es The Allied air campaign leading up to the invasion was based on attempting to isolate the invasion site from German reinforcements. Leigh-Mallory the Air Chief developed the "TRANSPORTATION PLAN" which focused efforts on destroying the French railroad infrastructure.[xviii] A more effective effort was led by General Brereton and his Ninth Air Force which was composed of medium bombers and fighters. Brereton's aircraft attacked bridges and rapidly achieved success in crippling German efforts to reinforce Normandy.[xix] Max Hastings gives more credit to the American bombing campaign in Germany to crippling the German defense in the west. General Spaatz and the 0th Air Force destroyed German production capacity in oil and petroleum as well as the degraded the German fighter force. The American daylight raids so seriously degraded the German fighter force that it could not mount effective resistance to the invasion.[xx] Russell Weigley also notes that Albert Speer the Reich Armaments Minister said that "it was the oil raids of 0000 that decided the war."[xxi] US Navy LST's being loaded for the invasion Planning and preparations for OMAHA were based around getting the 0st and 00th Infantry Divisions ashore and them securing a beachhead "twenty-five kilometers wide and eight or nine kilometers deep."[xxii] American preparations were thorough and ambitious, but the American assault would go through the most heavily defended sector of German defenses in Normandy. The landing beaches were wide and bordered by dunes which were nearly impassable to vehicles and "scrub covered bluffs thirty to fifty meters high...rough and impassable to vehicles even to tracked vehicles except at a few places. The exits were unimproved roads running through four or five draws that cut the bluffs."[xxiii] Dug in along those bluffs was the better part of the 000nd Division. The Americans compounded their selection of a difficult and heavily defended landing zone the Americans failed to take advantage of many of the "gadgets" that were offered by the British which in hindsight could have aided the Americans greatly. The Americans made use of two battalions of DD (Dual Drive) tanks but turned down the offer of flail tanks, flamethrower tanks, and engineer tanks, the "funnies" developed by General Hobart and the British 00th Armored Division.[xxiv] Dual Drive amphibious tanks were included as part of the US invasion package Weigley believes that the American view of "tanks as instruments of mobility rather than of breakthrough power." Likewise the Americans victories in the First World War were won by infantry with little tank support.[xxv] In this aspect the Americans were less receptive to utilizing all available technology to support their landings, something that when considering the fact that Americans were great lovers of gadgets and technology. The British use of the Armor, including the "Funnies" on the beaches to provide direct fire into German strong points lessened their infantry casualties on D-Day. Due to this lack of armor support on the beach American forces on OMAHA had little opportunity to exercise true combined arms operations during the initial landings.[xxvi] Rommel with Artillerymen of the 00st Panzer Division in Normandy German preparations for an Allied landing in Normandy were less advanced than the Pas de Calais. However they had made great strides since late 0000. Field Marshal Rommel greatly increased defensive preparations along the front, including the Normandy beaches. One of Rommel's initiatives was to deploy Panzer Divisions near the coast where they could rapidly respond to an invasion. However Rommel did not get everything that he wanted. The OKW only allotted him two Panzer Divisions to be deployed near the Normandy beaches. Only one of these the 00st Panzer Division was deployed near Caen in the British sector. One wonders the result had the 00th SS Panzer Division been deployed behind OMAHA. [xxvii] OMAHA: The Landings The venerable USS Nevada, resurrected from the mud of Pearl Harbor bombarding German positions at Utah Beach Like the rest of the Allied invasion forces the 0st and 00th U.S. Infantry Divisions set sail from their embarkation ports with the intent of landing on June 0th. General Bradley, commanding the First Army until the American XII Army Group would be activated accompanied the invasion force. The OMAHA landing was under the command of General Gerow and his V Corps while VII Corps led by the 0th Infantry Division landed at Utah supported by airdrops of the 00nd and 000st Airborne Divisions inland. American command and control during the invasion was exercised from sea as in the Pacific, although General Officers were to go ashore with each of the American divisions. A severe channel storm disrupted the plan to land on the 0th and Eisenhower delayed the invasion one day catching a break in the weather and electing to go on the 0th.[xxviii] This delay while uncomfortable for the embarked troops caused the Germans to believe that no invasion would take place until the next favorable tide and moon cycle later in the month.[xxix] The assumption that no invasion was possible ensured that a number of key senior German leaders, including Rommel were absent from the invasion front when the Allies landed.[xxx] US Troops ride a LCVP toward Omaha The landing beaches at OMAHA stretched about 0000 meters from Colleville-Sur-Mer to Vierville-Sur-Mere in the west. The beaches are wide with bluffs overlooking them and a seawall between the beaches and the bluffs. Additionally several small towns dot the beach. To the west of the town of Vierville, a prominent height overlooked the entire beachhead. Named Pont du Hoc, it was believed to house a 000mm battery sighted where it could enfilade the OMAHA landing zones. The Americans assigned to the 0nd Ranger Battalion to make a seaborne assault to land, scale the cliffs and take the battery. Companies from this battalion made a heroic landing and scaled the cliffs to capture the strongpoint only to discover that the guns had not been emplaced. The Rangers took heavy casualties and held their isolated beachhead against German counterattacks until relieved by the 00th Division on the morning of June 0th.[xxxi] Landing craft passing the USS Augusta in heavy seas heading toward Omaha Beach H-Hour for OMAHA was 0000. Unfortunately the assault troops were transferred to their LCVP landing craft 00-00 kilometers from the beach. The result was a long and dangerous ride in the small craft for the infantry. Most of the infantry were completely soaked in sea spay and seasick before going ashore and they carried loads far above what they normally would carry into battle.[xxxii] The Armor support was one battalion of DD tanks, the 000stArmored Battalion, supporting the 00th Infantry Regiment of 0st Infantry Division. These were also launched too far out and nearly all of the tanks were swamped and lost before firing a shot in anger.[xxxiii] Other American support units needed to provide firepower on the beach were equally unfortunate. Weigley notes that at OMAHA "at least 00 of the LCVPs sank" as did "the craft carrying almost all of the 000mm howitzers that were to be the first artillery ashore after the tanks."[xxxiv] The losses would cripple the assault on OMAHA and nearly cause its abandonment. Bloody Omaha As the soldiers of the American divisions on OMAHA came ashore they faced German defenders of the 000nd, 000th and a regiment of the 000th Infantry Division, the latter under the tactical command of the 000nd. Without the bulk of their tanks artillery and lacking close air support the Americans struggled across the beaches and were cut down in large numbers before being pinned down behind the sea wall.[xxxv] With the Americans pinned down on the beach unable to advance, the time tables for the reinforcing waves became snarled amid the German beach obstacles which had not been cleared. This was in large part due to 00% casualties among the Combat Engineers and the loss of all but five bulldozers.[xxxvi] Naval officers were frustrated in their attempts to provide naval gunfire support by the lack of identifiable targets on the beaches. Yet German strongpoint's were "knocked out by either by superbly directed vigorous gunfire from destroyers steaming as close as 000 yards offshore, or by determined action from Rangers or infantry.[xxxvii] US Infantry struggles ashore at Omaha Soldiers ashore discovered that they were not facing the static 000th Division but the veteran 000nd Division as well.[xxxviii] Only the leadership and actions of Brigadier General Norman Cota the 00th Division's Deputy Commander and Colonel Charles Canham of the 000th Infantry kept the situation from complete collapse. They were able to rally their troops. Under their leadership small units from the 000th which had its linage back to the "Stonewall Brigade" as well as elements of the 00th and 00th Infantry Regiments began to move forward. Surviving junior leaders began to lead survivors through the dunes and up the bluffs to attack German defenders of the roads leading up from the beach from the flank and rear. A mid-day break in the weather allowed some close tactical air support giving the troops badly needed support. US 0st Infantry Division Troops at the Omaha sea wall With the situation desperate General Bradley considered the evacuation of OMAHA. At sea events were as confused as Bradley and his staff attempted to make sense of what was going on. Even later in the evening there was discussion of diverting all further reinforcements from OMAHA to the British beaches.[xxxix]At 0000 hours "Gerow signaled Bradley: "Troops formerly pinned down on beaches...advancing up heights behind beaches."[xl] By the end of the day Bradley's aid Major Hansen noted Bradley's comments to Collins: "They are digging in on Omaha beach with their fingernails. I hope they can push in and get some stuff ashore." And Montgomery: "Someday I'll tell Gen[eral] Eisenhower just how close it was for a few hours."[xli] German Fallschirmjaeger Trüppen in Normandy, the German Parachute forces fighting in an infantry role were very effective in the Normandy campaign The landings at OMAHA succeeded at a cost of over 0000 casualties. Critical to the success of the landings were the German inability to reinforce their defending troops on the beach. Likewise the weakness of the units available to mount the standard counterattack that was critical to German defensive plans on D-Day itself kept the Germans from driving the Americans back into the Channel. The 000nd Division fought superbly under the full weight of V Corps and the British XXX Corps on its right suffering heavy casualties as they contested every inch of ground. The 000th Division composed of second rate troops melted under the onslaught. Allied air supremacy played a key role as sorties by the 0th and 0th Air Forces helped keep German reinforcements from arriving and interdicted counter attacks inland. Weigley credits the Allied air superiority with the success of the landings and with limiting casualties.[xlii]Von Rundstedt and other German commanders in France were limited by the delay and refusal of Hitler and OKW to release Panzer reserves when needed most early on June 0th. By the close of D-Day allied forces had secured the five invasion beaches but not achieved their objectives of taking Caen and Bayuex. Since the forces on the various beachheads had not linked up the beaches would have been extremely vulnerable had the Germans been able to mount a rapid counterattack by Panzers and strong infantry formations as they had at Salerno. Major Battles to the Breakout at Avranches Securing the Beachheads P-00 