D-Day: What Was It Really Like Storming Omaha Beach? | Normandy '44: D-Day | War Stories

Join renowned historian James Holland and decorated U.S. veteran Dr. Mike Simpson as they explore the iconic D-Day landing site. Gain a new perspective as we uncover the challenges faced by both American and German forces on Omaha Beach. From the tactical intricacies to the emotional impact, witness the untold stories beyond the beaches.
War Stories is your one stop shop for all things military history. From Waterloo to Verdun, we'll be bringing you only the best documentaries and stories from history's most engaging and dramatic conflicts.
Discover the past on History Hit with ad-free exclusive podcasts and documentaries released weekly presented by world renowned historians Dan Snow, Suzannah Lipscomb, Matt Lewis and more. Get 50% off your first 3 months with code WARSTORIES bit.ly/3rc7nqm
You can find more from us on:
/ warstoriesdocs
This channel is part of the History Hit Network. For any queries, please contact [e-mail].
#warstories #documentary #military

[@adammitchell3462]

I absolutely love James Holland, a damned thorough historian and he's my absolute favorite when it comes to telling the story of ww2

[@bradshawvincent]

i was inspired to go on a weeks D Day tour of Normandy after reading his book Normandy 44 and i love his podcast with Al Murray "We Have Ways" all things WW2 related.

[@adammitchell3462]

@@bradshawvincent that's cool

[@pburgvenom]

I Like Pizza 🍕

[@shanemac1111]

@@pburgvenom I like pineapple on pizza, only on Hawaiian.🍍

[@bluecreek90]

James Holland is the best historian because he looks at all perspective

[@JaybMinistros-cn2sx]

I know this was posted 3 months ago but I'm just watching it right now, how fitting it is because today is the exact anniversary of the D-Day landings.

[@your_royal_highness]

When I went there two years ago, it was amazing. Just like going to Pearl Harbor, going to Normandy is almost a duty for those capable of traveling. I could have spent two or three months there easily. Same thing with The Bulge. I spent four days in Normandy in 2022 and four days in Bastogne and Houffalize. Crazy.

[@peanutbutterisfu]

My great uncle died on Omaha Beach at just 19 years old like so many others. Just a year prior literally he was graduating high school, sneaking out at night to play baseball with friends in the streetlights. I can’t imagine how scary it was for all these soldiers it’s so sad to think about how they never got a chance to live their lives. Rip to all and thank you for your service.

[@lauriepocock3066]

Thank you for a new way of looking at things. I have read a lot of things about Epsom. I'm acquainted with the great storm that destroyed the US Mullbury, but nobody has told me that the battle started so severely undermanned because of that storm. Some people do mention the shortage of landing craft whilst at the same time talking about the congestion on the beach. Now at least to me, it makes sense.

[@garnettewilliams5765]

I’m speechless ,it’s nothing short of amazing .

[@mohammedsaysrashid3587]

A wonderful historical coverage video Bocage battles during WW2 in Ohama Beach ..

[@Que-Lindo]

I learned what Bocage is today. 🙌

[@EnigmaMan0000]

One of my dad's brothers was there. He was operating one of the LSTs and never would talk about the experiences that caused him some really deep lifelong emotional scar's! These young men grew up in a different time with a different way of life. It was much more innocent and they weren't accustomed to violence and death the way younger people have become desensitized to war and extreme violence! It's definitely different in real life than video games or videos and news clips and that absolutely makes a huge difference... But these men didn't even grow up with video games and news clips or videos that they watched. Even the news was listened to on radios because television wasn't around. The impact of that innocent outlook on life compared to the violence and death must have had a greater impact on this generation than for subsequent generations of warriors who have experienced battle.

[@yournamehere4790]

Hearing the German accounts of the shelling and bombing at the landings is hellacious. They describe a terrifying scene where you’re disoriented to your core. You can’t hear anything and feel constant concussions from explosions. You just wait for a shell or bomb to hit.

[@dwaynekoblitz6032]

Very damn well told! These are the stories that give me goosebumps.

[@bigpileofpuke]

This was really well done. Excited to watch more. Thank you to James Holland and the whole production team!

[@murrayscott9546]

The. 2 of you are the Power Couple in this regard !

[@LukeEdwards-x8c]

What a great series - enjoyed part one “The D-Day Logistics” and this part two is fantastic too 😊 part three “the break out” is next 😊

[@Undergroundsubs-1]

Good production,well narrated and for those who already have prior knowledge this adds another perspective and an enjoyable portrait to our remberence of history and dedication to what is known as the " greatest generation" thank you .

[@johnmcenaney9301]

Amazing look how the battle enfolded.learn something new everyday about normandy.been a big interest of mine since I was a kid.im now in my late 50s.well done loved it.

[@isisnmagic1812]

Cant wait for episode 3, this is brilliant

[@your_royal_highness]

I was at the opening part of this video at the resistance nest above Omaha. To use what our fellow countryman noted, Omaha was a great kill zone. The guys at Utah got lucky as the currents pushed them a mile or south of the original landing area, which vastly reduced casualties.

[@Berm_Blaster]

Just try to imagine being among the first to land on the beach. Its astonishing to think about. I find WWII so intriguing.

[@jamesmason8052]

The only thing that could possibly paint a better picture of those days would be actual pictures of that time. Other then that, thank you for a great history lesson.

[@aegontargaryen9322]

Great documentary . Good idea having a SF soldier on the team , he understood what the guys back then would have went through Imagine how many lives that sergeants idea about the hedge cutters saved

[@josephwolosz2522]

It took a long time for me to get to Normandy. Only then did I realize the scope and magnitude of the Operation. 85 miles of beaches were the target. The worst part of Omaha Beach was the crossfire between TWO German pill boxes. Nearly an entire company from the 116th got cut to ribbons. Omaha was not that easy.

[@debbyrennock8435]

Coming up with hedge cutters in front of our tanks. Genius 😊

[@Undergroundsubs-1]

Back then you gotta remember that most young men came from the country where they had to improvise out on the pastures and growing fields

[@greendragon4058]

I agree James is the best, something like this needs to be told by the best Side note you have a beautiful Citron

[@WilliamCooper-l6f]

As the completion of the repairs, repainting, and refitting of the USS Texas, Battleship Texas, BB-35 draws closer, is there anything your channel can do to spotlight this excellent legendary warship?

[@MWM-dj6dn]

WONDERFUL AND VERY CHARMING DOCUMENTARY .. BEAUTIFUL DOCUMENTARY

[@moobaz8675]

It's the alternative perspective thats good.

[@Jayjay-qe6um]

At the top of the bluff overlooking Omaha near Colleville is the American Cemetery.

[@bradshawvincent]

Did the American guy who invented the Hedgerow cutter get a medal for that? He certainly should have!! I wonder how many lives that saved?

[@Air-bear]

Gadfly here 😕. There be lots of monuments to the soldiers in Normandy area, nothing for the civilians who were sacrificed 🫣. We don’t want to think about that part of war😶‍🌫️🥶

[@World-Top-Ace-352]

The largest amphibious invasion in military history. Operation Barbarossa was the largest invasion in military history. From the Baltic to the Ukraine, from Murmansk to the Black Sea.

[@delparksiii]

As a 29th division guy this narrative is not what many of the veterans relayed to me during the 50th anniversary when we visited Normandy. Looks like three guys making very broad assumptions about a difficult landing. In fact, the veterans i spoke to after private ryan said that depiction was fairly accurate. I would rate this a D…

[@splitman1129]

Where's episode 1?

[@RR-uj2vx]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/o5TEoaGnfNuoacU&ab_channel=WarStories

[@JohnnyNorfolk]

As the US navy had not destroyed the beach defences as they should have, it made it very difficult.

[@DirtyMikeandTheBoys69]

Omaha was only alotted a very short time period of bombardment, less than a quarter of the recommended time, to be exact, compared to the other beaches. This was due to the timing of the landings and the tide. It wasn't just the US Navy bombarding Omaha, but vessels from the Royal Navy and even the French.

[@ElmoUnk1953]

My Uncle Al was there at in the first wave at Easy Red 13.

[@Darthstep19]

My Grandpa served in WW2, I don't know his title, but he was going to be an underbelly gunner but because he had glasses they said he couldn't do that, so they used him for Morse code, on D-Day I guess he woke up with everyone gone, except him and two other guys, I don't know why they didn't take him or wake him but apparently he just woke up to 500 ish empty tents, two other dudes and was told to just send radio communications. I need ask family now what he did!

[@waynesworld227]

No more Brother wars!!!!

[@MegaRebel100]

Hill 112 is as napleloen giev a way the preasten hights ... the same let the enemy take the bate .. Sad that its a same that Monty was /still is teribble in Holland , Market Garden was end is a big mistake ( de Guingand walks he was following orders )

[@johndawes9337]

MG was not planned by Monty..that would be Brereton and Williams

[@lyndoncmp5751]

Montgomery did better in the Netherlands than the Americans did in the Hurtgen Forest and Lorraine. 100km of German held ground taken in just 3 days. This was the fastest allied advance against German opposition in the entire September 1944 to February 1945 period. Few casualties in Market Garden than in the Hurtgen /Lorraine. Why do you people NEVER speak of Eisenhower, Bradley, Patton, Hodges being complete failures all through autumn 1944, and then getting pushed back into a retreat in the Ardennes? Why do you only talk about Market Garden? Why? An honest question.

[@nicklassalette]

This guys is straight up wrong about some of the details of Omaha beach. The commander of company B of the 116th regiment was killed on the beach. His name was Ettore Zappacosta. The company suffered heavy casualties. I have no idea where he got that info from.

[@nicklassalette]

Also, there were more than 350 Germans in total defending the whole beach. Elements of the 726th and the 916th Grenadier regiments controlled 13 strongpoints on the beach. My best guess is somewhere around 800-1200 men. There were 8 artillery bunkers, 35 pillboxes, 4 artillery pieces, 6 mortar pits, 18 anti-tank guns, 45 rocket launcher sites, 85 machine gun sites and 6 tank turrets. To think that 350 men in total manned all of those defenses is ridiculous.

[@DirtyMikeandTheBoys69]

There are quite a few inaccuracies in this video.

[@Invertmini1212]

There's was alot of talking and not much being said 😂

[@fabiosunspot1112]

I know he's an historian but he's got it all wrong, Omaha beach was a wall of fire,one German soldier said he fired over 20,000 bullet's that morning, American took over 12,000 casualties😢

[@redaug4212]

The US incurred 4,700 casualties on Omaha Beach (Pointe du Hoc also included). 12,000 is probably closer to the total US losses on June 6, including Utah Beach, the airborne landings, and naval casualties. Joseph Balkoski breaks down the losses per unit in his book _Omaha Beach: D-Day June 6, 1944 and Utah Beach: The Amphibious Landing and Airborne Operations on D-Day._

[@Jake_5693]

He’s not wrong. Hollywood might tell you that’s the case but it’s embellished and he is right.

[@justinplaysguitar]

I feel like they were fighting off camera the whole time.

[@tombats6428]

Google says: Opposing the landings was the German 352nd Infantry Division. Of its 12,020 men, 6,800 were experienced combat troops, detailed to defend a 53-kilometer (33 mi) front. I did not want to give you a thumbs down, without double checking my reason first

[@Acer_Maximinus]

This is a repeat.

[@leekekwick4496]

Sounds like the British, Give it up n let someone else do the work.

[@lyndoncmp5751]

It was the Americans who gave up on St Lo in June due to some bushes, wasn't it? St Lo was a June 15th objective. Wasn't taken until July 19th. Want to blame the British for that?

[@robertandrews4382]

The British would be speaking German without Americans that died for you

[@johnmcenaney9301]

It was a team effort.many British lost there lifes.the British cracked the enigma code which in turn saved thousands of American lifes.we helped each to rid Europe of the nazis.true we would have struggled with your help.but in turn we won battles against the Japanese to help the Americans to prevail.ultermently the main goal was end the war fight side by side .as both countries do still do to this day.

[@johndawes9337]

grow up fool

[@Jake_5693]

If it wasn’t for the British holding the line for years until the Americans decided to get involved only after they were forced too there’d have been no war for you to take the glory for.

[@johndawes9337]

have you not heard of the B o B? put a stop to Sealion so your comment is nothing more than wishful thinking

[@steveforster9764]

If it wasn't for the British you Americans would be speaking French