Omaha Beachwas one of five sectors of the Alliedinvasion ofGerman-occupied France in theNormandy landings on D-Day, 6 June 1944, during World War II. The untested 29th Infantry Division and nine companies of U.S. Army Rangersassaulted the western half of the beach; the battle-hardened 1st Infantry Division targeted the eastern half. The opposing German 352nd Infantry Division troops, mostly teenagers with no battalion-level training and someEastern Front veterans, were largely deployed in strongpoints along the coast. The initial assault waves oftanks, infantry, and combat engineerforces were tasked with reducing the coastal defenses to allow larger ships to land. Little went as planned: mostlanding craft missed their targets, and the defenses were unexpectedly strong. Troops could not clear the heavily defended exits off the beach, delaying later landings. Groups of survivors eventually improvised assaults, scaling the bluffs between the most heavily defended points. By the end of the day, two small isolated footholds had been won, and the original objective of a beachhead 5 miles deep was achieved within days
