By the end of D-Day, some 23,250 troops had landed safely on Utah beach, along with 1,700 vehicles. Only about 200 casualties were recorded during these landings.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Utah Beach
Fortune smiled on the Americans during the Utah Beach landings. The presence of the 13,000 paratroopers and gliders of the 101st and 82nd American Airborne divisions, who parachuted into the area behind Utah beach during the early-morning hours of June 6, forced the navy to use pinpoint gunfire against the German defenses there, rather than firing inland. The 9th Air Force's pre-landing attacks came down the beach's long axis (north to south), not at a right angle, the bombing pattern at Omaha Beach. A wave of B-26s missed their primary targets, but their "overs" smashed the strong point at La Madeline and damaged the strong point at La Grande Dune. The initial waves of landing craft drifted south 2,000 yards, which brought them into the accidental gap in the beach defenses and gave them direct access to Exits Two and One, not to Exits Four and Three, still defended by the stubborn German troops. The American infantry with tanks pushed forward through Exits Three and One, which stiffened the 101st Airborne's positions.
By the end of D-Day, some 23,250 troops had landed safely on Utah beach, along with 1,700 vehicles. Only about 200 casualties were recorded during these landings.
By the end of D-Day, some 23,250 troops had landed safely on Utah beach, along with 1,700 vehicles. Only about 200 casualties were recorded during these landings.
