Declassified // WWI Archives // Sector Omaha

Normandy Beachhead

June 6, 1944 • Operation Overlord

Allied D-Day Landing at Normandy Beach with Uniform Cliffs

COORDINATES: 49°22′06″N 0°52′48″W^[1]

CONDITIONS: Low Cloud Ceiling • Overcast • High Surf^[2]

ASSAULT DIVISION: US 1st & 29th Infantry / 82nd & 101st Airborne^[3]

The Sea Assault SECTOR-EASY RED

LCVP Higgins boats pushed through turbulent English Channel swells to deliver infantry directly against reinforced seawalls and fortified bluffs.^[4]

Airborne Drops INLAND-FLANK

Pre-dawn drops by C-47 transport planes scattered thousands of paratroopers across the French countryside to sever transit lines and suppress defenses.^[5]

The Uniform Bluffs ELEVATION-100FT

The uninterrupted cliff plateau gave German fortified positions interlocking lines of fire, forcing Allied units to scale sheer heights to break out.^[6]

Sources & Archival Records

[1] Coordinates & Geographic Sector: Omaha Beachhead Overview — Omaha Beach (Sainte-Honorine to Vierville-sur-Mer).
[2] Overcast Conditions & Channel Weather: Imperial War Museums — 10 Things You Need to Know About D-Day: Operation Neptune & Overcast Conditions.
[3] Assault Divisions & Supreme Command: Eisenhower Presidential Library — World War II: D-Day, The Invasion of Normandy Online Documents.
[4] Higgins Boats (LCVP): The National WWII Museum — Research Starters: Higgins Boats and Amphibious Assault Craft.
[5] Airborne Infiltration: National Archives and Records Administration — Records of Operation Overlord & Allied Airborne Drops.
[6] Coastal Bluffs & Fortifications: Operation Neptune Historical Summary — Normandy Landings: Beachhead Geography, Bluffs, and Atlantic Wall Defenses.