This topic contains 21 replies, has 9 voices, and was last updated by 
oriskany 5 years, 6 months ago.
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… well, you guys already know what was happening. It’s just short of 17:00 here, so it’s 22:00 UK time, and the transports for US 82nd, US 101st, and UK 6th Airborne Divisions (main assault jumps) undergoing final preps for take off (22:30 by my information). The Pathfinders have probably been in the air for some time already.
After a flight over the Channel, the drops start about 00:30 hours local, early on the morning of June 6 (about 2.5 hours from time of this post).
Thought I would share this message, sent to all the troops in the hours before the fateful moment. I believe there are also recordings of Eisenhower’s radio address on YouTube:
Absolutely nothing is intrusive, @crazyredcoat . Today and tomorrow, on those days of all days, the whole idea was to start a conversation. 😀
We did the Canadians some serious justice in 2014 when we re-created, in total, the WHOLE of the Juno beach landing in Panzer Leader. The game took 12 hours over three days. Second highest casualty rate among the five beaches, if I’m not mistaken.
@suetoniuspaullinus – Indeed that would be awesome. I was there for the 70th, if not the 75th. From my trip to Omaha …
Dog Green Sector, looking up at Vierville draw, first hit by 116th RCT, 29th Infantry.
Able Company, the first company of this Regimental Combat Team, took over 90% casualties in the opening of the attack. Three Virginia towns basically lost their male population of that generation, right on this spot.
Depending on which time zone we’re using (daylight savings or not, etc), it’s now 19:14 here. That makes it 00:14 in the UK. In two minutes … (00:16 local) Major Howard’s “Horsa” glider hits the ground at Pegasus Bridge. The monument now stands to mark the spot where his glider hit, astonishingly close to the target bridge. In this photo I tried to get the angle Howard would have seen as he first looked at the bridge. Of course the bridge that stands there now is an enlarged replacement, it wasn’t night, and no one was shooting at me. 🙂
Well, its 05:30 “local” time now, H-Hour -60 minutes. I’ll be asleep when the first American seaborne landings take place at Omaha and Utah Beach. I actually wouldn’t mind staying up all night on this but I sadly have to work tomorrow.
For the WWDDC project myself and @chrisg undertook (along with about 20 other community members – fighting 20+ wargames all across the invasion zone) – I made a humble effort at creating Dog Green in 15mm. The system was an upgraded Axis & Allies 15mm miniature.
Again, this is four years ago when I was still getting into miniatures more or less for the first time.
Table was about 5 feet on a side. Not the best. But it got the idea across.
I was a little pleased with the cardboard scratch-built 15mm LCVP “Higgins” boats. Built four of these more or less in a couple of hours. I decided not to paint vomit on the decks.
The “wiederstandnester” bunkers were a little stop-gap … and honestly were “designed” (if that’s the word) more to resemble the bunkers from the movie Saving Private Ryan more than how German bunkers were actually layed out on the Vierville Draw.
German 88s (FlaK 36s) and scratch-built x4 20mm positions overlook antiboat pilings and “Czech Hedgehog” beach obstacles.
Elements of 1st Bn, 116th RCT, 29th US Infantry hit the beach at 06:30 local. Good news and bad news on the table … the Germans have hit one of the Higgins Boats with a direct mortar strike, but the DD Shermans have rolled much better than they performed historically, and a few of them have actually made it to the beach. Historically, only a handful made it of the lead battalion of 55 machines. The infantry were thus left with no tank support against German bunkers, MGs,and heavy weapons fire coming straight off the crest of that bluff.
That’s a lot of open sand to cross before they reach the sea wall running along that road.
Clear the murder holes!
Of course, it looked rather different for the people who were actually there. One of the VERY few photos to survive from the actual bloodiest of all Normandy beaches has since been titled: “The Jaws of Death.”
British forces landed about 30-45 minutes later then American forces, because their beaches were further east where the optimum tides came a little later in the day. Gold and Sword Beaches were hit by 50th Northumberland and 3rd Infantry, while Juno Beach was hit by the 3rd Canadian Division. Royal Marine Commandos were also there (47th at Gold and 48th and Juno- I’m not sure of the exact unit on Sword but I’m sure they were there).
The monument at Sword Beach (just north of Caen) from our trip there for the 70th Anniversary in 2014.
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