![]() ![]() At Normandy, beaches were definitely not “normal.” On normal beaches, an LST (Landing Ship Tank) could extend its ramp to shore, enabling trucks, jeeps, and tanks to drive off. The Navy’s first urgent challenge was how to unload its Liberty Ships and LSTs, its workhorse cargo and troop transports. Engineers designed massive artificial harbors floating piers connected to the shore with bridges, but these were to come only after the beaches were secure. Planning for Operation Overlord began months before the invasion was to take place. Countless tons of materiel that were essential to an offensive intended to continue non-stop until it reached Berlin, itself. ![]() Tides that made it impossible for Navy ships to get close enough to land troops-not to mention the trucks, tanks, jeeps, ammunition, food, equipment, and medical and other vital supplies. The logistical challenge was mind-boggling: Miles of wide, white sand beach vulnerable to well-fortified pillboxes on the cliffs above. However, the Allies had learned through the bitter experience of Dieppe in the fall of 1942 that such a landing was impossible, so the Normandy Coast was to be their target. No surprise that the Germans believed it was simply impossible for the Allies to make a large-scale landing, except near a major port. Meanwhile, on beaches, when the tide goes all the way out, the water’s edge is half a mile from its high tide mark, this happens twice a day. Vicious crosscurrents can toss up new sandbars in a day. The tidal shifts are so extreme along the Normandy coast that in small harbors boats sit in the mud at low tide, then, are lifted into water twenty feet deep when the tide rises to its peak. In the English Channel, fierce waves and sudden gales make for rough, unpredictable crossings. ![]() Ultimately, the Army vanquished the Germans, but before they could do so, the Navy needed to conquer the sea. The Allies faced two enemies on June 6, 1944: The Germans and the sea. Navy’s Construction Battalions (CBs), whose hard work, ingenuity, and courage under fire made the D-Day landings possible. What we do not see-are the “Seabees” of the U.S. soldiers storming off landing craft in full battle gear, courageously wading-sometimes swimming-to shore. We see, in our collective mind’s eye, brave U.S. ![]()
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