how badly off we were
01:08:15backed up against the water
01:08:17with a perimeter defense
01:08:20we wondered why the Germans hadn't come in and taken us out
01:08:2411 hours into D-Day
01:08:36the airborne troops eight miles inland at Lafayre Bridge
01:08:39have survived the first onslaught of German tanks
01:08:43but 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
01:08:52they'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
01:08:56they could go across the bridge and take it over
01:08:59that's one thing that I was fearful about
01:09:03but we had not seen what was to come
01:09:09only a few of us had survived
01:09:12Marcus Heim Jr. 20 years old from Buffalo, New York
01:09:17some of us thought maybe we should move from here
01:09:20then someone came and told us to hold our position
01:09:23and 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
01:09:33they need reinforcements
01:09:35but everyone who can help is too far away
01:09:38or gone missing
01:09:41there's one part of the 507th Parachute Infantry Regiment
01:09:43that's just missing on D-Day
01:09:45more than 150 men
01:09:47they're just unaccounted for
01:09:49no one knows where they are
01:09:52we could see a church steeple with a cross on it
01:09:55so we thought well that has to be high ground
01:09:58so we made our way towards it
01:10:00John Hinchcliffe, Park Rapids, Minnesota
01:10:03it was a shambles
01:10:05nothing worked out the way it was planned
01:10:07nothing
01:10:08good old job
01:10:1018 miles from our drop zone even
01:10:12they are so far off course
01:10:14that their maps don't even cover the area where they've landed
01:10:17we landed outside the village of Grenier
01:10:21about a hundred and seventy men
01:10:26so we ended up with five thirty caliber machine guns
01:10:29and two eighty one millimeter mortars
01:10:31which was lucky
01:10:33there was a little argument amongst the officers
01:10:34whether we should try to find our way back to our objective
01:10:38like I say we're 18 miles from it
01:10:41the two of them were arguing about whether we should stay there
01:10:44and so they decided to set up a perimeter of defense
01:10:48around the village
01:10:50and then wait and see what's happening in the battle around them
01:10:59but what they don't know is that the enemy that is on a collision course with them
01:11:02is the 17th Waffen-SS Panzerbrunet Deer Division
01:11:07they're facing an SS unit that's very well trained
01:11:11very disciplined and very dangerous unit
01:11:16we were 15 miles from Omaha Beach
01:11:19and so we thought well maybe
01:11:21maybe the troops coming in on Omaha Beach would reach us
01:11:24they never did
01:11:28the troops at Omaha Beach are still bogged down
01:11:30they've managed to move up the bluffs
01:11:33but the German defenders are not giving ground
01:11:35we kept up our fire at the Americans on the beach
01:11:40but the mood was very grim after the death of the lieutenant
01:11:42Carl Wegener, 19 years old
01:11:46I was now the highest ranking soldier there
01:11:49now two lies were dependent on my actions
01:11:52young willie and the wounded grenadier
01:11:54I told them we would stay here and fight until it wasn't safe anymore
01:11:58this would give me time to think of something
01:12:00or perhaps someone would reach us and relieve me of communication
01:12:03the Americans were gaining ground
01:12:06the Americans were gaining ground
01:12:08I 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
01:12:14I was in the third wave
01:12:26Van Ruisen, Donald, 22 years old on D-Day
01:12:31there were so many things that I had never seen before
01:12:36and I stood up to look at how many ships I could see out there
01:12:39I realized this was one of the greatest events in my lifetime
01:12:42and I was going to see as much of it as I could
01:12:47we waded through the waste deep water and stepped onto the sand
01:12:50someone ordered us to lie down
01:12:52I was still very curious
01:12:54I wanted to see all the action on the beach
01:12:56there was firing going on all over the place
01:13:00and I stood up to look
01:13:02I want to see this
01:13:04and some of the senior non-coms took great
01:13:08exception to that
01:13:09and told me to get down
01:13:11I think they could quite cheerfully have shot me right then and there
01:13:18The 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
01:13:42they 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
01:13:51and then we got on the boat
01:13:53and then went over
01:13:55they needed many replacements
01:13:58like me for the men killed on Omaha Beach
01:14:00the allies need to bring more men in fast
01:14:03before the Germans beat them to it
01:14:05there's one thing that develops for the allies' favor
01:14:08for at least the first 48 hours
01:14:10Adolf Hitler was completely convinced
01:14:12that Normandy was a diversion
01:14:14and for that reason
01:14:16he did not want to immediately release reaction forces
01:14:19that he had positioned throughout France
01:14:20but the German reinforcements won't hold off forever
01:14:23and the beachhead at Omaha is still vulnerable
01:14:28I had not eaten for way over 24 hours
01:14:31my hands were already blue from loss of blood
01:14:34guys were smoking
01:14:36I didn't smoke
01:14:38there were only 7 of us left from the walking wound
01:14:39walking wound
01:14:46they started shelling us again
01:14:51we decided to cross the road
01:14:54and go to this big ditch
01:14:56as we crossed the road
01:14:59there was a machine gun set up
01:15:01down the road to the west
01:15:04about 50 meters down
01:15:06and we were ambushed
01:15:09all of us were hit
01:15:11machine gun bullet went through
01:15:13and took my lip away on the side
01:15:15and took away my upper jaw on the right side
01:15:18when I got to the other side of the road
01:15:21I fell on top of a few other guys
01:15:25and they didn't mind it
01:15:27because they were already dead
01:15:28I finished up the belt of ammunition and waited for Willie to load another one into the guy
01:15:43Carl Wegener, 19 years old
01:15:45he simply said
01:15:47there wasn't any more to get
01:15:49I looked at him in disbelief
01:15:52then realized we were standing in a pile of empty ammunition cans, belts and spent shell casings
01:15:58all that was left of 15.000 rounds
01:16:02I looked out the fuselage
01:16:04the Americans were gaining ground
01:16:06and from the sound of the fighting
01:16:08some were up in the village behind us
01:16:10my eyes caught the lieutenant's dead body
01:16:13we had to get out of here
01:16:15I 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 Willie
01:16:29he sprang to the doorway
01:16:31and ran
01:16:33Eleven hours after first landing
01:16:36Force O has finally secured Omaha Beach
01:16:39it is a major accomplishment
01:16:42but far short of their original goal
01:16:43On the first day we were supposed to be about 10 miles from Omaha Beach
01:16:50but at the end of June 6th
01:16:52we were only in about 880 yards
01:16:55as the sun sets
01:16:57the men dig in and brace themselves for their first night in enemy territory
01:17:00Me and two of the first division men got separated from the rest of the group
01:17:11and we didn't know where they were
01:17:14one of the guys in the first division said
01:17:16what are you going to do Evans
01:17:17I said I'm going to dig in somewhere
01:17:19because I'm not going to walk around in the dark out here with the Germans everywhere
01:17:23so we stood guard all night
01:17:25two guys sleeping
01:17:27one guy outside to hold watch
01:17:29we were just kids
01:17:31we were over here and thought war is going to be over in a couple of weeks
01:17:35by the end of that first day
01:17:37we knew it was going to take a lot longer
01:17:38as the evening progressed I felt like I was getting very weak
01:17:48I felt I was dreaming a morphine dream
01:17:51a morphine dream
01:17:53I felt a hand on my shoulder and I heard him say
01:17:56you'll be okay Yankee boy
01:17:58so it was probably a German soldier who didn't kill me
01:18:01I woke up at about 3.30
01:18:04I saw the silhouette of an ambulance
01:18:05was I seeing a mirage?
01:18:08I hadn't seen an ambulance all day
01:18:10and they stopped the ambulance
01:18:12they saw one of their own
01:18:14and they asked me a strange question
01:18:17can you sit up in the ambulance?
01:18:21I thought this was a very odd request
01:18:23but I nodded affirmatively
01:18:26they took me all the way down the beach
01:18:29I 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 cuts hanging from the sidewall
01:18:41with wounded on them
01:18:44the ambulance was full of the battle casualties
01:18:47and already had wounded hanging on both insides
01:18:50I couldn't see this in the darkness
01:18:51more men die on Omaha than any of the other allied beaches
01:19:09Someday I'll tell General Eisenhower just how close it was those first few hours
01:19:14Omar Bradley commanding general
01:19:22United States First Army
01:19:24by nightfall the situation had swung in our favor
01:19:27we held a sliver of corpse littered beach
01:19:30five miles long and about one and a half miles deep
01:19:33there was now no thought of giving it back
01:19:36with the capture of Omaha the second step in the invasion
01:19:43secure the five Normandy beaches is now complete
01:19:49but the third step in the D-Day invasion
01:19:52linking up the beaches with the airborne troops
01:19:54is not happening
01:19:56and the crucial objective capturing the city of St. Lowe
01:19:59is far out of reach
01:20:01getting there means crossing 20 treacherous miles
01:20:03filled with German soldiers
01:20:11the Germans don't just fall back and give up after June 6th
01:20:15in fact it's quite the opposite
01:20:17the Germans fight back
01:20:19they fight back with amazing skill and capability
01:20:22and they make the battle a very very difficult process
01:20:25for allied fighting forces
01:20:27the fight forces the allies through mile after mile
01:20:30of near impenetrable hedgerows
01:20:31deadly terrain the allies are totally unprepared for
01:20:35and perfectly designed for German ambushes
01:20:38a handful of Germans
01:20:40five men and a machine gun
01:20:42could stop a whole company
01:20:44because fighting in a hedgerow is pretty much like fighting in a jungle
01:20:47the difference is you see now light at the end of the tunnel
01:20:50in the training back in 1944
01:20:52they were fixating on assaulting the beach
01:20:55they were not fixating on what was to follow
01:20:56the unglamorous details of dealing with those hedgerows
01:20:59and the German counterattack is already in motion
01:21:05a half dozen of the most feared panzer divisions in France
01:21:08stand ready to push the allies back
01:21:10the D-Day mission was to be a quick push inland
01:21:15and in that it failed
01:21:17as the allies try to pick up the pieces
01:21:25the Germans are already reinforcing
01:21:28determined to crush the invasion while it is still weak
01:21:32in the days ahead the death toll will skyrocket to more than ten times the casualties suffered on the beaches
01:21:38the death toll will skyrocket to more than ten times the casualties suffered on the beaches
01:21:43all I saw was dead bodies
01:21:46they would get killed before you even knew their name
01:21:49and you had to leave your buddy there
01:21:52after a while you become more like an animal than a human being
01:21:55I knew it was going to come close
01:21:59an impossible task
01:22:02absolutely impossible
01:22:03people had to say
01:22:05hey, I'm going to get there
01:22:07or
01:22:09I'm going to die
01:22:13as the sun sets on June 6th, 1944
01:22:15one thing is clear to both sides
01:22:19D-Day is far from over
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