Omaha beach

What would have happen if the tanks had made it to the beach, what kind of outcome would have happen?

 

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Eventually, I think we would have broken through, but we would have come out of it with significantly larger casualties.

 

thought of a few quetions

Could a allied failure at Omaha beach still put a end to the Germans on the western front.?

Regarding the 2nd post link from Kai were the ideas on the german side to cut the beaches apart include the use of the mobile reserves.? that kept back by Hitlers generals.

 

If the Germans had got the beaches with the Mulberries out of action then the invasion would have been a failure, I think.

Wasn´t Omaha one of them although the Mulberry was destroyed due to a storm a couple of weeks later? What was the other beach with Mulberry harbor structure?

 

I raised the question after watching a documentary about why out of 29 Sherman DD Tanks, 27 of them were lost before they arrived on the beach. One of the veterans believed if those tanks had made to the beach the result would had be a different out come that day.

The documentary was about the 741st Tank Company, the reason why they failed was more to do with navigation error, they turned into the wrong direction resulting in swamping from sea water. If they kept straight a good percentage would have made it to the beach.

 

It would be a disaster

 

I thought they lost the tanks, because they let them out of the LVT's to early?

 

An order was given not to release them but was not rec'd, the reason they lost the tanks was by navigation error as the tanks were moving forward they changed course heading towards a land mark. The result of this they came in direct contact with a strong tide which swamped them.

In the documentary the under sea divers found all the tanks were pointing in the wrong direction, had they stayed on course a percentage of them would have made it to the shore. I shall try and post the name of the documentary.

 

The Programme was called.

JOURNEYS TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA
D-DAY THE UNTOLD STORY

 

An order was given not to release them but was not rec'd,

</font>[/QUOTE]So your saying that THEY were released to early? So that order never being recieved, and the fact that they were going in the wrong direction is what happened?

 

According to the documentary there was some concern about the choppy waters.

Based on the angle of the sunken tanks they were facing towards a church steeple, I think. This landmark was used by the DD Tanks on the UTAH Beach. The outcome was an unfortunate error which resulted in loosing 27 tanks. The gentleman who was researching this story was an ex-U.S army man who was involved in tanks, I forget his role may have been a driver. Anyway very interesting documentary if anyone gets the chance to watch do so.