Bradley. There were thousands of vessels in theinvasion force and <strong>Landing</strong> <strong>Craft</strong> <strong>Infantry</strong> (LCIs)played a prominent role in delivering troops to theNormandy shore. Allied planners divided OmahaBeach into eight different beach sectorsThe Beaches of Omaha[See map, next page]From west to east (Facing Omaha Beach fromthe sea, these sectors were located from right toleft) they were designated as “Charlie” – 2,320yards, “Dog Green” – 970 yards, “Dog White” –700 yards, “Dog Red” – 480 yards, “Easy Green”– 830 yards, “Easy Red” – 1,650 yards, “FoxGreen” – 1,135 yards and “Fox Red” – 3,015yards. There were five “draws” that led awayfrom the beaches inland designated from west toeast (right to left facing them from the sea) as“D-1”, “D-3”, “E-1”, “E-3” and “F-1”. Three ofthese “draws” had roads that lead to a nearbytown – “D-1” draw in front of Vierville, “D-3” drawat Les Moulins and “E-3” draw leading toCollville. The large “E-1” – The St. Laurent Drawdid not have a road but it was centrally locatedbetween “D-3” and “E-3”. “F-1” draw was thesmallest of the draws, did not have a road andwas located at the most eastern sector of beach– “Fox Red”. The Allied planners stacked mostof the assault forces near these draws in order toquickly exploit these exits from the beach andover the bluffs. The Germans also realized theimportance of the draws and built concretestrong points with artillery, mortars and machinegunsto defend them.The U.S. Army V Corps commanded by MajorGeneral Leonard T. Gerow was assigned theassault of Omaha Beach. The 29th <strong>Infantry</strong>Division consisting of the 116th and 115thRegimental Combat Teams (RCT) was to assaultthe western half of Omaha Beach on D Day (andfollowed the following day by the 175th RCT ofthe 29th <strong>Infantry</strong> Division). The 1st <strong>Infantry</strong>Division, “Big Red One” consisting of the 16thand 18th Regimental Combat Teams was toassault the eastern sectors of Omaha Beach onD Day with their reserve infantry regiment – the26th RCT landing on D Day after 6PM. The “BigRed One” had a nucleus of combat veterans fromthe African and Sicily campaigns. The 29thDivision had not faced shots fired in anger butthey were superbly trained. The 29th Divisionwas a <strong>National</strong> Guard unit originally comprised ofvarious units from Maryland and Virginia that hadfought each other during the Civil War.Companies of the 115th Regiment were originallyformed in towns throughout Maryland and the116th Regiment from Virginia. The insignia of the29th was a “Yin and Yang” circular patch of Blueand Gray. Their motto was “29, Let’s Go!”The Battle is JoinedThe first wave of infantry, carried by small British<strong>Landing</strong> <strong>Craft</strong> Assault craft (LCAs) and American<strong>Landing</strong> <strong>Craft</strong>, Vehicle, Personnel (LCVPs) eachwith a capacity of thirty-six soldiers began hittingOmaha Beaches at 6:30 AM on D Day. Theywere joined by a variety of other units includingcombined Army and Navy Special EngineerBrigades whose tasks were to clear and markchannels through the beach obstacles.Casualties were extreme and few channels werecleared and none of them were marked.Waiting for the opportunity to deliver their troopsto the beach, were the crews of <strong>Landing</strong> <strong>Craft</strong><strong>Infantry</strong> (LCI) Group 34 of Flotilla 12. Thesetwelve LCIs carried the bulk of the 115th <strong>Infantry</strong>Regiment of the 29th Division – approximately2,400 soldiers. LCIs 412, 554, 411 and 413carried the 1st Battalion – Companies A, B, C,and D. LCIs 408, 553, 409 and 410 carried the2nd Battalion – Companies E, F, G, H includingRegiment Headquarters Staff. LCIs 540, 541,555 and 557 carried the 3rd Battalion –Companies I, K, L and M.The commander of LCI (L) Group 34 was LindsayR. Henry. Henry was born July 10, 1900 inBrooklyn, NY. He was a month shy of his 44thbirthday on D Day. Prior to the war he was anAssistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District ofNew York. In that capacity in 1938, he was thefirst prosecutor in the U.S. to take on the Nazis.He prosecuted Fritz Kuhn and the German10
Reproduced from D-Day, by Stephen E. Ambrose. Simon & Schuster, New York, 199411