Please click inside each of the photos for a larger view.

"Omaha Sand" A view looking west toward where the 2nd Div landed. There was probably 100 yards of so of flat sand. The huge concrete blocks perhaps are nearly underwater at high tide. Those were the only obstacles that we noticed on the beach.		"Shingle" A view of the very edge of the sand where the small stones known as shingle wash up to the first enbankment. It's the first cover that the GI's ducked behind after crossing the open sand. Small stones are placed on many of the grave markers by visitors to Omaha.

"Beach Cover" shows the first real cover that was available to the landing forces. It's the first rise in the terrain and at low tide I believe was about 200 yards off the water's edge. Not much to hide behind, I can assure you. Probably no more than 6 feet at the highest point.	"Omaha West" is a view from the first rise. This is still well below the German gun batteries and machine gun bunkers, but gives an idea of how much open space was there and how little cover. It's the same section of Omaha Beach that is viewed in "Shingle".

"Gun Port(In)" is a photo looking into one of the larger gun bunkers that defended Omaha. I don't know enough about German artillery to guess what was in the bunker, but it probably couldn't have been much bigger than the equivalent of a US 105mm. Some of the bigger bunkers at Longues still had guns in them, equivalent in size to about a 155mm. The bunker still looked formidable after close to 60 years. Concrete 8-10 feet thick, dirt mounded up all around it. Well hidden and would take almost a direct hit to cause damage.

"Bunker Entrance" is the back entrance. Again, well covered and tough to damage, even with a direct hit. Some of the larger bunkers had sleeping rooms in them. Ammo was stored away from the bunker, in other bunkers accessible by trenches.

"Gun Port (Out)" is a view toward Omaha. Well protected on both side with a relatively limited field of fire provided. All the bunkers were situated to provide complete coverage of the 4 mile beach.

In the words of James Baudhuin, August 2001: That was only one of many bunkers that are still there. About 5 miles away in Longues-sur-Mer there are probably 6-8 still standing, a couple with damaged artillery pieces still in them. There are still many of the bunkers almost intact on Pointe du Hoc. The German Atlantic Wall extended from the North Sea all the way to Utah (and perhaps beyond). The Germans had artillery pieces located to be able to cover all possible landing areas on the Normandy coast. You can't imagine how formidable those bunkers are! One we went in had a small dormitory room with hooks on the wall for submarine-like bunk beds! The defenses that the GIs ran into were unbelievable! At Pointe du Hoc bombs dropped by the Air Force equalled the impact of the atomic bomb at Nagasaki....and many of the bunkers are still intact. Pointe du Hoc was deeded to the US by France as a monument. It was left as is since the end of the war and looks like the surface of the moon with craters 10 feet deep. Amazing.

Pointe du Hoc was ceded to the US by France as a memorial. It has a couple of monuments and craters all over the place, now grown over with grass. But maintained and trimmed nicely. How the Rangers ever got up that cliff is something. It's so sheer that looking down from the top, you can't see the water's edge. Almost a negative angle. Many of the bunkers have the tops caved in, but many could be cleaned out, re-armed and used to hammer Utah and Omaha just like they were planned for doing back in 1944.

American Cemetery, Normandy, photographs by James Baudhuin

Omaha Beach, Normandy, Page 2

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