D-Day hour by hour GOLD Beach on D-Day - Weebly



D-Day hour by hour GOLD Beach on D-Day

First Allied troops to land: 50th (Northumbrian) Division, led by 69th and 231st Brigades, 8th Armoured Brigade. Sand and clay beach, fronted by small villages.

Objectives: The troops aimed to capture Bayeux and the Caen-Bayeux road (enabling the Allies to use the east-west road communications), and to join up with the American troops at OMAHA Beach.

07.25 – The first units of 231st and 69th Brigades touch down. DD (swimming) tanks and beach clearance groups, delayed by bad weather, are landed directly on to the beach.

07.45 – Troops make slow progress against raking fire, but three beach exits are cleared within the hour.

08.20 – Follow-up battalions and No. 47 Royal Marine Commando land.

09.30 – Les Roquettes is captured.

09.50 – Stiff resistance at Le Hamel. Commandos head for Port-en-Besin to link with American forces. CSM Stan Hollis, 6th Green Howards, wins the Victoria Cross for his bravery at Crépon.

10.50 – Reserve brigades begin to land; seven beach exits have been secured.

16.00 – Le Hamel is finally captured. 231st Brigade moves on to Arromanches. 69th Brigade encounters resistance in Villers le Sec/Bazenville area.

20.30 – 56th and 151st Brigades reach the outskirts of Bayeux and the Caen-Bayeux road.

21.00 – Arromanches is captured.

24.00 – A large bridgehead has been established, six miles wide and deep, linking up with Canadians at JUNO Beach. No. 47 Royal Marine Commando are ready to take Port-en-Bessin on following day.

By midnight, 25,000 troops had been landed on GOLD, with fewer than 1,000 casualties.

D-Day hour by hour JUNO Beach on D-Day

First Allied troops to land: 3rd Canadian Division, led by 7th and 8th Brigades, and 6th Armoured Regiment. The beach was fronted by small villages.

Objectives: To advance inland and join up with British beaches (GOLD and SWORD) on either side.

07.56 - 7th and 8th Brigades land. The assault is hindered by the current. The delay before landing means that the Germans partially recover.

08.11 - DD (swimming) tanks and “funnies” (specialised tanks) land slightly late due to bad weather. The Canadians face strong opposition.

08.30 - No.48 Royal Marine Commando lands at St Aubin, and heads east. Little beach clearance takes place due to high tides and rough seas. The beaches are congested and under heavy fire.

09.30 onwards – 8th Brigade takes Bernières. Heavy enemy gunfire in progress.

10.40 – Five beach exits have now been cleared.

11.12 – After heavy fighting, 7th Brigade secures the beach exit at Courseulles. The arrival of 9th Brigade causes further congestion.

11.20 – Tailleville, Banville and Ste Croix are captured.

12.00 – Further landings. Langrune is captured.

14.00 onwards – The whole of Canadian 3rd Division is now ashore. Rapid advances inland: troops join with GOLD Beach, to the west.

18.00 – Canadian 9th Brigade reaches Bény.

20.00 – Troops advance to Villons les Buissons, seven miles inland.

By midnight, 21,400 troops had been landed on JUNO Beach, suffering under 1,000 casualties. The original aim of capturing Carpiquet airfield was not achieved. No link-up had yet been made with SWORD beach to the east.

D-Day hour by hour OMAHA Beach on D-Day

First Allied troops to land: 16th Regimental Combat Team (US 1st Division) and 116th Regimental Combat Team (29th Division), 2nd and 5th Ranger Battalions. The beach had strong German defences. The German troops stationed there were in greater numbers, and of higher quality, than the Allies had believed.

Objective: The only breaks in the 100-foot high cliffs running between UTAH and GOLD Beaches were at OMAHA Beach. The landings at OMAHA were therefore vital to connect the US troops at UTAH Beach with the British and Canadian beaches to the east.

Landing craft are loaded 11 miles from beach, leading to problems with rough seas. Ten landing craft sink.

05.35 – 27 DD (swimming) tanks sink on launching in rough seas.

05.55 – The Allied naval barrage and bombing raids on the German defences are ineffective.

06.35 – The first units try to land, but are cut down in the surf by defenders' fire. There is terrible carnage.

07.00 – Chaotic situation on the beach, as troops are pinned down and take cover behind mined beach defences. Engineers are unable to clear obstacles.

07.08 – 2nd Ranger Battalion Lands and assaults Pointe du Hoc, the site of a battery of German long-range guns (to the west of the main landings on Omaha Beach).

07.30 – The second wave of troops adds to the confusion and over-crowding on Omaha Beach.

07.40 – 5th Ranger Battalion lands on beach.

08.00 – The attack up the cliffs begins, assisted by tanks and destroyers firing from close inshore.

08.30 – Rangers and 116th Infantry reach top of the cliffs at Les Moulins.

09.15 – After scaling 80-100 foot cliffs at Pointe du Hoc, the US Rangers find the battery empty, but discover the guns further inland and destroy them.

10.00 - 11.00 – The advance on Vierville and St Laurent gradually begins. The beach is very congested.

11.00 – Vierville is captured.

12.00 – German defences are penetrated in four places. US troops begin to move inland, although the beach is still under heavy fire.

14.00 – The first beach exit is cleared.

16.00 – Tanks and vehicles begin to move off the beach.

20.00 – St Laurent and Colleville are captured.

24.00 – A tiny, precarious beachhead has been established. There are pockets of US forces over an area approximately five miles wide by 1.5 miles deep.

OMAHA Beach was the worst of all the Allied beaches on D-Day. By midnight, 34,250 troops had been landed, with around 2,000 casualties. Three men won the Congressional Medal of Honor.

D-Day hour by hour SWORD Beach on D-Day

First Allied troops to land: 3rd British Division, led by 8th Infantry Brigade Group. A flat, sandy beach, fronted by small villages. German strongpoints were sited inland and as well as on the beach.

Objectives: Sword Beach was at the eastern end of the Allied landings. The troops’ objectives were: to advance inland towards the city of Caen; to link up with the airborne troops, who had landed by parachute and glider and were protecting the eastern flank of landings against German counter-attack.

00.16 onwards – Gliders and paratroops seize the eastern flank of the landings, including “Pegasus Bridge” (Bénouville).

04.30 – British airborne troops, who had landed earlier that day, attack the Merville Battery (a position for German long-range guns, to the east of the landings).

07.26 – The landings begin, preceded by a heavy bombardment of the beach by warships and aircraft. DD (swimming) tanks and “funnies” (specialised tanks) knock out numerous enemy gun positions.

07.50 – Nos. 4 and 10 (Free French) Commando land. Heavy fighting on the beach.

08.35 – Three beach exits cleared of the enemy.

09.30 – Hermanville taken. Riva Bella casino strongpoint captured by the Free French. Heavy German opposition halts the advance. With a fast incoming tide, the beach becomes congested; the reserve brigades are held up.

10.00 - 12.00 – German strongpoints inland are gradually overcome.

13.30 – 1st Special Service Brigade Commandos link up with 6th Airborne Division at “Pegasus Bridge”.

16.00 – 9th Brigade moves inland. 185th Brigade repulses attack of the German 21st Panzer Division at Periers Ridge, but the British advance pauses.

20.00 – Benouville is captured.

A German counter-attack is made towards the sea between SWORD and JUNO Beaches. The German HILLMAN strongpoint is secured, after a long battle.

21.00 – A group of 250+ Allied gliders fly in and deter the German attack. 185th Brigade halts at Bieville, three miles short of Caen.

By midnight, 29,000 troops had been landed on SWORD Beach, with fewer than 1,000 casualties. The troops had reached six miles inland.

D-Day hour by hour UTAH Beach on D-Day

First Allied troops to land: US 4th Infantry Division, led by 8th Regimental Combat Team. The Germans had flooded the area behind the beach. The US advance inland was only possible along a limited number of causeways.

Objective: To gain a beachhead, leading in time to the capture of the Cotentin Peninsula and of the port of Cherbourg.

01.15 - 01.30 – The main body of the US 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions begins landing by parachute and glider inland. They occupy German defenders and begin securing the exits from UTAH Beach.

04.30 – The Isles St. Marcouf, offshore, are occupied.

05.55 – Guiding craft for the landing force is sunk; remaining ships head off course.

06.30 – After an effective air bombardment, the 8th Regimental Combat Team lands to the south of the intended sector, on a lightly defended beach.

06.40 – Almost all DD (swimming) tanks land successfully. Light opposition is quickly dealt with. The beach defences are mostly cleared by high tide.

08.00 – Brigadier Theodore Roosevelt orders in follow-up troops. He is later awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor.

09.30 – Beach exits nos. 1, 2 and 3 are secured.

10.00 – Six battalions landed, including follow up troops – 12th and 22nd Regimental Combat Teams. The La Madeleine strongpoint and the beach exits are captured.

12.00 onwards – Pouppeville is captured; the link-up with the airborne forces is made. US troops gradually fan out to Beuzeville au Plain and Les Forges.

Sufficient space has been gained for the continuing smooth build-up.

24.00 – The troops who landed on the beaches have reached about four miles inland.

An almost textbook landing; by midnight, 23,250 troops were ashore, with under 200 casualties. The US airborne divisions suffered 2,499 casualties, including 338 killed.

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